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Marketers Back "Cookies Are Good For You" Campaign

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the buy-my-potato-powered-pants dept.

Makarand writes "The increasing numbers of computer users who regularly delete cookies downloaded by their browsers is worrying online marketers and Web site publishers who feel that the changing consumer attitude towards cookies is harming cookie usefulness and unfairly lumping them with spyware and viruses. This industry group wants to persuade companies making antispyware programs to spare legitimate cookies while sweeping hard drives clean of unnecessary or harmful files. Some marketers think that providing consumers more information about cookies and how they're used might change their attitudes towards cookies. Others are already busy experimenting with newer approaches to serve up targeted ads even if a user has deleted his cookies."

3 of 408 comments (clear)

  1. Also by suso · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Brainlessly agreeing with what marketers say without seeking out more information is bad for you.

    Not that I'm against cookies, I'm just against stupidity.

  2. It's all about attitude by kfg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And realizing that cookies aren't spyware, but rather a means by which marketing companies gather and compile data about me on my own computer so that they more effectively target me with their advertising makes me more attitudinally inclined too. . .

    Ummm, where's that nuke button again?

    See, that's the problem with marketers. They like marketing and think it's a good thing, so they think we like marketing and think it's a good thing.

    Whereas most of us think that Bill Hicks was being a bit of a soft hearted wuss in his displayed attitude toward them.

    He simply called upon them to kill themselves. We want to roast them, slowly, while we watch.

    Pass the beer.

    KFG

  3. Hmmm by legirons · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Other [marketers] are already busy experimenting with newer approaches to serve up targeted ads even if a user has deleted his cookies."

    With attitudes like that, they wonder why people don't trust them?

    These are the same people that discovered Flash could open popup windows even when you've disabled javascript. The same people that think nothing of attacking any security vulnerability they can find to display adverts. The same people that fill-up my "blocked webservers" list with dynamically-generated hostnames. The same people that put ActiveX controls with .exe files in hidden parts of a website, hoping to take control of their customers' computers.

    Malicious use of anothers' computer without authorisation. Basically, "hackers" in the let's stop these criminals sense.