Google and the NSA: The search giant’s DC marketing office is looking to “generate and close sales to the Intelligence Community”

Google and other major companies want help from the NSA to help it  better defend against cyberattacks and commercial spying.  But is also illustrates a real problem: companies such as Google that gather extensive information on citizens everywhere, including in the US, are partnering with government agencies that have engaged in domestic spying.  Google really needs to create something more than a “Chinese wall” between itself and governments–including the US.  Another real problem is Google is working to curry favor with the NSA, CIA, DoD and others in order to sell its services and make greater profits.  Take a look at the current job openings at Google’s DC office focused on selling its services to both the intelligence community and Department of Defense.  It raises questions about the dimensions of its relationship with NSA, given that they are also looking to develop marketing opportunities.
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excerpt:  Enterprise Federal Inside Sales Representative for Intelligence Community – Washington D.C.

This position is based in Washington D.C.

The area: Enterprise

The Enterprise team focuses on integrating Google’s products and services into small and large businesses, educational institutions and government agencies. Consisting of high-achieving engineering, sales and marketing professionals, we work with a vast array of partners and customers to advance the company’s mission of organizing the world’s information to make it universally accessible and useful.

The role: Enterprise Federal Inside Sales Representative for Intelligence Community

This position is responsible for selling Google Enterprise Solutions including the Google search appliance and Geospatial products, including Google Earth and Google Maps to Federal Clients. The Google Search Appliance is a hardware and software product designed to offer large businesses the productivity enhancing power of Google search.

You must be comfortable making dozens of cold calls a day, working closely with the Federal Enterprise Sales Managers to generate and close sales to the Intelligence Community. [our bold]. Candidates must have demonstrated experience prospecting and growing an account list, as well as a successful track record of closing sales to the Federal government. Candidates should be willing to do some travel, to attend and work tradeshows and conferences, as well as to attend customer meetings.

Responsibilities:

Be responsible for the entire sales process from Prospecting to Close.
Lead Generation/outbound calling and warm lead follow up.
Understand Customer Needs and requirements.
Present and articulate advanced product features and benefits of Google Enterprise solutions. Provide on-line demonstrations.
Close Sales and achieve sales quotas. Be able to sell and differentiate in a competitive environment.
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Enterprise Federal, DOD Sales Manager – Washington D.C.

This position is located in Washington D.C.

The area: Enterprise

As the emerging leader in cloud computing, Google’s Enterprise division delivers cloud services and other IT products to small and large businesses, educational institutions and government agencies. Our team of high-achieving engineers, product managers, and sales and marketing professionals works with a vast array of partners and customers to advance the company’s mission to organize the world’s information to make it universally accessible and useful. The Enterprise team is among a handful of rapidly emerging new businesses that are becoming front-and-center for Google as it enters its second decade as a company.

The role: Enterprise Federal, DOD Sales Manager

In this position, you will generate and close sales of the Google Search Appliance and Google Geospatial products among U.S. Dept. of Defense government agencies. The main duties of this position will include making cold calls on new prospects and following up on marketing and sales leads. You will be delivering quarterly quotas and building an existing region into a more fruitful territory. Most importantly, you will be developing business strategies to capture long term programs and opportunities.

Responsibilities:

  • Achieve annual sales quota, with emphasis on strong quarterly attainment.
  • Build business strategy to generate short and long-term opportunities for all Google Enterprise products.
  • Increase awareness of Google Federal and strengthen customer relationships in the Department of Defense.
  • Develop current and new Google partners focused on DoD customers.
  • Provide accurate quarterly sales projections on a weekly basis and keep thorough records of customer interactions.
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  • Federal/Intelligence Community Account Manager, Enterprise – Washington D.C.

    This position is based in Washington D.C.

    The area: Enterprise

    The Enterprise team focuses on integrating Google’s products and services into small and large businesses, educational institutions and government agencies. Consisting of high-achieving engineering, sales and marketing professionals, we work with a vast array of partners and customers to advance the company’s mission of organizing the world’s information to make it universally accessible and useful.

    The role: Federal/Intelligence Community Account Manager, Enterprise

    In this position, you will generate and close sales of the Google Search Appliance and Google Geospatial products among Intelligence community accounts. The main duties of this position include making cold calls on new prospects and following up on marketing and sales leads. You will be delivering quarterly quotas and building an existing region into a more fruitful territory. Most importantly, you will be developing business strategy to capture long term programs and opportunities.

    Responsibilities:

  • Achieve quarterly sales quotas.
  • Generate and qualify all leads and sales opportunities.
  • Make outbound calls to targeted customers.
  • Respond to inbound inquiries from marketing and lead generation programs.
  • Serve as primary customer contact during bid submission, pilot test, legal review, and procurement.

Google Funds Privacy Research for several leading academics & advances its mobile data collection work

We believe academics should pursue research that is independent–and not funded by vested interests.  Here are some of the academics that just received “Google Focused Research Awards.“  The check also comes with a further relationship with Google [“These unrestricted grants are for two to three years, and the recipients will have the advantage of access to Google tools, technologies, and expertise.]

Privacy:
Ed Felten, Princeton
Lorrie Cranor, Alessandro Acquisti and Norman Sadeh, Carnegie Mellon University
Ryan Calo, Stanford CIS
Andy Hopper, Cambridge University Computing Laboratory
and: Use of mobile phones as data collection devices for public health and environment monitoring: Gaetano Borriello, University of Washington and Deborah Estrin, UCLA

Microsoft Differs from IAB Lobby on Strengthening FTC Consumer Safeguards [via a letter sent to CDD]

We asked both Microsoft and Google, which serve on the executive committee of the Interactive Ad Bureau [IAB]  trade lobbying group, whether they supported its recent letter opposing congressional action to strengthen the FTC. The letter was signed by IAB and other marketing and advertising organizations.  Microsoft has just replied.  We are glad they aren’t in lock-step with the ever so transparent–and terrified of consumer protection policy–IAB.  Here’s what they emailed me today:


Jeff,

 

Thank you for your inquiry.

 

As a company, Microsoft has not taken a position on the Consumer Protection Financial Agency bill.  As a whole, the bill is directed at other industry sectors.  Nor has Microsoft taken a position on the expansion of the Federal Trade Commission’s regulatory authority as proposed in that legislation.

 

Microsoft has supported the expansion of FTC authority, including in our longtime support for comprehensive federal privacy legislation and in a recent legislative proposal on protecting consumers related to cloud computing, where we said that the FTC should play a key role.  In the current environment, there ought to be better alternatives to guide the marketplace than de facto rulemaking through enforcement activity.

 

It is our view that there is merit to having FTC rulemaking authority mirror that of other agencies — we favor increased certainty and the ability for comment on proposed rules that will impact our industry.  At the same time, the reasons the FTC’s existing mechanisms were put in place (as articulated in the industry letter you cited) should not be ignored.  Perhaps there is room for a balanced approach.

 

We understand that the status of the financial reform bill may be uncertain, at least the status of the relevant provision in the Senate version of that legislation.

 

We are open to discussing these issues further with you and other interested stakeholders.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Torres

Director, Consumer Affairs

Facebook Expands Big Brand Marketing Clout: Helping Starbucks to “get people to buy a muffin on a certain day”

The top execs at Facebook claim that the social network giant ad targeting apparatus is well understood by its users, and that they have secured their consent.  But I suggest few users understand the complexities of Facebook’s viral marketing and tracking system, let alone the new Facebook/Nielsen “Brandlift” initiative designed to demonstrate Facebook can deliver big for the biggest brands.  According to New Media Age:
More than 70 studies have been done in the US in the FMCG, retail, media and entertainment, telecoms, financial and automotive sectors. Nielsen and Facebook said 97% of these found a significant lift in at least one brand metric, while 85% reported an increase in at least two.  “Starbucks is a heavy advertiser on Facebook,” said [Trevor Johnson, head of strategy and planning EMEA at Facebook] Johnson. “We ran a campaign to get people to buy a muffin on a certain day and measured a 94% uplift in purchase intent.”…Facebook will apply the demographic data it already collects from its users to deliver results tailored to brands’ needs.