If you start seeing an unfamiliar “i” icon next to online banner ads in the months to come, take note: it’s all about you. Voluntary adoption of this industry-standard icon by advertisers is designed to fend off privacy regulations while helping consumers understand how advertisers use Web surfing history and demographic profiles to serve up relevant, interest-based ads.   

It’s no secret that advertisers mine user data for insights to help fine-tune the delivery of online media. Thanks to nudging from the U.S. Congress and the Federal Trade Commission, which has warned the industry to self-regulate or face further scrutiny and possible regulations, trade and advocacy groups have banded together to develop self-regulatory principles and adopt an industry-standard icon.

Called the Power I, the icon is expected to start appearing in online ads within the next several months, in similar fashion to the standard recycling icon found on recyclable materials. With no legal requirement for using the icon, it’s debatable how widespread it will become. But without it, there’s the real possibility that privacy concerns will escalate, and the FTC will be forced to step in and regulate.

The icon is expected to link consumers to a page with information about privacy. Federal officials hope the link includes an explanation of how advertisers use Web surfing histories and demographic profiles to serve ads. No one is convinced the icon will solve online privacy issues, but many, including us, are hopeful that it will begin to push the industry into a new era that can accommodate both privacy and profile-based advertising.

T3 is independent and proud of it.

Today marks our official year end. The day we close our books and prepare for the coming year. It’s been a challenging year for everyone and for pretty much every company. It’s also a year that marks our 20th anniversary (celebrated in March). Bring these two story lines crashing together and the result is a certain amount of reflection—on where we’ve been, where’s we’re going and the fiercely independent streak that makes us who we are.

In a world of agencies that operate under the aegis of huge holding companies, we celebrate independence because we know that it frees us to focus on what really matters, and to create solutions without the bias a holding company might put on its teams, unwittingly or not.

Much of what independence brings is an intangible ability to do what’s right for the client.

Independence shows up when we successfully pull resources together over three offices in a marathon day to hit a deadline or take an idea to the next level. It shows up in the fact that there’s no red tape to get in the way of us hitting yet another ridiculously quick deadline. It shows up in our ability to scale and hit the ground running. It shows up in account teams that are empowered to make decisions, like staffing based on client need, and the ability to make exceptions in billing, timelines and process to make sure what needs to get done happens. It shows up in unique insights that we cull from virtual brainstorming on our Intranet.

It shows up in being accountable to just our clients and to each other, and not by a board of directors in a faraway land.

Independence alone means little if it’s not applied to good effect. At T3, we know clients appreciate everything we bring to the table as an independent agency—all the little details that flow from our flexibility and autonomy. They tell us it’s what they love about us. And it’s what they’ll always get from us.

It took a client to write the headline for us: “Can we clone you, please.”

Bad news generally trumps good news, right? Not so fast, says a recent Forrester Research report, “How customer experience drives word of mouth.”

According to the report, which surveyed 4,500 customers online across 12 industries, more people talk about good experiences than bad ones. Surprise, surprise.

Not so surprising: bad news is discussed more frequently than the good stuff.

The prevalence for good news isn’t across the board. In four of the 12 industries—credit card providers, health insurance plans, and TV and Internet service providers — bad news ruled. The most positive customers were from retail, banks and hotels.

Who’s talking? Gen Yers have the most good things to say — and the most bad — according to the report. Younger boomers are the least likely to say good things, while seniors aren’t likely to talk about bad experiences, except with regard to health plans.

So the good news is that people are talking about good news. The bad news is that people tell more people about bad experiences.

What’s it mean? To marketers, clear generational differences in the bent and frequency of messaging — who says what about what — should be top of mind moving forward.

If you’re in an industry that tends to generate passionate feedback from an age group that doesn’t mind spreading that news — let’s say Gen Yers and retail — you need to be paying attention and planning how to react to the commentary. A teen Facebook page that we developed for a major retail client takes a proactive approach that’s been quite successful. The client monitors commentary from its nearly 8,000 fans and jumps in to clarify discussions, reinforce trends and announce special offers.

Likewise, if you’re operating in an industry that typically generates positive feedback from Gen X and Gen Y types, using social media to amplify those voices can pay huge dividends.

What’s important to understand is that word-of-mouth feedback can’t be stopped. Furthermore, you’d be foolish to try stopping it. However, you can and should set your sights on monitoring it, understanding it and steering it with an ever-so-subtle hand. Your brand will love you for the effort.