Making It Personal: How to Profit from Personalization without Invading Privacy

With the state of technology and the world being what they are, it's increasingly apparent that today's fledgling effort to capture and use personal data is merely an embryonic practice about to burst forth bigtime. Making It Personal examines the implications from a corporate point of view, offering suggestions on using personalization tools and techniques to create a win-win situation for all stakeholders in an organization. Bruce Kasanoff, a specialist in personalization, marketing, and the technology that brings them together, begins with the "one-to-one" concept articulated in 1993 by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers (who penned the book's foreword). But Kasanoff takes off in a new direction by focusing on the contradictions inherent in systems designed to boost profits through personalized interactions--and do so without invading privacy. Combining fictionalized anecdotes with real-world research, he explores current practices;, ways that developing technologies may change this tomorrow; how meaningful information might be extracted from the mass of newly available data; and some unintended consequences that could ultimately result. Understanding and using these principles, Kasanoff argues effectively, will lead to "reduced costs, increased revenues, and stronger loyalty" on all levels. -- Howard Rothman