#gdpr standard

[siscertglobal]

[trainsinanime]

I've seen a number of people worried and concerned about this language on Ao3s current "agree to these terms of service" page. The short version is:

Don't worry. This isn't anything bad. Checking that box just means you forgive them for being US American.

Long version: This text makes perfect sense if you're familiar with the issues around GDPR and in particular the uncertainty about Privacy Shield and SCCs after Schrems II. But I suspect most people aren't, so let's get into it, with the caveat that this is a Eurocentric (and in particular EU centric) view of this.

The basic outline is that Europeans in the EU have a right to privacy under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), an EU directive (let's simplify things and call it an EU law) that regulates how various entities, including companies and the government, may acquire, store and process data about you.

The list of what counts as data about you is enormous. It includes things like your name and birthday, but also your email address, your computers IP address, user names, whatever. If an advertiser could want it, it's on the list.

The general rule is that they can't, unless you give explicit permission, or it's for one of a number of enumerated reasons (not all of which are as clear as would be desirable, but that's another topic). You have a right to request a copy of the data, you have a right to force them to delete their data and so on. It's not quite on the level of constitutional rights, but it is a pretty big deal.

In contrast, the US, home of most of the world's internet companies, has no such right at a federal level. If someone has your data, it is fundamentally theirs. American police, FBI, CIA and so on also have far more rights to request your data than the ones in Europe.

So how can an American website provide services to persons in the EU? Well… Honestly, there's an argument to be made that they can't.

US websites can promise in their terms and conditions that they will keep your data as safe as a European site would. In fact, they have to, unless they start specifically excluding Europeans. The EU even provides Standard Contract Clauses (SCCs) that they can use for this.

However, e.g. Facebook's T&Cs can't bind the US government. Facebook can't promise that it'll keep your data as secure as it is in the EU even if they wanted to (which they absolutely don't), because the US government can get to it easily, and EU citizens can't even sue the US government over it.

Despite the importance that US companies have in Europe, this is not a theoretical concern at all. There have been two successive international agreements between the US and the EU about this, and both were struck down by the EU court as being in violation of EU law, in the Schrems I and Schrems II decisions (named after Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist who sued in both cases).

A third international agreement is currently being prepared, and in the meantime the previous agreement (known as "Privacy Shield") remains tentatively in place. The problem is that the US government does not want to offer EU citizens equivalent protection as they have under EU law; they don't even want to offer US citizens these protections. They just love spying on foreigners too much. The previous agreements tried to hide that under flowery language, but couldn't actually solve it. It's unclear and in my opinion unlikely that they'll manage to get a version that survives judicial review this time. Max Schrems is waiting.

So what is a site like Ao3 to do? They're arguably not part of the problem, Max Schrems keeps suing Meta, not the OTW, but they are subject to the rules because they process stuff like your email address.

Their solution is this checkbox. You agree that they can process your data even though they're in the US, and they can't guarantee you that the US government won't spy on you in ways that would be illegal for the government of e.g. Belgium. Is that legal under EU law? …probably as legal as fan fiction in general, I suppose, which is to say let's hope nobody sues to try and find out.

But what's important is that nothing changed, just the language. Ao3 has always stored your user name and email address on servers in the US, subject to whatever the FBI, CIA, NSA and FRA may want to do it. They're just making it more clear now.

[michellesanches]

Data transfers based on the old EU SCC’s must be replaced before 21 March 2024

In February 2022, the UK introduced the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) and the UK Addendum to the European Commission’s new standard contractual clauses (new EU SCCs). These documents, essential for data protection in the post-Brexit era, are designed to ensure that personal data transfers from the UK to countries not covered by the UK’s adequacy regulations comply with the UK��

[nikhilahuja45]

The GDPR aims to increase individuals’ access to personal data. This is aimed at standardizing data protection practices across the European Union or EU. The General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR was in effect in 2018. The main aim is to establish standards for businesses to adhere to.

[cybervehiclebuilding]

Top 4 application security trends that can’t be ignored

Web applications and APIs are the primary means by which a company interacts with its customers. This makes application security a top-of-mind concern for all companies. In addition, the consistent rise in common vulnerabilities in web interface applications and the need to secure them against evolving cyber threats has assumed a critical role in organizations’ application security strategy. According to the SISA Top 5 Forensic-driven Learnings report, lack of application security causes 27% of breaches whilst contributing to 46% of them. Importantly, the initial access into the environment via a web-based application exploit is seen to occur mainly in the UAT environment and/or other non-critical virtual local area networks (VLANs), thus underscoring the importance of implementing a robust application security program.

[digitalcreationsllc]

Europe Clamps Down on Meta Ad Personalization

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) , Standards, Regulations & Compliance Company Rolls Out a Paid Subscription for Ad-Free Use Akshaya Asokan (asokan_akshaya) • November 3, 2023     Social media giant Meta faces a possible ban within the next 10 days across Europe on the consent-free use of personal data for ad personalization. See Also: Live Webinar | Generative AI: Myths, Realities…

[ms-demeanor]

any thoughts on the new post that staff went scorched earth on which is now making the rounds abt tumblr live? it basically screenshots all the tos and claims if you've ever opened the app (or in some rbs, unsnoozed live) tumblr has gotten your data. on the one hand i feel like this is fearmongering, but on the other its true that MOST sites have your data as is so its pretty standard. you seem pretty knowledgeable abt data gathering so i was wondering abt your take

This is going to be pretty unkind but watching tumblr users interact with staff and live is a great primer on how conspiracy theories happen.

Nobody on this fucking website knows how to read a ToS, nobody on this website knows how anything fucking works (sorry, this is not a dig at you but how would tumblr "get" your data from you clicking or unclicking live; the only data that tumblr has on you is the data that you have put on tumblr what data do people think that clicking the "new" button is scooping up that is anything beyond interactions or posts or IP addresses which are the things that tumblr already has information about like you do not introduce new information into the tumblr ecosystem by clicking a button you haven't installed anything you haven't changed permissions on your browser if everyone is so goddamned scared about live stealing their data i strongly recommend they stop using anything but public internet through an anonymizer and making sure location data is shut off on all of their devices and anyone who is flipping their shit about the type of data that live is collecting but who is using chrome on any device needs to chill the fuck out about live and flip the fuck out about google)

this is like that post about twitter's content policy that circulated the other day or that post about deviantart's content policy that circulated ten fucking years ago nobody knows how to read legal documents and nobody knows how to read technical documentation and this comes together into unholy matrimony on the no reading comprehension at all moral panic website

live never violated the GDPR it was just rolled out in the US first but the entire userbase decided that because it hadn't been rolled out simultaneously in the EU and the US that it was SO UNSPEAKABLY PRIVACY VIOLATEY THAT THE EU HAD BANNED IT FOR ITS CRIMES with, like, nothing whatsoever backing that up because, again, even at its most intrusive Live collects about as much data as Twitter or Yelp, both of which are *capable* of meeting GDPR standards with that level of data collection (even if musk sometimes makes decisions that violate GDPR).

Live is significantly less intrusive than any facebook product, than Amazon, and than any Google product. If you use youtube logged in, don't worry about live, the horse is out of the barn and tumblr is the least of your worries *regardless* of live. If you regularly use Google as a search engine please god learn how to evaluate and compare risks across platforms because Live is like a coughing baby compared to about a dozen things that most highly online people interact with every single day.

If you don't want to use live don't use live. Clicking the button doesn't magically transfer your secret FBI file to tumblr and even agreeing to the ToS doesn't share anything that tumblr doesn't already have if you don't continue to interact - if you don't interact with live after agreeing to the ToS it's not collecting any data except your non-interaction.

For everyone who is losing it over Live just turn off your goddamned location on your fucking cellphone and turn off your location on your goddamned computers and that's it, you're good, you're fine, relax. If your response to "turn off your location" is "but I need it for _____" then don't worry about Live, whatever "_____" is was already collecting and selling your data.

Do you use an activity tracker? Congrats, you have much, much bigger privacy issues to worry about than tumblr live.

Okay but also I yelled about that post and the very many ways in which it was incorrect in January.

And I happened to take an archive of the page at that time because I'm a paranoid motherfucker.

And if you want my guess as to why staff went "scorched earth" on that post it's probably because if you scroll down to the bottom of the page on the archive, OP calls on everyone looking at the post to send a kind fuck you to the CEO then tagged his tumblr.

If you look at the other posts that went scorched earth in relation to tumblr staff they were also posts that very pointedly directed a lot of ire at a single staff member.

I don't think that any individual tumblr staff members are above criticism and I don't think that staff as a whole is above criticism but part of learning to read a ToS is understanding that someone can be shitty and vague and use TERF talking points and skirt the line and be technically okay under the ToS while someone can have a legitimate gripe about another user being horrible and manage to violate the ToS by accidentally spinning up a harassment campaign or suicide baiting someone.

Shitty people like nazis and terfs thrive on being edge cases. They are very good at finding a boundary and standing juuuuuuuuust on this side of it and going "la la la I'm not violating the ToS, you can't stop me!" and that blows and it leads to a lot of people encountering a lot of shitty stuff on a lot of websites but personally I'm pretty glad that there's a lot of gray area because when you cut out gray area that's when you see things like It's Going Down getting banned as extremist content alongside white supremacists. Please continue to report nazis and terfs, and when possible go deep into their pages to report because a pattern of behavior is more likely to get recognized as hate speech than a single post that gets reported a hundred times. Please block as many people who it's harmful for you to interact with as possible because it's clear that staff is not going to do the kind of work protecting users that users would like staff to do.

However I just can't get angry on behalf of a blogger who got nuked for saying "Hey everyone who hates this feature that we all hate please go tell the CEO to fuck himself at this URL specifically" - that is an extremely clear violation of the ToS because it is absolutely targeted harassment.

So now tumblr-the-userbase is going off on its merry conspiracy way skipping through fields and lacking reading comprehension and saying "users are getting banned for reporting the crimes of tumblr live and its gdpr violations" and ignoring the fact that the post was nuked because the last line was saying "hey everyone, let's all individually tell the CEO to fuck off in messages sent directly to him that are certainly not going to include any threats, exaggerations, gore, etc. etc. etc."

If I were to make a post that had 50k notes and the last line was "and while you're at it, please send tumblr-user-ms-demeanor a personalized message telling them why they're a terrible person so they know what we think of them" it would absolutely be reasonable to say that was harassing that user. And that post did it with the CEO. Who is not above criticism (and I have my criticisms! I don't think he really gets tumblr and that's a problem!), but jesus fucking christ don't tag the goddamned CEO or any other staff member in a call to action asking users to send them messages saying "fuck off" this is literally the stupidest thing I've ever seen a tumblr conspiracy theory coalesce around.

Anyway thank you for giving me a place to vent i've been getting more and more pissed about this for three days. Everyone feel free to kindly tell tumblr user ms demeanor to fuck off.

[regicidal-defenestration]

Hey Red Valley fans have you ever wanted to know how many times they violate the UK Data Protection Act 2018

[ID: An article titled, "I sat down and counted the GDPR violations in fiction podcast Red Valley", with subheader, "Or, just because you're carrying out human experimentation doesn't mean you can let data protection standards slip." End ID]

[patantasma]

For anyone going on misskey, please be aware that you won’t be able to join if you’re from the EU. They can’t comply with GDPR and UK GDPR standards.

[ketrindoll]

Olympic disinformation and how ruzzians are behind it AGAIN

So, just for context, this post will be about the recent firehose of falsehoods about the boxing match between the Italian Angela Carini and Algerian Imane Khelif.

First of all, it's clear that Imane is no man. Algeria posted her childhood photos, her own father was against her boxing for it being unbecoming for girls, and Algeria itself is not exactly a liberal paradise full of LGBTQ athletes. Besides, Khelif got eliminated after the quarterfinal during the last Olympics, so clearly, there are plenty of those who punch harder. Meanwhile Italian participating in the "who can punch harder" sport had a breakdown over being punched hard. Truly surprised Pikachu face.

But you're going to say "hey, you Baltic russophobe, what does Russia have to do with this??" Well, buckle-up, because I'm about to serve you a huge scoop of russo-realism.

Just for context, I like to track russian media. It helps me find easy arguments why ruzzians are degenerate pieces of shit and proof of their imperialist genocidal mentality. So I learned about supposed trans-athlete beating the crap out of poor Italian from their media channels first, before I saw it spread like wildfire everywhere else. Ruzzians currently have a trend of jumping on every story that could discredit Paris Olympics, so they're now apparently against "men beating women". Which is ironic, because domestic violence is legal in ruzzia, so they would totally participate in "beat tf out of your wife" Olympics, but probably get disqualified for doping.

Of course, these news proved to be false, to the embarrassing shame of every bigot and their mother JK Rowling, who recently proved that her every braincell has successfully made an exit. But then new falsehood popped up, the one that even trans-supporting people shared as an argument why Khelif should be allowed to participate in women's sports. The lie was that she is a hermaphrodite, born with XY chromosomes.

This lie was, of course, fully spread in the russian media. I'd even argue they spread it first. But what is it based on?

Well, take a bowl of popcorn, because I'm about to drop my main argument.

The lie about Imane Khelif being of neutral sex first spread after she and South Korean boxer got disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA, not to be confused with IBF(federation)). And who is the head of this association? Certain ruzzian Umar Kremlev. Due to his leadership IBA has been involved in several controversies. Including the supposed DNA test that they took of the Algerian boxer that apparently proved that she's a man. Of course, no official record of such test exists. Not to mention, no sports federation/association normally conducts such tests, at least I never heard of it. When questions started pouring about the legitimacy of this disqualification argument, IBA quickly changed their tune, now stating that "a special test was conducted, the nature of it cannot be revealed due to data privacy reasons". Lolol so now when it was time to produce proof, ruzzians suddenly care about GDPR. It's fair to say, all of it was bogus.

But why would ruzzians have beef with Algeria? Who knows. They genuinely dislike everyone, and given that ruzzia is a mafia state, maybe the South Korean and Algerian athletes would mess up their rigged games and sports bets. Ok, but let's play the devil's advocate and assume that Umar Kremlev is the only ruzzian in a position of power who cares about fairness and doing things by the book. Then the only reason why Imane got disqualified would be over-the-norm testosterone levels. It could very much be that IBA has stricter standards for substance use than IBF or Olympics.

The arguments I'm about to present are based on the knowledge of three people that I know: a professional basketball player, a former sports official for the government, and ye humble pee collect... ehm, professional doping tester.

Essentially, every athlete uses substances. Vitamins, certain performance drugs, protein, etc etc. Think of it as that one mate of yours who drinks protein powder after every gym session. Testosterone is a common substance for female athletes, because it enhances strength by improving muscle build and retention. That is why men are objectively physically stronger. So, testosterone is one of the substances that is heavily limited for female athletes. Additionally, sports federations and associations really do have different, sometimes stricter, normatives than Olympics. But that's where Kremlev-lead IBA argument is so fake: if Khelif really was over the limit of performance-enhancing substances, they could've simply stated that she used doping. Clearly, she did not.

But let's assume again that disqualification and prior Olympic failure caused her to pump herself with testosterone and beat her way to the gold. Her norm-breaking testosterone levels would soon get proved by regular doping tests that all athletes go through after every game. And she would get disqualified. Because even if she naturally produces more testosterone, that's still breaking the Olympic normatives and giving her the unfair advantage that other countries would soon Pterodactyl-scream over to protect the chances of their own athletes. This is why ruzzia cannot compete anymore - they doped too much and too often. Being genocidal war criminals is just a cherry on top. Their state-enforced pumping of doping was so severe and open and annoyingly bold, even slightly corrupt Olympic committee couldn't ignore it anymore.

So, if the Algerian boxer is overdoing with performance enhancing drugs, she will soon get disqualified and case will be closed.

But given the fact that russians have lied about her in the past and are now flooding social media with even more propaganda, and the fact that there is no proof whatsoever that she's not 100% biologically female, and the fact that this isn't even the first time that Italian boxer pulled "owie owie, it huwts" stunt during a match, it's fair to say that Imane Khelif is just a good boxer. Even Italian boxer's coach tried to justify her dying swan stunt by saying she has sinus issues, and that's why it hurt more. But I guess bitch had sinus issues for years, cause Imane is not her first victim.

So, to summarise, there are many falsehoods. Many of those are created by ruzzia, others are just spread by them to discredit the West, the Olympics, or the decent part of humanity in general. Ruzzians are doping-gulping, cheating, women-hating, propaganda-spreading assholes. Angela Carini should be banned from boxing for being unable to handle boxing itself. And Imane Khelif, a 100% biological woman, deserved that win.

[mythaura-blog]

Development Update - February 2023

Hi there folks, Miyazaki here with Mythaura’s development update for the month of February!

Topics covered include:

Mythaura Age of Use Policy Update

About Page Expansion

Feature Spotlight: Elements

Beast Species Sizes

Ko-fi Q3 2023 Assets

Beast Creator Contest

More info available under the cut!

Mythaura Age of Use Policy Update

Starting today, March 1, 2023, Mythaura users must be 16 years of age in order to use the site and/or participate in the Discord community. This policy will be enforced starting immediately.

Article 8 of the EU's GDPR forbids collection of data from anyone under the age of 16. The GDPR sets a general age of consent at 16, which means a business cannot "legally process the data of a data subject 15 years-old or younger." In cases where you work with the data of children under 16, you can only process the data with permission from their parent or guardian.

About Us Page Expansion

We have updated our About Page with some more info about the game and features we have planned. There will be even more updates to this page as we continue to develop Mythaura’s core features.

Feature Spotlight: Elements

Mythaura is a world of magical creatures, each born with two elements. These cosmic elements are mysterious and powerful, imbuing the beasts of Mythaura with abilities that give them unique powers.

The first element is based on their species. For example, Griffins have the Air element, granting them incredible flight speed and agility. In addition to their species element, each beast is also given a second element that is cosmically-aligned with the time of day they were born. When both the species element and the personal element of a beast are the same, both the strengths and weaknesses of that element are compounded.

Elements are an important part of the day-to-day life of all Mythaurans. They are part of each beast’s identity, can determine what sorts of jobs they are well suited for, and can turn the tide in battle.

Read through Mythaura's elements more in-depth here!

We've also created Discord roles for each element; feel free to rep your element in the official Mythaura Discord server!

Beast Sizes

Each beast species in Mythaura has standard ranges for height and weight; a beast's size is determined at birth, influenced in part by genetics from its parents, in part by other non-hereditary factors. All beasts will always fall within this predetermined size range: as shown in the example below, the largest adult Basilisk will never be larger than the smallest adult Ryu.

All beasts will receive stat bonuses and penalties based on how they size up against the species's average size, and can use these stats to strategic advantage in battle.

Read more about the heights, weights, and elements assigned to each beast species here for more info!

Quarter 3 (2023) Rewards Reveal

Our Quarter 3 rewards have been completed and are ready for their public debut! Thank you to the Ko-fi Sponsors who voted on the different Glamour and Companion concepts, we appreciate your support and feedback.

Q3 (2023) Glamour: Tainted Claws

Q3 (2023) Companion: Shimmer Kelp-Dancer

Q3 (2023) Solid Gold Glamour: Kirin

Beast Design Contest

We’re back with another Beast Design Contest! We’re looking forward to all the fantastic creations that this community comes up with.

Here are the parameters:

Each individual can submit one (1) Beast option for consideration

Any species fine (babies included)

Fill out Google form; provide both a picture and the preview code

We’ll pick three winners to have their Beasts featured on the front page for Quarter 4 (April 1 -June 30). Winners will also receive:

1x Beta Key

1x Quarter 3 (2023) Skin: Tainted Claws

1x Quarter 3 (2023) Companion: Shimmer Kelp-Dancer

These rewards will be applied directly to your account.

Submissions for the Beast Design Contest are due by March 15, 2023. The form will close at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be announced in the April 1, 2023 Development Update.

Miscellaneous

3 Companion sponsorship slots added to Ko-fi shop. Reminder that these are one per customer per month and first come first serve.

You can now copy the import code from offspring in our predictor by clicking on the image of the generated offspring.

The creator UI has been cleaned up, moving the settings to a better location, condensing some of the elements, and adding a species info dialog.

Code Log

Mythaura v0.12

Turn cleanup and adds s3 support for demo battler images

Modifies species endpoint to include size & element data

Renames “aura” stat to “focus”

Generates offspring code with predictions

Updates & fixes bugs in battle state management

Includes more data on the Elements endpoint

Fixes bug with updating species data in CMS

Implements support for stat changes on accuracy, critical chance, evasion, damage dealt, and damage taken

Implements support for surge abilities

Implements support for custom ability classes

Adds check & event dispatch for battle resolution

Made some mobile Optimizations

Fixed issues with ability animations in battle

Made adjustments to battle UI

Made progress on turn resolution

Thank You!

We appreciate you sticking through to the end of this month’s updates!

Check back in soon for beast descriptions, so many incredible Ko-fi sponsored items, new quarterly rewards to vote on, expanded information about elements, a deeper look into the movements of Mythaura's cosmos, and so much more.

See you around the Discord!

[siscertglobal]

[professorstrauss]

For attention of technicians in the female arousal research department.

A number of researchers have become distracted by the test subjects' facial expressions during examinations and procedures recently; this has led to unusable results, and experiments having to be repeated, costing the company valuable time and money.

In order to prevent future occurrences such as this, we will be obscuring test subjects' heads/faces with a surgical drape.

We have already preempted the issue of identifying the individual test subjects without their faces available to view, and recommend the following measure:

Serial numbers tattooed inside the labia.

As well as removing the necessity to view any part of the test subject besides the genital region, this will have the added bonus of anonymising the test subjects, and preventing any breaches of GDPR.

Tattoos will be administered by a trained medical tattooist tomorrow morning during round 1 examinations.

Please monitor arousal of the test subjects using the standard engorgement and moisture level analyses during tattooing.

This procedure will replace the usual morning sounding tests.

Results to be inputted into the spreadsheet in time for the 1pm briefing.

Thank you.

[frank-olivier]

Regulating for Harmony: AI, Privacy, and the Quest for Equilibrium in the Digital Era

In the intricate landscape of the digital era, the interplay between Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation and privacy concerns presents a profound challenge, necessitating a nuanced regulatory approach to maintain equilibrium. Julie Brill, Microsoft’s Chief Privacy Officer, offers invaluable expertise, garnered from her distinguished career spanning regulatory bodies and the tech industry, to inform this delicate balancing act.

The convergence of regulatory frameworks for AI and privacy, as evidenced by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the proposed AI Act, sets a significant precedent. This harmonization, potentially to be emulated by the United States, with California at the vanguard, underscores the growing acknowledgment that AI’s development and deployment must be inextricably linked with robust privacy safeguards. To achieve this synergy, policymakers, innovators, and privacy advocates must collaborate on crafting a regulatory framework that reconciles innovation with protection, ensuring the digital ecosystem’s alignment with societal values.

Effective regulation is distinguished not solely by its legislative provisions, but critically by the efficacy of its enforcement mechanisms. The GDPR and California’s data breach notification law exemplify this dual imperative, demonstrating how well-crafted regulations can elevate global standards and cultivate a culture of accountability among organizations. This emphasis on both regulation and enforcement highlights the complexity of striking a harmonious balance between the imperative to innovate and the necessity to protect.

In navigating this complex digital terrain, Brill’s career trajectory offers instructive guidance. By embracing interdisciplinary approaches, fostering dialogue between regulatory, technical, and privacy disciplines, and engaging in open communication, professionals can navigate the intertwined realms of AI and privacy with greater agility. In an era where these domains are increasingly interdependent, such adaptability and collaborative spirit will be essential for maintaining equilibrium.

The pursuit of regulatory harmony in the digital age is contingent upon addressing several pivotal challenges, including the cultivation of international cooperation to establish adaptable yet consistent standards, the innovation of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) to guarantee anonymization, and the enhancement of public and regulatory literacy regarding the intricate relationships between AI, privacy, and effective regulation. By addressing these challenges through a concerted effort, we can foster a digital ecosystem where technological innovation, privacy, and regulation coexist in a state of dynamic equilibrium.

Brill’s insights underscore that regulating for harmony in the digital era is a continuous process, demanding ongoing collaboration, adaptation, and a deepening understanding of the interplay between AI, privacy, and regulation. By embracing this challenge, we can ensure the digital landscape evolves in a manner that enriches lives while respecting the privacy and dignity of all, striking a lasting harmony between innovation and protection.

Julie Brill with Prof. Aileen Nielsen: Artificial Intelligence & The Future of Privacy (The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, December 2024)

Monday, December 9, 2024

[buzzlyonline]

The Future of Digital Marketing: Trends You Can't Afford to Miss in 2024

Digital marketing is evolving at a rapid pace, and staying ahead of the curve is essential for businesses that want to remain competitive. As we step into 2024, several key trends are reshaping the landscape of digital marketing. These trends reflect changes in technology, consumer behavior, and market dynamics. Let’s dive into the most significant digital marketing trends that you can’t afford to miss in 2024.

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been steadily gaining traction in digital marketing, and 2024 is set to see even greater adoption of AI-driven tools. AI is already being used for predictive analytics, personalized content delivery, and chatbots that enhance customer experience. In 2024, AI-powered platforms will play an even bigger role in creating tailored marketing campaigns, optimizing ad spend, and predicting consumer behavior with incredible accuracy.

Automation, alongside AI, will continue to streamline marketing processes. Automated email marketing, social media scheduling, and content curation are now standard, but advancements in AI will make automation even smarter. Marketers can expect to automate more complex tasks, such as customer segmentation and dynamic ad creation, allowing businesses to focus on creative strategy rather than repetitive tasks.

2. Voice Search and Conversational Marketing

Voice search is transforming the way consumers find information. With the rise of smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home, more people are using voice search to interact with brands. By 2024, voice search optimization will be crucial for businesses that want to maintain their visibility online.

Conversational marketing, which focuses on real-time, one-on-one connections between marketers and consumers, will also grow in importance. AI-driven chatbots and messaging platforms will become even more sophisticated, making it easier to engage with customers at any point in their buying journey. Personalization through conversational AI will help businesses deliver the right message at the right time, increasing customer engagement and satisfaction.

3. The Rise of Short-Form Video Content

Short-form video content, popularized by platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, is expected to dominate digital marketing in 2024. Consumers prefer quick, digestible content, and businesses must adapt by creating more short videos that are engaging and to the point. Brands will need to focus on storytelling, creativity, and humor to capture the attention of their target audience in mere seconds.

Additionally, live streaming will continue to grow, offering businesses the opportunity to connect with their audience in real time. Whether it's product launches, Q&A sessions, or live events, live streaming offers an interactive experience that fosters brand loyalty and trust.

4. Personalization at Scale

Consumers today expect personalized experiences, and in 2024, the ability to offer personalized content at scale will be a key differentiator for brands. With the help of AI and data analytics, marketers can deliver highly tailored content that resonates with individual consumers. This includes personalized email campaigns, product recommendations, and even website experiences that adapt to user behavior in real time.

Personalization will not just be about addressing the consumer by name. Instead, it will focus on delivering the right content, products, and messages based on consumers’ preferences, past behavior, and even their current mood. Brands that succeed in personalizing their marketing efforts at scale will see higher engagement and customer retention.

5. Privacy and Data Protection

In 2024, data privacy will continue to be a critical concern for both consumers and marketers. With new regulations like the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) setting strict guidelines on data usage, businesses must prioritize transparency and ethical data handling.

Marketers will need to focus on first-party data collection methods, as reliance on third-party cookies fades due to privacy concerns. Building trust with consumers by being clear about how data is used will be essential. This shift will challenge marketers to get creative with how they gather and utilize customer information in a way that balances personalization with privacy.

Conclusion

As we look toward 2024, digital marketing is set to become more advanced, automated, and personalized than ever before. Businesses that embrace AI, short-form video content, voice search, and data privacy will be well-positioned to succeed in the ever-changing digital landscape. Staying ahead of these trends will be crucial for maintaining a competitive edge and delivering meaningful, personalized experiences to customers in the digital age.

[rajibperfection]

A Review on Merlin Lifetime deals.

It’s hard to believe AI tools help you work smarter when you’re still stuck switching between tabs to get things done. (“Just call me an AI assistant juggler.”)

With so many AI models and features on the market, you’re using way too much tech to research and generate different types of content.

What if there was a Chrome extension packed with all the AI models you need to speed up your research and content creation process?

Overview:

Merlin is a Chrome browser extension and web app that gives you access to popular AI models to research, summarize, and write content.

      Best for: 

Alternatives to:Integrations:Main Features:

Educators

Marketers

Small businesses

Copy.ai

Grammarly

Jasper

Facebook

Gmail

LinkedIn

Outlook

Twitter

GDPR-compliant

AI

Pros and cons:

Chat with leading AI models, from one browser

With Merlin, you’ll receive access to prominent AI models, like GPT-4, Claude-3, Gemini 1.5, Leonardo, and others—all from your Chrome web browser.

No more moving between browser tabs! Use Merlin’s AI Chatbot on every websites you visit.

Use complex image-generation models to develop captivating brand storylines.

Plans & features

Deal terms & conditions

Lifetime access to Merlin

All future Pro Plan updates

If Plan name changes, deal will be mapped to the new Plan name with all accompanying updates

No codes, no stacking—just choose the plan that’s right for you

You must activate your license within 60 days of purchase

Ability to upgrade between 3 license tiers while the deal is available

Ability to downgrade between 3 license tiers within 60 days of purchase

GDPR compliant

Available for new Merlin users and returning AppSumo purchasers

Previous AppSumo customers who purchased Merlin can upgrade their license to increase their feature limits

1 Merlin query = 1 Chat GPT 3.5 query

Find all other AI model Query Standards here

All purchasers subject to Merlin’s Terms & Conditions

60 day money-back guarantee. Try it out for 2 months to make sure it’s right for you!

Features included in all plans

Chat with documents

Image generation

Chatbots

Chat with web pages

YouTube summarization

Blog summarization

Twitter, Gmail, Outlook, and LinkedIn FAB bars

LinkedIn Pro connect

Create from YouTube

Post in YouTube comments

AI personas