MySpace Hypertargeting vs Facebook Beacon: Which one is creepier?
I hardly ever click on banner ads, but today I was beaten into submission by the NY Times to find out more about MySpace Hypertargeting. I still can't figure out why the banner kept showing up for me...my only guess is because I read the technology section.
MySpace Hypertargeting Ad
(Credit: MySpace Hypertargeting Ad)From the press release:
"Our mission with HyperTargeting by MySpace was to build an ad platform that translates our massive amounts of self expressed user data into highly-targeted, interest-based segments, enabling us to better serve the exact right ad to the right person at the right time," said Michael Barrett, chief revenue officer for Fox Interactive Media.
What bothers me about both of these "services" is that they don't do anything for the user--they only help the advertiser. So, you use the service (primarily for free) knowing that you will get ads, which feels OK until it starts getting a little weird. For example how would advertisers know personal details and why should they be allowed to dig deeper into profiles while not expanding users rights to reject this behavior or pay their way out of it. Users are not notified that anything has changed and they keep giving advertisers more data without even knowing it. And even if users are aware of the tactics do they really understand the implications? Seems unlikely.
I have to go with Facebook Beacon as far creepier than MySpace Hypertargeting, although I have to think that MySpace has a much younger user base which makes me feel weird. Let's call it 60/40 that they are both highly questionable at this point.
Dave Rosenberg is currently working on a new stealth start-up based in San Francisco. He is Co-founder of MuleSource, an open source integration and infrastructure software company and is a recognized thought-leader in open source software and service-oriented architecture. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
- Bookmark:
- Digg
- Del.icio.us
Myspace is sooo yesterday, FB is the future dude!
http://****************.blogspot.com
Zimini is solely designed to deliver targeted ads and promotions to consumer who explicitly ask for them based on a robust personal profile containing more than 200 data elements. The big difference here is that consumers enter only the profile elements they want advertisers to use when targeting promotions, ads and coupons.
Consumers want more control over what they share about their likes, interests and demographics. Zimini puts users back in control of their personal information.
While Zimini does not seem to have the large user base of MySpace or Facebook, the company is very young and will likely have a large user base over time.