The Orange Chair

businessweek.com has a good article, Online Privacy’s Call to Arms, highlighting some of the difficulties that companies trying to set up online communities have with regards to user privacy. I’ve clipped a part from the the end of the article that contains some good examples and some good recommendations (which I have placed in bold):

‘Already, companies such as Google, which is seeking European Commission approval to merge with another data giant, ad firm DoubleClick, have limited the length of time for which they store search data tied to particular Web browsers and computers. And Google, Time Warner’s (TWX) AOL, and others have promised to better, and more clearly, notify users when their data is being tracked. AOL, which has faced privacy-related suits in the past, began rolling out banner ads at the end of 2007 that alert users to their data being collected. “The keys are transparency and control,” says Google spokeswoman Victoria Grand.

The real key may be that users already have more control than Web companies previously thought. With many similar sites on the Web, users can easily leave one for another that better protects their privacy. That’s what IAC/InterActive’s (IACI) Ask.com is hoping—the search engine announced a tool that enables users to keep their search data from being tracked. “In practice, there still tends to be competition to get users to your free service,” says Edelman. “It doesn’t ring true to say, if you want to use our free service, you have to jump through these hoops.” ‘

A competitive advantage will go to Web 2.0 companies that stride to offer better transparency and control with regards to privacy.