(May 18, 2001) If you've taken our advice and installed Alexa on your computer, you are most likely going to get a $40 Check from the company. Alexa has proposed a settlement for a class action suit that claims that they used the service to collect personal data without authorization. To stay abreast of the status of your "windfall", simply register the email address that you used when you downloaded Alexa the first time.
It's Pandora's Box. Most of the readers of this newsletter hold substantial quantities of personal information in their databases. Whether or not you use Alexa, this lawsuit is interesting because the personal information police are beginning to have legal teeth. (In Europe, resume databases are much harder to manage. By law, the candidate continues to own the data even when it is in your hands.)
We, by the way, don't believe for a second that you should cease using Alexa. Loaded as a part of your browser, the tools gives contact information, related links, traffic rankings, reviews and other useful competitive intelligence. We generally suggest that any recruiter, marketer or executive who uses the web should have Alexa installed and operating.
If you are trying to figure out the competitive landscape, it gives you a start. If you want to compare your traffic with another site's, it gives you a way. If you want to call the owner of a website, it gives you the data. If you are sourcing people, it gives you related links.
And, like it or not, it's a way that users can post reviews about your web service
Without a doubt, Alexa is a singularly powerful tool for competitive intelligence. By agreeing to let Alexa monitor your surfing habits, a small price currently, you enable yourself to get a much better grasp of the market.
- John Sumser © TwoColorHat. All Rights Reserved.