I always thought that once the “general public” understood what a third-party cookie was, they would block/delete/refuse to accept them en masse. I have been predicting the demise of 3rd-party cookies since 2008, however it simply hasn’t happened. In fact the success of remarketing techniques illustrates people either don’t care about tracking technologies (i.e. invasiveness) or are oblivious to them… I discuss some of this in my recent ClickZ interview about Digital Trends for 2016.
The Cookie Poll
My rational for wishing to set a 3rd-party cookie on your browser is thus:-
I am experimenting with demographic reports in Google Analytics, as well remarketing my book to visitors on other websites. This means 3rd-party cookies are now set, instead of the default Google Analytics 1st-party cookie. All information is still anonymous, but a 3rd-party means that your anonymous information is shared with other websites that Google has an advertising relationship with.
This poll is a test of my hypothesis. The caveat being, if you are reading this post you are likely to be a lot more privacy savvy than the segment: “general public”, but my plan is to repost this question to a wider audience. Hence:
My real answer is between 1 and 2. It won’t stop me doing business but your stalking me around the web with your remarketing diminishes my trust in you.
I have guardedly tried remarketing Ads to see if they are any good but I wonder if pestering our intelligent prospects with remarketing Ads is a desperate annoyance.
@Chris – good points. As always, its a balance…