Amazon.com's Privacy Policy

Amazon.com's privacy policy can be found at http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=468496

I like that they allow you to see how their policies have changed over the years. I'm also surprised at how much information is actually collected, such as cookies, when you open their emails, etc. Most surprising to me is the the info they get from unnamed "other sources," which upon further inspection includes your credit info!!!! They claim that it is to help with fraud, but I somehow am doubting that very much. They also pretty much state that the info you provide them and that they collect could end up anywhere due to their affiliates, independent stores, third-party service providers, etc. Of course they claim they follow the letter of the law when it comes to all of this sharing. To end on a high note, they do not allow children under 18 to purchase from them, they participate int eh Safe Harbor Program, and they encrypt all our collected info using SSL to help secure against unscrupulous hackers from obtaining and stealing from their customers.

All in all, I am a little more weary about the info that I want to share on Amazon and am a little unhappy with the amount I may have already shared. They are a stand up company I think, but I do think their may be too many hands in the cookie jar for them to be in complete control.

E-Commerce Site and Marketing Strategies

The E-commerce site that I chose to evaluate is actually the company that I work for. www.fanpagesforrealestate.com.

As a company we actually sell social media services to other companies as well as coaching to help them maximize their results. Social media is a huge part of our business and we have a Facebook fan page, Twitter, LinkedIn, You Tube, and a blog. On top of that, they are members of BNI networks, Active Rain, and several real estate groups that they regularly participate in. We have a graphic/web designer on board who works on our SEO presence. Currently, we also have partnerships with some mortgage companies and real estate education places to help facilitate word of mouth and to be included in their events. I am the one and only Social Media Consultant and therefore most of my job revolves around customer relationship management. The only things I see that we are not (yet anyway) participating in are the contextual advertising and affiliate marketing.