Understanding Cookies

What are cookies?

Let's be frank. You hear people talk about cookies all the time --no, not the chocolate chip kind, the internet kind. Everyone pretends to know what they are, cause who wants to look like an idiot? But let's face it - do you really understand them? Honestly, I'm not sure I'm there myself. But, I just wrote a short piece on them for class and I thought I'd share this batch : )

Cookies are small data stores that live on a computer's web browser. The browser will use cookies to store data about that user's web activity. According to the BBC's Webwise Blog:

When you visit a site that uses cookies for the first time, a cookie is downloaded onto your PC. The next time you visit that site, your PC checks to see if it has a cookie that is relevant (that is, one containing the site name) and sends the information contained in that cookie back to the site. The site then "knows" that you have been there before, and in some cases, tailors what pops up on screen to take account of that fact. [1]

This means that cookies can store info about the number of times you have visited a page, the length of time that you spent there, what links you clicked, and what types of browsers you prefer to use. This information can help make your user experience easy and more enjoyable by removing duplicate information, remembering favorite info, or giving you the content that you requested in a search.

Benefits

Cookies have enabled online shopping to expand through the use of a shopping cart feature that "remembers" desired items and "holds" those items for you, even if you exit the site. With a login feature that references info in your computer's cookies, you can return to that site and keep browsing with the same contents in your shopping cart.

The information captured through cookies can also provide key intelligence to inform brand-marketing strategy. By understanding what sites a user frequents, how often they visit, and where user's general interests lie, a company can effectively place ads. Ideally, the brand can target the user with ads for a product or item of interest and there is a higher probability that the user will actually click on the ad and generate revenue for the site host and the brand (if the user purchases the product).

This method of targeted advertising can be very cost-effective, as it matches marketing efforts with the targeted audience: an engaged population that is actually seeking the product and looking to fill a need. Cookies also give the brand a great advantage and insight into understanding user behavior. Cookies allow the brand to capture real time research data on the users interest, which can influence their entire strategy, constantly keeping an approach fresh and relevant.

Controversy

There is a downside to cookies, however, which is that users are often skeptical of the idea that information is being stored about them. Many feel that their privacy is infringed upon and this unease can affect a user's trust in a brand. Despite the fact noted by Larisa Thomason from NetMechanic that "Cookies cannot store any personal information about the user that the user doesn't voluntarily supply to the Web site,"[2]  people are still uneasy about the presence of cookies.

Some users dislike the idea of being targeted by marketing campaigns or having their web browser ads tailored to their interests. There has been some controversy over the legality of cookie use.  In the Guardian, Joanna Geary makes the "sneaky" function of a cookie clear:

The cookies that appear to cause the most controversy... are for managing the advertising you see on a website. This is particularly the case when websites set a cookie from a separate advertising delivery company. This cookie can record when and where you saw an advert, where in the world you might have been when it happened and whether you clicked on it. The cookie will send this information to the cookie owner, who records this data and uses it to make sure you don't see the same advert too many times.[3]

The consensus seems to be that cookies are harmless. For users that dislike the idea, there is always the option of blocking cookies-- which may make the web experience less fluid, as many sites do not operate well without cookies. Most sites have a cause within their "Terms and Conditions" that states that by using the site, you are agreeing to download the site cookies. A good site will also take the time to explain how the brand uses cookies and why they do so.

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[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-cookies

[2] http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol3/beginner_no5.htm

[3] http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/23/cookies-and-web-tracking-intro


This article is the part of a series of posts that I will make throughout my graduate studies in Marketing and Communications. With a focus on both healthcare and interactive marketing, I hope to gain a better understanding for effective health messaging--which I think plays a key role in a happy, healthy society. Please leave your comments or write to me: camorous@gmail.com.

Personal vs. Professional Brand Marketing

The potential ROI for internet marketing is astounding. For little to no cost, a company or individual can successfully market themselves on a global level through hundreds of web apps, social media channels, email marketing campaigns, and blogs (to name a few). This is an exceptional development and one that certainly levels the playing field between large companies and small businesses/nonprofits. The power to increase visibility and the reach of their message or brand is exponential.

The laws of both Moore and Metcalfe attribute to this. Moore's Law states that every 18 months processing power doubles, while cost remains the same. Metcalfe proposes that the value of a network grows by the value of N squared, when N = nodes (devices or users connected to the network). Cookies (more on these later) contribute greatly to the processing power of the internet, as networks like Facebook become wiser about the interests of individual users, enabling customized advertising and more direct marketing. At the same time, however, it is important to utilize internet marketing in a strategic manner. This is where the difference lies between personal and brand dialogue on the web.

Over time, I have come to realize that with the internet, sometimes "less is more." As a healthcare marketing professional, I always want to be aware of developments and understand how people are using sites -- but this doesn't mean that I jump on the band wagon and create an account for my company immediately. Sometimes, it is better to observe from a distance. Not all social sites are successful and it is important that you check out a site, before choosing to create an account. Affiliation = endorsement and in order to protect your brand, you have to implement a strategy for which sites you choose to use and scout things out in advance.

The difference between a personal account on Facebook, for example, and a brand page is substantial. Personal accounts are often used to share personal info (duh) about relationships, emotions, and daily life in a casual manner. Where this can be a very friendly, inviting approach to online interaction, it is not appropriate for a professional entity or healthcare organization. On a daily basis, I observe how my friends and family manage their personal accounts on Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking sites. Many people do not give much thought to how what they say on their page or sharing private information. They say what they want, to whomever they desire and they don't worry too much about the repercussions or how they appear to the outside world.

Professional brands cannot afford this luxury; they have a reputation to uphold and an obligation to their clients, investors, etc. The need for careful monitoring and clear strategy is especially true for healthcare organizations or hospitals, as they have a very high standard to adhere to and must follow protocol to protect patient confidentiality, in line with HIPAA. How can hospitals and healthcare orgs use social sites? I will discuss this soon in an upcoming post, but here's the short and sweet of it: healthcare orgs can use social media to share important health messages, improve visibility, market programs and services that they provide, and offer a place for dialogue. However, the web is NOT a place for medical diagnosis, clinical care or instruction. There may be some hospitals that employ secure chat rooms or LIVE interaction where patient health info is protected. Facebook is not one of these places -- yet.

Moral of the story: with the development of so many new technologies, it seems that the possibilities for interactive marketing are endless. A small company or program can gain a large national presence through the internet in a very short amount of time. Through Google and other search engines, brands can find out exactly what their clients want and put their product right in front of the target audience, satisfying both parties. However, without proper application these powerful tools can do more harm than good. It is important for a brand to set in place proper protocol for both internal and external internet marketing policy (including one specific to social media). The brand must consider what sites or apps it chooses to use and how these efforts will integrate into the overall marketing strategy.

This article is the part of a series of posts that I will make throughout my graduate studies in Marketing and Communications. With a focus on both healthcare and interactive marketing, I hope to gain a better understanding for effective health messaging--which I think plays a key role in a happy, healthy society. Please leave your comments or write to me: camorous@gmail.com.

What Makes Me Tick...

            Throughout my life I have been fortunate to embrace many different travel opportunities that have broadened my view of the world and have cultivated within me a compassion for people, as well as a desire to tell their stories through broadcast journalism.

             I developed a love for travel my freshman year of high school when I accompanied my church youth group on a philanthropic outreach to Panama City, Panama. We traveled in dug-out canoes up the San Juan River and visited remote villages that remain unaffected by the modern world. We supplied the villagers with food, money, and supplies (such as weed-whackers) to aid them in clearing their land, in order to plant crops.  After spending two weeks with the Panamanian children, I was certain that I wanted to travel with my youth group again, the following summer.

            In June 2004, I traveled with the same church group to El Paso, Texas where we spent three and a half weeks aiding the poverty stricken Mexican citizens who inhabited the border towns in the region. Every day we would pile into a mini-van, laden with food, blankets, and stuffed animals for the children. We would cross the border into Juarez, Mexico and distribute the much needed supplies. For two separate weeks we also set up a children’s day camp at one of the Mexican church compounds. We used our mini-van to transport children from around the city to the church, where we gave them their first taste of summer camp.

             I remember spending steaming hot afternoons dressed in a heavy corduroy jump suit, while the sweat on my forehead made the clown make-up I was wearing run down my face. Dressed in costumes, we sang with the children, played games, provided snack, and did art projects. The boys in my group would start soccer games with the scrappy Mexican children, out on the grassless dirt compounds.

            Due to these prior experiences, I was not the least bit hesitant to apply as a senior for the Media Efficiency and Democracy in Action (MEDIA) exchange trip to Amman, Jordan. Made possible by the support of the U.S. Department of State and The United Palestinian Appeal (UPA), a local NGO called Project Harmony sent ten American high school students to spend the month of April 2006 in Jordan’s capital, Amman. This was the first exchange program that Project Harmony had sponsored to the Middle East.

            After 8 weeks of training in Arabic, as well as cultural education training, we flew sixteen hours to Amman, where we met up with our five Jordanian and five Palestinian refugee counterparts. The exchange trip included supervised trips around Amman where we observed and deconstructed media images, allowing the city's environment to serve as a living classroom. Armed with pens, paper, video cameras, and other media technology, we put our media education skills to work creating video journals and interpreting media images through writing, drawing, and speaking.

            We visited multiple organizations such as The Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Development (JOHUD), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and The Queen Zein Al-Sharaf Institute for Development (ZENID) where we gained an increased understanding of issues affecting youth in Jordan. We also had the opportunity to visit historically and culturally significant sites such as Petra and Jarash and we spent days traveling through the Palestinian refugee camps of Al-Baqa’a, Wihdat, and Zarqa outside of Amman.  There were many times during the trip when I realized that I was witnessing history.

            We experienced the culture and traditions of the Middle East firsthand by staying with host families while we were in Jordan. I was also privileged to write a weekly column in the local newspaper back home, where I was interning at the time. I wrote daily accounts of my experiences that I emailed to the editor-in-chief of The Valley Reporter in Waitsfield, Vermont. These accounts were published for the local community and served as a successful means of communication between the MEDIA team members and our local community back home.

            This was my first experience as a correspondent for a news agency and it has since proven to be one of the most memorable moments in my life, thus far. During this trip, I became sure of my desire to pursue a career in journalism, continuing to learn about people, cultures, and sharing these experiences with the world.

            As an extremely outgoing, charismatic individual, I feel that television broadcast reporting is the best journalistic medium for me to work in. I am an individual who enjoys the fast pace of the broadcast world, as well as the social and performing qualities of the profession. I feel that the personal interaction involved in broadcast can often be the most effective form of journalism. A reporter plays an important role in informing the viewer about topics of the utmost importance in their lives.

By CATHERINE MOORE