Behavioral targeting is one of several targeting approaches used by online advertisers. It is highly effective but is viewed by some as an invasion of privacy that raises serious concerns. Behavioral targeting works becuase ad networks place a cookie on your computer when you view one of their ads. They are then able to record your daily Internet usage, and what kinds of sites you visit most frequently. This way, the next time you visit a site that publishes one of their ads, they are able to display ads they think will be more interesting to you, and perhaps recieve a click through. Not only do they monitor the sites you visit, but the searches you make on search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
After viewing the cookies that were stored on my computer, I found several that I believe are potentially ad networks and tracking cookies.
Commission Junction is a ValueClick owned company that manages both online marketing channels and affiliate programs. An obvious ad network cookie.
HitBox sounded very suspicious to me. I did a search on Google for HitBox and I found an article about Internet traffic monitoring software called HitBox. One could conclude that the two are related, as I have never visited a site titled HitBox. It's nice to know I'm being watched.
Sponsor.com? Need I say more?
My browsing history is somewhat diverse. I visit social networking sites, read a lot about the latest consumer electronics on the market, national and world news, politics, graduate schools and contuing education programs, and many others. Some product categories that I believe could potentially be marketed to me through ad networks include:
Any type of consumer electronic merchandise (televisions, computers, music players, dvd's, cd's, etc),
Books or magazines with social commentary such as Newsweek, Time, or anything else current,
Online undergraduate and graduate degrees such as University of Phoenix Online.
I think that legal and ethical concerns can arrise from the use of tracking cookies by ad networks. For the advertiser and the publisher, it is ingenius in the fact that it ensures their ads are viewed and the response rate will be higher. For the web surfer, it is just someone else who knows what you are doing online. Your ISP, the Government (you know it), AND ad networks. Secure and stable networks SHOULD be in place to ensure that the information collected by these networks is not stolen.
1 comment:
I never even thought about the government knowing my moves online... duh!! If it's okay for them to know what I'm up to, it's definitely okay for advertisers to know (if they are using it to benefit the consumer, aka myself). Touche!
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