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After GDPR, here come the Unintended Consequences

There are the Obvious Results of the landmark legislation -- and then there are the hidden waves that ripple out later.

Barry Levine on May 25, 2018 at 8:11 am

It’s not the wave you’re expecting that knocks you down when you’re body surfing in the ocean. It’s the waves you didn’t expect, behind that first wave.

It’s the same with Unintended Consequences. And, given its complexity and scope, it’s likely that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — whose implementation begins today — will have plenty of those.

To sketch out the range of possibilities that haven’t been in the top predictions, we collected thoughts from a wide range of practitioners:

After years of trending toward faceless activities, SAP Ariba CMO Tifenn Dano Kwan told me, GDPR may ironically provide “an opportunity to put a face back on marketing and make it human and personal again.” While GDPR may limit “the personal data we can collect using format digital channels,” it may also open up new forms of personal connections. This could mean, for instance, marketers attending more sales meetings, hosting more networking events or conducting more in-person seminars, so they can “really see and hear their customers.”

[Read the full article on MarTech Today.]

About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.