On the Email Insider Summit blog, Stephanie Miller talks about a lively debate that occured at a panel in the morning.

“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. 

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 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.”

Continue reading here.

Matt Blumberg also talked about Facebook in another session.