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MSN Launches Pay-Per-Click Search Ads

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the jump-on-the-bandwagon dept.

San writes "ZDNet is reporting that MSN has launched its first paid-search advertising application. The system will first be launched in Singapore and will be followed by France in September and a pilot run in the United States in October."

10 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Um..... by ericdano · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Um....Why? Isn't this form of ads pretty much dead? I mean, the last time I clicked on a Slashdot ad was.....never!

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  2. AdWords clone, but potential privacy issues? by Sv-Manowar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At first glance, this would appear to be a direct copy of Google's AdWords style keyword bidding on search result pages. However, whats more suspicious is how information on search users is being used to target the ads. If they choose to mine the profile data available to them through MSN passport (and this seems to be in line with their intentions, given that age and gender are already available to advertisers), Microsoft could try to exploit people's personal information to gain a targetting advantage over Google (at the expense of user's privacy..)

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    1. Re:AdWords clone, but potential privacy issues? by DrEldarion · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't know how much of a privacy issue it is if they just look at your data and then say "okay, which of these ads I have would be useful to this person?". It's not like they're selling your information to other parties, they're just using it as a reference.

      If even that still irritates you, Google is doing that far worse with GMail targetting ads based on e-mail content.

      Anyway, if you're THAT concerned about privacy, you wouldn't have given them your information in the first place, hm?

    2. Re:AdWords clone, but potential privacy issues? by spisska · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And Google could very well do the exact same thing with gmail accounts.

      Google cannot do the same thing, since they do not collect this kind of information when you sign up for gmail. It's been a while since I got my gmail account, but I don't recall having to give them a single piece of information that I didn't want to (as opposed to Hotmail, which requires entries for things like age, gender, physical location, etc.)

      If you took a good look at Hotmail user data (and nothing else) you'd probably be surprised how many 90+ year-old women in Albania are using the service. Google does not have this problem since they never intended any ridiculous implementation like MSN Passport.

    3. Re:AdWords clone, but potential privacy issues? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Google's GMail just looks at your email message instead and displays targetted ads that way. Somehow I don't consider it to be apples and oranges like you're suggesting...

  3. Do you remember? by Robbyboy · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Do you remember when developers actually developed software? It boggles my mind that the borg of all things software would still be patronized given the minimal amount of independent thought that comes out of Redmond, WA people would just get fed up and embrace open source.

    Windows 98... "Look Johnny, long filenames" (Macintosh had been there, done that)

    M$IE7 Beta... "Look Johnny, Tabbed Browsers" (FireFox had been there, done that)

    MSN AdCenter... "Look Johnny, Pay per click advertising" (Google had been there, done that)

    What further amazes me is that anything M$ does is still news. Why are the masses constantly amazed by the fact that M$ does not have to form independent thoughts and simply hijack everyone elses. Why not take that black hole of thought hovering over Redmond and channel it into something useful.

    A Secure Microsoft Product "Look Johnny, A Secure M$ Product...Make a Wish"

    1. Re:Do you remember? by ScentCone · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It boggles my mind that the borg of all things software would still be patronized given the minimal amount of independent thought that comes out of Redmond, WA people would just get fed up and embrace open source.

      So, when Google copies Yahoo, or Google copies MapQuest - and then makes their versions of things, whether improved or not - they don't deserve the same scorn? Or when a Linux distro goes to a lot of trouble to provide users with an interface shockingly similar to Windows, that's innovation? Not every new service has to be a brand spanking new innovation. Otherwise we wouldn't have multiple car manufacturers, musicians, architectural jobs, or any other overlapping producers.

      What further amazes me is that anything M$ does is still news

      Let's see - millions and millions of users, and a giant new marketplace for ads from both small and large businesses...? It's a shame you don't understand why that might be worth mentioning to an audience that deals, in one way or another, with some of those millions of people all over the world.

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  4. Pathetic by klept · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those whom we can not resembel"- Dr. Samual Johnson

  5. Re:Launch countries... by ToolsDrummer83 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    maybe there's some feeling that France isn't a big fan of Google (referring to the court case Google lost) and MS could step in here? i have no idea, they do seem rather odd picks.

  6. Re:For this to work by tempehop · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't think I'd ever ad MSN. Who ever searches from there? According to http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500 MSN is hit more than Google. I'd be willing to guess that they have the searchs of the average internet surfer who doesn't have AdBlock and who are probably more likely to click on an Ad than the person running firefox, with google set to their homepage. But Microsoft doesn't even have to do astoundingly well to deal revenue damage to google, since they can take up new customers who really don't care where they get their clicks.