The End is Nigh...ish
You know people who “predict” the apocalypse is coming on a certain date and try to warn us all the world is ending… Well personally, I’m always secretly a tiny bit afraid “they” might be right. Why would I give any stock to a fanatic? Because they’re loud and visible and their message threatens my existence. Then, I wake up the next morning to another normal day and breathe a very slight sigh of relief. I keep on keeping on, just the way things are like there was never anything to worry about.
And like all other apocalyptic prophecies throughout history, we have The Cookiepocalypse. The looming deadline is loud and scary and maintained with conviction…until it’s moved. And, I breathe a slight sigh of relief to have a little more time in a world I understand.
Apocalypse fanatics have been wrong more times then they have been right - which, as far as I can tell is 0 times. No matter how loud these individuals are, most of society won’t believe them because they have established a pattern of being wrong. I’m afraid we’re broaching the same risk with Cookie deprecation and it could sabotage the future of the privacy sandbox.
We always knew letting go of our cushy, cookie-filled lives would be hard. The industry needed targets, goals and; frankly, pressure to make this change. We had to start somewhere and learn through experience. We shouldn’t expect trivial challenges from a monumental project. Big projects come with big problems to solve, even bigger blindspots to unravel and really expensive solutions to cross the finish line. Time is just one of the investments needed to make this work. How much time is difficult to predict when doing something that hasn’t been done before.
Personally, I’m really happy to have a bit longer to prepare along with a Q1 transition when campaigns typically reset anyways. That is of course, if the privacy sandbox is rolled out in Q1…Over the next quarter, we to see serious traction against the known technical issues; especially latency, which makes the solution a total no go for publishers. Communication is key to maintaining engagement and support for this initiative. Google must show continued progress to help keep the industry on board.
You know what they say: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us…there will not be a fourth time. Set backs are inevitable and shouldn’t deter us from pressing on. Publishers need to continue testing, solutioning and advocating for our needs. Today, I’m going to crawl back into my comfy, cookie filled bed and enjoy one more “normal” day. Tomorrow, I’m going to get up and keep solving for the less comfortable Cookieless future. Whether it’s the privacy sandbox, legislation, user choice, or technical evolution - the 3rd party cookie heydays aren’t going to last forever.