On 25 May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force. Assuming that the UK votes to remain in Europe, it will replace the UK Data Protection Act and mean that for the first time Europe will have a harmonised data protection regime that impacts not only companies based in the EU but also those that want to do business here.

Brands should focus on three key areas to prepare for future email integration opportunities. Marketers must get back to the basics of email marketing. To position email as an effective channel for driving sales, retailers must next improve the personalization of their outreach efforts, and one of the most important email integration opportunities for retailers is with social media.

As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression, and email marketing is no exception. The first email a new subscriber receives can make or break your relationship with a customer. Strike a good first impression with the latest addition to your subscriber base and you'll be off to a great start for a happy, healthy relationship.

The Romanian hacker known as Guccifer will serve at least two years in prison after pleading guilty to breaking into computer accounts of the Bush family in 2013 and releasing private family photos. Marcel Lazar, 44, of Arad, Romania, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in U.S. District Court to unauthorized computer access and aggravated identity theft.

If a=b and b=c, then it follows that a=c. So how does this set of simple equations relate to data protection? Well, if direct marketeers, privacy advocates and supervisory authorities recognised that a=c, then most of the debate concerning data protection would be settled. Don't believe me? Just follow the argument under the current Act (DPA) or indeed the GDPR.

You might think by responding on demand you're able to manage various important activities on the fly, but MIT research has proved that those who juggle electronic tasks don't switch between jobs as well as those who just complete one task at a time. You're not multitasking, you're just moving from one task to another very rapidly. And that's pointless.

The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation has agreed to lead the review, reporting over the summer. David Anderson will assess the powers designed to allow intelligence agencies to harvest large amounts of data from emails and other communications. This, which is done in an attempt to pinpoint intelligence about terrorists, has been likened to searching for a needle in a haystack.

Leave.EU, a rival campaign to leave the European Union, has published the personal mobile number of Ukip MP Douglas Carswell as well as other Vote Leave officials in an email to supporters. The numbers included the head of BBC's Westminster coverage as well as pro-Brexit individuals such as Mr Carswell and Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave.

It's hard to overstate the importance and effectiveness of email for book sales and marketing. Unfortunately, now that the secret is largely out about email, it's becoming the most increasingly abused sales tool. That's mainly because authors (and publishers, too) don't take time to customize and target their messages appropriately.

How would you expect someone to act if they were keeping a secret from you? Reticent? Withdrawn? Uncommunicative? New research suggests secret-keepers actually swing in the opposite direction as they attempt to compensate for their clandestine behaviour -- at least when it comes to email communication.