How About Some Holiday Cookies? Tracking Cookies, That Is

By Angie Moore

I know many people are in the final countdown to taking some time off for the end of the year and holidays—so I’ve got a little gift for you in today’s blog. I’m a bit of a geek, so I think it is so much fun but it can be a little scary, too.

Go to www.ghostery.com and download the tracking extension. Once you install it onto whatever browser you are using, a little “ghost” will appear. Now, start visiting some of your common websites and let the fun begin. Here is how Ghostery describes what it does for us as consumers:

“Ghostery Inc. is a global marketing technology company that provides online transparency and control to individuals and businesses. For individuals, Ghostery’s easy-to-use browser add-on shows you all the companies that are tracking you when you visit a website. A browser add-on, also known as a browser extension, is an app that you can add to your Web browser on a desktop, laptop or mobile phone/tablet. The Ghostery add-on lets you learn more about the companies that are tracking you and the kinds of data they collect, and it allows you to block them from collecting data, if you choose.”

When I first installed it, I thought it was interesting that some of the websites I frequently visit had between five and 10 companies tracking my usage of the site. So imagine my surprise when I went to some other sites and a list of 28, 41 and 52 (the highest number I’ve found so far) companies and services tracking my website usage.

Once I was over the shock of the numbers, I really found it interesting to educate myself on what some of these things were and educate myself further as a marketer on the types of information that can be available on constituents.

So this was a double gift for me. 1) I have been able to make personal decisions about the kind of information I was comfortable with being tracked, and 2) I learned so much about the power of tracking data and how this helps us as marketers get as personal as possible with the customer experiences we are trying to create.

Now, go look at your tracking and have fun with it.

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Angie Moore Author's page

Vice President, Strategy & Development
Eleventy Marketing Group

Angie is ridiculously passionate about EVERYTHING she’s involved in — including the future and success of our nonprofit industry.

Angie is a senior exec with 25 years of experience in direct and relationship marketing. She is a C-suite consultant with experience over the years at both nonprofits and agencies. She currently leads strategy and development for marketing intelligence agency Eleventy Marketing Group. Previously she has worked at the innovative startup DonorVoice and as general manager of Merkle’s Nonprofit Group, as well as serving as that firm’s CRM officer charged with driving change within the industry. She also spent more 14 years leading the marketing, fundraising and CRM areas for two nationwide charities, The Arthritis Foundation and the American Cancer Society. Angie is a thought leader in the industry and is frequent speaker at events, and author of articles and whitepapers on the nonprofit industry. She also has received recognition for innovation and influence over the years.