54% of Canadians are active Facebook users. However, our love of being able to easily connect with others does not overrule our need for privacy as demonstrated by issues raised by Sincere Cheong and Blessie Canete.

Facebook (Source: TechVibes)

I agree with Sincere that agreeing to a website’s terms of service with a nonchalant click of a button makes it difficult to justify Facebook’s ability to perform consumer research on their users without their prior knowledge but with apparent consent. This has lead to the release of the Atlas digital marketing platform that Blessie is wary of, but it is also true that Facebook provides the value that we are looking for which is why, even with the knowledge that they are selling our information, we continue to use their service on a daily basis.

With the many companies that deal mostly with the web or with other forms of communication joining the world’s largest companies, it is easy to see why companies are eager to capitalize on digital marketing and gathering data from the information that potential customers release on the Internet. I can see this becoming the main form of market research because of the far-reaching information that is so readily available and is an accurate reflection of their current customer.