Currently, the airwaves are saturated with news of the presidential candidates’
efforts to woo voters and earn a shot at the nation’s highest office. Their speeches (and the media) have given everyone the impression that the new president will offer his or her prescription for the nation’s healthcare ills. This has prompted a battle between health policy wonks, corporations, politicians and ordinary citizens for the future of the American healthcare system.
While this sound and fury is certainly interesting, in some ways it is irrelevant.
Recent news reports indicate there are players in the areas of technology, marketing and social media who are uniquely suited to impact the health system in ways most politicians could not imagine. They are paying attention to the health industry because – with the aging of the population – it has the potential for exponential growth. Currently, they are jockeying for position in a bid to influence how Americans (and the world) manage their health.
My analysis of news coverage about these issues tells me this battle will be waged on three fronts:
-Privacy: Who can we trust when it comes to health privacy?
-Information: Who has access to the best information about the population’s health? How will they use it?
-Behavior Change: Behavioral targeting, online data mining . . . these are some of the tools that allow marketers to understand human behavior and preferences like never before. Evidence indicates that many are beginning to look at how they can be used to influence Americans’ health behaviors.
I believe these issues are so important that I will make them a major theme of my blog this year. I plan to ground my analysis of content I find on blogs, newspapers and magazines in the context of this largely unseen conflict.
My first post related to this subject will appear next week when I take a close look at a fascinating article that appeared in the New Yorker recently about Google, titled “The Search Party.” As I will discuss, Google’s forays into areas outside of its core online search business illustrates how it is uniquely positioned to impact privacy, information exchange and consumer behavior.
efforts to woo voters and earn a shot at the nation’s highest office. Their speeches (and the media) have given everyone the impression that the new president will offer his or her prescription for the nation’s healthcare ills. This has prompted a battle between health policy wonks, corporations, politicians and ordinary citizens for the future of the American healthcare system. While this sound and fury is certainly interesting, in some ways it is irrelevant.
Recent news reports indicate there are players in the areas of technology, marketing and social media who are uniquely suited to impact the health system in ways most politicians could not imagine. They are paying attention to the health industry because – with the aging of the population – it has the potential for exponential growth. Currently, they are jockeying for position in a bid to influence how Americans (and the world) manage their health.
My analysis of news coverage about these issues tells me this battle will be waged on three fronts:
-Privacy: Who can we trust when it comes to health privacy?
-Information: Who has access to the best information about the population’s health? How will they use it?
-Behavior Change: Behavioral targeting, online data mining . . . these are some of the tools that allow marketers to understand human behavior and preferences like never before. Evidence indicates that many are beginning to look at how they can be used to influence Americans’ health behaviors.
I believe these issues are so important that I will make them a major theme of my blog this year. I plan to ground my analysis of content I find on blogs, newspapers and magazines in the context of this largely unseen conflict.
My first post related to this subject will appear next week when I take a close look at a fascinating article that appeared in the New Yorker recently about Google, titled “The Search Party.” As I will discuss, Google’s forays into areas outside of its core online search business illustrates how it is uniquely positioned to impact privacy, information exchange and consumer behavior.
Can't wait to read it, Fard! You've always got something insightful and eloquent to say.
- christopher
Posted by: christopher | January 10, 2008 7:03 PM | Permalink to Comment