So far, I've felt every emotion under the sun in the run-up to its commencement. Panic, fear, confusion, relief, bemusement, and utter stupidity.
I even caught myself momentarily admiring the blissfully ignorant 'if we pretend it’s not happening, it won’t' types.
But, depending on when you're reading this, there are only a number of days to go. So it really is very much happening!
So GDPR in a nutshell? Well, for the last year that I’ve been writing about it, I’ve never quite been able to sum it up in one swift, articulate sentence.
But today, I think I did it:
‘The primary objective of the GDPR is to give control back to the subject as to how their personal data is obtained, handled, processed and stored.’
It's almost like one day we fell peacefully to sleep, only to wake up to a sea of articles, white papers, checklists and presentations. And if trying to make sense of it all wasn't enough, we were shook up by statements like "fines set to be 175 times higher than the DPA."
That's why it came as such a relief to find this article from Automation Ninjas - a breath of fresh air, to say the least.
Devoid of jargon, scaremongering, and nonsensical business speak, it comes complete with a nice selection of GIFS.
C’mon, who doesn’t love a GIF?
For me, I see GDPR as an opportunity, both as a consumer and a marketer.
Think about it. The new regulations concur with the entire inbound belief system.
As a data subject, you’ll be in full control of who contacts you, only receiving communications that you have (unambiguously!) consented to.
And as a marketer, you’ll be generating and nurturing high-quality contacts. That means people who are genuinely interested in you, your solutions, and your communications.
As for your existing databases, this is a chance to re-engage, refresh and recalibrate. See May this year as an opportunity to start afresh, after a thorough spring clean of your data.
We’re lying to ourselves if we say we don’t have those historic lists lurking in the darkest corners of our hard drives. Now’s the time to dust off the cobwebs, and GET RID. Unless you can prove consent, they’re putting you in jeopardy of non-compliance.
For some more comprehensive guidance on how to prepare for the GDPR, we've put together a handy and easily digestible checklist.
Wait - what's going on?Your marketing world is drastically changing, and you have 12 months to get into shape or you can't email ANYONE in the United Kingdom or the European Union. The General Data Protection Regulation is the new set of laws that governs both how you communicate, interact with and store prospect and customer data for any of the 750 MILLION people and 1 BILLION email accounts that are associated with European member states. Or email marketing armageddon.
