Under Strict Embargo

‘Phorm sees itself as offering a B2B product when in fact its service is profoundly B2B2C’.

Yes, and for a company which is promising to be so careful with our data it seems remarkably naivete about how the internet works. They are making very bullish statements to potential clients in the U.S. that imply they can know everything about us, whereas in the U.K. they apparently know nothing about us. Errr… through the miracle of the internet we can easily discover how they are selling themselves in the U.S. The dichotomy between their ‘end-user pitch’ and their ‘potential client pitch’, further calls into question their integrity.

USP for ISPs, yes, I would be briefing my agency and booking space now, so I would be ready to capitalise on the disaffection, dependent on the outcome.

Personally speaking I might even take Murdoch’s ’shilling’, now that is some serious disaffection.

Thanks for another interesting piece, Daljit.

If Phorm wanted to engage in a ‘Geek vs. Geek’ debate, why didn’t they get the CTO or a named member of the Tech team to respond?

And why do they insist on diving into forums, dropping their inane comments and almost immediately, logging off?
A lot of the antagonism that’s now evident could have been avoided had a real techie hung around specific forums (I’m thinking of CableForum and DigitalSpy in particular) and been willing to answer doubters’ questions.
Jeez, they could even have put together some users’ panels to have complete access to their tech and legal reps!

As you note, it’s the ISPs that’ll be hurt by this fiasco — let’s face it, Phorm is already sunk in punters eyes.
So I’m amazed that VM seem to believe the sensible course of action is to keep schtum, presumably in the hope that it’ll all blow over… I hope they’re right in a way, as it’ll cost me a reasonable sum to get a BT phone line installed and move over to ADSL.

But, have no doubts VirginMedia, I’ll dump your services if you do anything less than put Phorm on an identifiable proxy. And you can be sure that I’ll make a lot of noise as I’m doing it!

Phorms’ PR keep saying they ‘don’t see/keep customer data’. However, reading their own Patent application, belies that by saying that they can monitor ‘everything’ that travels across the internet.
Don’t and Can’t are not interchangeable and how can we trust people who can re-write their software at a seconds notice

Well one thing I think you’ve neglected to mention is goes much further than it first appears - a classic example is homeworking which is why on hearing this I ran straight to a lawyer (who said exactly what the FIPR said a few weeks later).

Thanks to homeworking they aren’t just dealing with domestic customers, they are dealing with business ones who take privacy and commercial confidentiality very seriously. This will become a major security issue for all companies who care about the integrity of their data and will advise homeworkers to never use a Phormed ISP as a result. Many of us work from home sometimes using our domestic connections, indeed Virgin Media encourages this as long as it is not the primary work connection. With the BT trials they were even stupid enough to include specific business accounts and the transmission of confidential information.

A system with a scope like this will cause companies to advise their employees to not use blacklisted ISPs and faced with having to spend an extra couple of days a month at the office and not even being able to catch up on your work email at home, people *will* change ISPs. Will companies really entrust their IT security to a third party they have no links with and a former past in spyware that still has that company running as a subsiduary? I think not. The Phorm Storm has only just started.

I disagree a bit in that it is about safeguards, because the public have to be bought in in some way. Rather than run a paralle debate I just posted here: http://www.liesdamnedlies.com/2008/03/phorm-over-func.html

As you rightly pointed out its much more than B2B, but I don’t think B2B2C does it justice either. Judging by the “war” raging accross blogs on this, firstly its a B2C: ISPs need to sell Phorm to their customers first. From that moment on, yes it’s tightly linked B2B2C.

And whilst I’m thinking about this, worth noting that viral messaging as a concept has been recognised for years and exploited by numerous campaigns over the last couple of years.

In light of this, Phorm’s PR effort looks increasingly amateur. The geek resistance may not be as “well organised” as it looks (a phrase I’m sure the PR consultants working with Phorm will be using liberally in postmortems).

Not well organised, just organic and therefore natually accessible - and viral.

Is the real smart money on getting an agency to buy key members of the anti-phorm movement as the real marketing gold dust here? Or have we just witnessed the birth of a new marketing opportunity: Phrenzy (sorry bad pun). The concept being to whip sections of the geek community up into a frenzy about some imminent injustice and send a message out on the back of this movement! (my copyright(c) 2008!)

‘The concept being to whip sections of the geek community up into a frenzy about some imminent injustice and send a message out on the back of this movement! (my copyright(c) 2008!)’

Do tell us more!

Interesting pair of quotes today.

It is true that we have had conversations with them [Phorm] regarding their services but we have concluded at this time that we do not want to be part of the network. Our decision was in no small part down to the conversations we had internally about how this product sits with the values of our company.

I hope you appreciate that the quality of the Guardian’s editorial is funded by our advertising sales operation and it is our duty to keep abreast of all developments in this sector. In this instance, however, I agree with you that this is not something that we should be partnering.

Guardian Newspapers has reiterated to us its goal of participating in the OIX. They have told us that, from an immediate resource perspective, and prior to the full deployment of the OIX, they are simply focused on more urgent projects

Verily, it was spoken that the evildoers shall be slain:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/26/guardian_phorm_uturn/

One more nail in the coffin… how long before others follow suit?

Great analysis so far, but what do you think of the ISPs approach to this? After all it is they who are abusing their customers data, Phorm are simply selling them the tool with which to do it. Yet the ISPs seem to have managed to deflect most of the anger to Phorm.

Good point Vic

The ISPs have been quite cowardly (or maybe devious?) in allowing Phorm to take the brunt of the backlash. I am thinking of Virgin Media in particular who have yet to make much comment at all.

‘Phorm are simply selling them the tool with which to do it.’

Or you could say, provoking them to do it. Take away the provocation and problem solved.

The ISPs have, as yet, not implemented anything, but if, or when, they do they will shoulder all the liability. There is a tsunami of resentment building up, largely unseen out on the wider net, because it is taking place in the closed support groups of the ISPs. The number of people that are angered to the point of taking legal action suggests to me that some actually will, never mind the flood of Data Protection restraining requests from all sides and customers resigning quad-play services. Also the political wheels grind slow, but they do grind. All those with a brief to oversee individual rights and privacy have been lobbied and are asking question. Even if our Labour government (of big business) will do nothing for us, the E.U. has a much better track record on our behalf, giving Microsoft and the mobile phone companies a good slap.

Hopefully it will also serve the purpose of deterring Phorm’s competitors from coming here. If you thought Phorm were scary whoooooooo… checkout the folksy, down home, Front Porch.

http://www.frontporch.com/html/redirection.html

See what it says under ‘Popular uses’?

I hope if Neil Berkett ever sees this pitch he’ll shiver like someone just walked over his grave as the bad memories rise to the surface again.

“Perception is reality” is a phrase much loved by the leaders with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working. It’s true too. Bad news travels much faster than good news, especially in this age.

One of the areas where Phorm has phouled up is by invading forums and blogs and trying to spin their way out of technical questions and negative coverage or slate “unbelievers”. Phorm seems incapable of believing that people can decide for themselves that they don’t need Phorm. A lack of openness and honesty has hurt them badly. And it’s too late to change tack now.

Consequently Phorm have, through spin and arrogance, alienated a knowledgeable community which can make (and is making) an awful lot of noise, and will continue to do so. Already Carphone Warehouse have promised any Phorm implementation will be opt-in only. Now The Guardian have rejected Phorm saying it doesn’t fit with their business values.

No amount of spin can hide the fact that the Guardian’s statement is a huge condemnation of Phorm and what it stands for.

You haven’t mentioned one of the reasons there has been such a backlash is the way Phorm’s system was initially presented as compulsory with no opt out for customers who don’t want their data going anywhere near Phorm. Force something on people and they will reject it.

Some people might fall for the line that Webwise enhances the web experience. I’m quite able to decide what does and doesn’t enhance my web experience and don’t need anyone to tell me, thank you very much.

Virgin Media’s relative silence on this issue does them no favours. It’s been mentioned elsewhere that there’s a lack of concrete information or responses internally. All VM have said at the moment (a response I got from Head Office) is that Phorm hasn’t been implemented, its implementation will be properly announced and customers will not be forced to use it.

Nowhere have I seen anything to convince me as an ISP customer that Phorm is trustworthy and something I have to have.

If VM can’t guarantee my web data goes nowhere near Phorm then I’ll dump them faster than the ICC dumped Steve Bucknor.

[...] Under Strict Embargo - Daljit gets me up to speed on all the Phorm stuff I’ve been hearing about [...]