Bad Intentions, Meet Social Media

Though integrating social aspects to websites seems more and more to be a necessary factor in keeping up with the Joneses, there is such a thing as going social for the wrong reasons.  At the heart of the web 2.0 and social push is to deliver a better online experience for users.  If companies try to integrate social functionality without keeping the interests of users in focus, those companies won't come off as much more than wolves in a cheap sheep suits. 

A perfect example of this would be CBS , which is preparing a new video playback platform for its website.  The new design aims to allow users to access free high definition content without having to download it, to participate in viewing rooms where multiple users can watch the same content and discuss it simultaneously, and embed videos on their personal sites and profiles.  Pretty standard stuff for a big media group like CBS nowadays.  

The problem is that CBS is going about it for all the wrong reasons.  At the core of the redesign is a main goal of delivering more focused user information to advertising groups.  Users who want to access all the new "social" content will have to register and login, thereby sending very specific individual feedback to advertisers.  Those users who choose to embed the CBS player in their own websites or profiles will let advertisers know even more about themselves.  

Though social functionality is nice to have, CBS is side-stepping a very serious issue with users, and that is the issue of privacy.  You could have the prettiest social site on the net, but if you're handing over user information to advertisers, your user community might have a tiny issue with your motives.  Of course, CBS and all the other groups that do this sort of thing claim to be delivering the targeted information in the interests of delivering more focused advertisements that users will appreciate.  No matter how you spin it, it comes off invasive and not at all in the best interests of users.

This isn't the first time CBS has delivered new content to the public but had other intentions.  Just a couple months ago, CBS debuted a widget that was supposed to boost bloggers' income.  The only catch was that users would have to be in a city where CBS owned the local television station, and you had to apply for the widget online with CBS.  With ads large enough to justify buying a second monitor just to get your work done, CBS was even then working to spam bloggers with targeted advertising.  So much for good intentions. 

Advertising is the name of the game — I'm not denying that.  However, it is pretty easy to distinguish the groups that are really looking to deliver a unique and quality user experience through social applications and those that are out to make a buck.  Perhaps we should just accept that the biggest groups will always have skewed intentions, and the best platforms will be made by users, for users.