Some of us marketers are in the unique position of being both an avid user of social networks and marketers trying to tap into and leverage their communities for our own personal gain or that of our clients'. So while I understand and even support, as a marketer, efforts by social networks and third parties (advertisers) to monitor my activities and interests and market to them, the avid user in me can't help but feel a little uneasy at "Big Brother" looking over my shoulder.

As marketers, we sometimes forget the personal attachment people have to their profiles and how protective they can be of their online identities. Some live vicariously through them and others see them as an online representation or extension of themselves. I think social networks understood that, which is why they were so reluctant initially to monetize their sites. As a user, I appreciated that. As a marketer, I was of course endlessly frusterated. And yet even post monetization, I haven't experienced what I would consider to be an invasion of privacy or the sense that I was being exploited (I was excluded from Facebook's Beacon program, thankfully).

That's perhaps why I was so interested in the announcement by Seth Goldstein, founder of San Francisco-based SocialMedia Networks, of "social banners" or display ads that turn you or your close friends into the hook of marketing message. The patent-pending algorithm basically looks at how you interact with friends through social media applications and identifies those you are closest to and hopefully those you are most likely to listen to (advocates). It then finds a way to work those individuals into ads served to you. Borrowing heavily from Google, the algorithm is called "FriendRank" and Goldstein and company are betting wisely that it will increase the level of engagement with ads, namely click-through rates. According to some preliminary numbers and tests with Unilever and Universal Pictures, SocialMedia Network reports that people are 200 times more likely to respond to social ads than non-social ads. Those are some prettly startling numbers. The marketer in me is practically salvating. Have we come that much closer to finding the magic bullet in social media?!

The avid user in me though, feels uneasy. Are they exploiting my relationships and status as purveyor of all things cool for their own personal gain? Are they volunteering me as an advocate for a brand or product unknowingly and without my permission? And if so, do those recommendations I made unwillingly affect my status, especially if they prove wrong? Will I be deemed less relevant by my peers? The fact that Goldstein has said publically that programs like Beacon are the future of this type of conversational marketing doesn't exactly ease my fears. I agree with him, but perhaps Beacon isn't the best example. The company has stressed that they will be sensitive to people's privacy and will allow people to easily opt-out of the program if they have any concerns. Then again, Beacon allowed you to opt-out as well. The problem was, people were angry because they had never explicitly opted in.

I believe the key to this all though is striking a balance between the need for privacy for some and relevancy for all. If they can accomplish that, they will have something extraordinary. And if anyone can make this work, it's Goldstein in my opinion. The man's a genuis. Both the marketer and the user in me are anxious to see what unfolds.