Four little letters. GDPR…
But what a head-ache they have created! Like probably everyone else in the EU, we are being bombarded with emails from mailing lists we have previously subscribed to, asking us to re-opt in or unsubscribe. I have lost count of how many have dropped into my inbox over the past few weeks, and I have to admit I’ve either ignored some of these or unsubscribed.
With the job that we do – primarily website design – we are contributing to this GDPR madness, as we work to update client websites and sort our own (and some clients’) mailing lists, before 25th May. Safe to say, our heads are royally mashed with it all…
We completely understand the need for data to be secure and for people to feel confident that their details are safe. It’s what we’ve always done with client information, and we feel very sure that every single one of our clients has taken as much care with their data as we have with ours. But we do feel that this legislation is a bit like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. We are concerned that like us, our clients (like many businesses) will have taken great care in building up a mailing list. And these mailing lists are usually crucial for small, independent businesses. We are concerned that people will be suffering from GDPR fatigue and may just either unsubscribe or not bother re-opting in to mailing lists, even if they do still want to hear from businesses. And this is not good, as all of a sudden, a small business can have lost a very important database.
We do hope that our concerns are not borne out, and that once the GDPR dust settles, our small, independent businesses clients do not suffer as a result of this legislation.
And, we personally cannot wait for post 25th May, so that we can get back to doing what we love. Designing…