Moderator Matt Blumberg of Return Path asked if technology is helping or hurting email marketing - and in particular how the do not track registry would potentially restrict marketer's ability to create relevancy.Â

The panel reacted quickly with different opinions. Jack Hogan, COO of LifeScript took a strong tack, advising marketers to match email subscriber files with web analytics. "If your customers are not engaging online with your site or your brand, take them off your email file."

Hal Brierley, founder of eMiles, was defending the FTC's Do Not Track registry (story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/technology/01Privacy.html?_r=2&ref=technology&oref=slogin&oref=slogin) - saying that marketers don't need all that behavioral data to make good decisions about how to create relevant subscriber experiences. He firmly defends the importance of self reported data. "Being obsessed with data is not a good thing for marketers."

 David Daniels of Jupiter Research felt the opposite - and eloquently proposed that behavioral data is the single most powerful way to create relevancy. Jack agreed. Both felt that the benefits to consumers outweighed any privacy concerns. If marketers use the data well, the result will be relevant experiences tied to consumer interest and behavior, making email and the web a better place. "We are helping consumers."

Hal disagreed, saying that if consumers wanted to keep their behavior private they should have a right to say so. David countered that already the small portion of the online population who care deeply about privacy are buying software and spam filters to protect themselves. "The government has no reason to intervene and adds no value to this," David says.

My two cents: While I understand Hal's business is successful based solely on self reported data, that data can get old quickly and of course misses any interests that weren't asked or aren't top of mind. We as consumers don't know what we want until we see it - this is the value of advertising.  There is no question that behavioral data is the most important asset we have as marketers, and to not use it to create more relevant subscriber experiences is missing a huge opportunity for revenue growth and LTV. As a marketer and capitalist, I firmly believe less regulation is better. Consumers have a lot of power today without the do not track registry - they can and do wield their strength every day with feedback to email marketers -- unsubscribing, reporting messages as spam or just ignoring the messages.

 Tell us what you think - is the technology good or bad for the industry?  Who should decide if marketers are indeed creating great experiences based on the data, or abusing their access to behavioral data?