More On Phorm and Domestic Data Collection
I had all these great ideas on what to blog about today, but Monday took its toll on me. That being said, there were two significant articles I read today which tie into one another.
The first article was To Aim Ads, Web is Keeping Closer Eye on You which appeared in the New York Times today and was authored by Louise Story. The article discusses how larger web companies such as Yahoo, Google and Microsoft keep tabs on what users click on and where they go, “gathering clues about the tastes and preferences of a typical user several hundred times a month.” The study could raise some eyebrows about this method of data collection and privacy implications in the online marketing space. The study was conducted for the New York Times by the comScore.
With the technical advances that have taken place in recent years, web companies are now able to track consumers past their own sites. This was the argument put forth by Story. She goes on to state “internet giants have spread their reach by acting as intermediaries that place ads on thousands of Web sites, and now can follow people’s activities on far more sites.” How the public will react to this is yet to be determined.
Across the pond in the UK, Phorm has been garnering a lot of attention with its wide spread partnership with local UK ISP’s to track user behavior. The technology behind this is called DPI or Deep Packed Inspection. The technology, as Nate Anderson points out in a recent article, will allow Phorm to “segment users into small and highly-accurate ‘channels’ by reading the URLs they visit, the search terms they use, and the content of the pages they visit.”
Clearly, behavioral targeting is further maturing into the ISP space. Organizations and publishers are enticed by the ability to charge higher rates for these specified and uniquely tailored ads. Advertisers are enticed by the opportunity to increase response and click-through rates. With economic conditions being where they are and with the pressure to justify ad spending, this should only further streamline the development of this highly controversial technology.
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ISPs, portals, and ad networks have dropped the ball. They have allowed the behavior targeting debate to spin out of their control, leaving the conversation in the hands of privacy evangelicals that represent only a vocal minority. As a result, most consumers and law-makers have concluded that ad targeting is a consumer protection issue.
My recommendation to ad networks, ISPs and portals (available in full at http://www.broodingSavage.com) is to take back the debate. With a modicum of marketing and consumer-friendly product offering, behavioral targeting can become the hero of its age, instead of the defiling villain.
Bill thanks for the insight, great perspective in your article.