MSN Launches Pay-Per-Click Search Ads

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."

Comments

Invasion of privacy.

[Tontoman]

This sound like a unpleasant invasion of privacy.
According to http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstech nology/2002210022_microsoftads17.html/news article from the Seattle Times,
"AdCenter uses information from customers who registered for services such as Hotmail or who tailored the MSN home page to their interests. It supplements that with data purchased from the Experian credit bureau."

Re:Invasion of privacy.

[oh_bugger]

If you don't want MSN to have your data, don't give MSN your data. Average Joe User may fuel MSN's userbase allowing them to continue this approach to advertising, but for the informed it's very easy to just avoid these kinds of services.

Everytime I hear that information about myself could and is sold, despite how common this is, frustrates me. it may not be feasible for all but I try to live without attaching myself to many things, such as random subscriptions (check this box to receive mail), credit card(s), intrusive website registrations. Even the link you provided to the seattle times wanted me to register, thank god for bugmenot. Again, it may not be feasible to take every step, but if people were to refuse to allow their information to be used for monetary gain then companies would stop and find another more cost effective way to increase profits at the expense of the little man's personal privacy/rights. [end rant]

Re:Invasion of privacy.

[Anonymous Coward]

The system will first be launched in Singapore

A good testbed for this.

Some years ago my company was working on electronic payments, and some of our work involved some Singapore banks. When some of my people objected to the privacy implications of the proposals favored by the Singaporese, one reply was, "You Americans! You're always so concerned about privacy!"

We'll see what ends up deployed here and in Europe.

Re:Invasion of privacy.

[schestowitz]

This was predicted long ago in one of Joel's most popular essays. Joel Spolsky used to work in Microsoft and he foresaw the exploitation of cookie and information swap:

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog00000000 47.html

[snip]

...One day, Expedia could start offering higher fares to customers who have more than a million dollars in their Investor stock portfolio. There's not really anything technically impossible about this, and it's probably legal, too... ...The scary thing is that if you use Internet Explorer, Microsoft controls your web browser...

[/snip]

Now Yahoo! can sue Microsoft too!

[Alascom]

Yahoo! (Overture) holds intellectual property rights to pay-per-click and bidding systems that grant Web sites higher placement in search results.

Google agreed to issue 2.7 million shares (~$250 million) of Class A common stock to Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, Calif. In turn, Yahoo dropped its lawsuit against Google and issued a "fully paid, perpetual license" to Overture patents.

I guess Microsoft thinks its open season on Yahoo! patents now... I hope Microsoft's legal team is ready to open the checkbook as I doubt the two Standford search engines (Yahoo and Google) will allow Microsoft to get in on the action for free!

Imitation of Google?

[Billly Gates]

MS is scared to death over google.

My guess is they are trying to take over their market or they will use monopolistic pressures to "cut off Google's air supply". Certainly that scenario is a classic Microsoft tactic.

Especially after reading yesterday's news about Balmer throwing a chair because someone left to join google. That is just scary.

People said google ads were invasion of privacy

[tod_miller]

Adsense and their gmail ads. Still only if you have your google cookie set.

However this microsoft ploy is what one reader 'predicted', if microsoft offer a 'killer' ad program (lets face it, it isn't a sodding technical marvel) with extra data and sod, and then basically give all the money to the people who operate it (read cheap advertising and high payouts) then they will crush google.

Except they will have to imitate google, and perhaps their arrogance (using credit data) has gone against them.

I for one don't block adsense frames, because I find it interesting to see who can get ads on certain pages.

That is how unobstrusive it is. I choose what I watch, and sod the advertisers, I would rather a cheap and nasty ad free internet than a cheap and nasty adfull internet (which we have now).

I will adblock any flash or video ads that encumber my screen, and no visit websites that have 'interval' ign style ads. 'skip this ad'

'Microsoft' have no class, is a statement being passed around by in the hyperswill - and I think this offering, timely after the whole 'I will bury google' release, will show that despite a mountain of cash, they will not be able to topple google.

Internet has shown that inertia is enough of a force with people to let even shit sites (ebay) win through. Google have been pushing for this, and probably on day 1 they knew this would happen, and worked out their game plan.

Microsoft are such lazy uncoordinated bastards, they sit and wait too much, with worked in googles favour.

They are spending all their time on faux blog sites, shitty 'Microsoft are cute and fun' reaching out to developers and crap. Please develop for our platform only, tie in etc.

Now most download sites and 'open' downloads are for linux, 3 years ago it was windows software, and someone please bring it to linux, and now it is 'Windows Version - someone managed to get this to compile, it is 3 versions old, but good luck'.

File in Java (which Microsoft had a game planon how to trash - and failed) and you see where this is going.

One final point fo rpeople who say Microsoft don't innovate:

According to Eva Balan, MSN's international marketing manager for MSN adCenter, advertisers pay a one-time subscription fee of S$5 (US$3) for MSN Keywords. For each keyword, they bid a minimum of S$0.10 and pay for the number of times search users click on their advertisements, which appear as sponsored links alongside search results. The placement of the links will depend on the bid price, click-through rate as well as the types of user profiles captured by the system. [why is this bold not italic? I hate reading italic on screen] ...you are right they are not innovative! Grounds for a google counter sue for their advertising style? pteesh.

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Adblock filter?

[Andy_R]

Anyone found one of these adverts yet? I'd like to block them before I ever see one, if possible.