Behavioral Search & Advertising On Its Way?

cyberianpan writes "Imagine a world where advertisers would be able to predict your detailed behavior online. They would know when you are about to buy a song, a car, a present for your spouse — they would know virtually everything you are thinking. With the acquisition of DoubleClick, Google now has access to the cookies and subsequently browsing history of vast numbers of web users. It would be fair to say that greater than 85% of Internet users frequently come into contact with ads served by DoubleClick. Google could potentially have access to not only the majority of the world's search history but its browsing and e-commerce history as well. The company could know more about web surfers than they know about themselves."

Comments

Advertising? What are these ads you speak of?

[Silverlancer]

I have a bunch of extensions (Adblock Plus, CustomizeGoogle, Greasemonkey with Disable Text Ads, etc) and I don't think I've seen an ad, text or image, in weeks. What are these ads people speak of? ;)

hmmmm, really?

[Anonymous Coward]

The company could know more about web surfers than they know about themselves

Could it tell me where I left my keys?

Re:hmmmm, really?

[Rob T Firefly]

Check behind the living room couch. Also, buy the new Timbaland album.

Re:hmmmm, really?

[cyphercell]

Also, buy the new Timbaland album.

No wonder he's posting anonymously. :)

Adblock?

[Zaiff Urgulbunger]

So if I use adblock to block say *.doubleclick.net/* , does that mean that I'm safe from the thought-thieves?

This is good news

[Colin Smith]

So instead of taking a year trekking round the world to "find themselves", people could just ask Google.

Re:This is good news

[TodMinuit]

Why, in my day, we asked the NSA and that's the way we'ds likes it!!!

Re:This is good news

[rolfwind]

Yes, but did Google have to buy doubleclick for this functionality? Didn't google maps help people find themselves before?

Whew!!!!

[poadshaw]

Good thing I use http://www.msn.com/

*puke*

It'll be easier to shop for others

[Turbowaffle]

Maybe soon Google checkout will know when it's my wife's birthday, and tell me "No no, don't get her that, get her this instead" when I add something to the cart.

Hmm.....

[Mockylock]

So they know about the endless hours of porn I watch? Hopefully not the midget porn though, right? I mean.. I was discreet about that. There weren't any ads I clicked on or anything.

Well, now I know my secret is safe.

Oh wait.

Re:Hmm.....

[Remus Shepherd]

So they know about the endless hours of porn I watch?

Why else would they be constantly emailing you porn spam?

Geez, ever heard of commas?

[sean.peters]

If you believe this is impossible then you would be wrong as there are a few companies who have access to enough Internet data to make this privacy lover's nightmare a reality and believe it or not a relatively new science called behavioral targeting is taking the online advertising world by storm.

Holy crap, I think we need to undertake an emergency mission to airdrop some punctuation into this guy's office. That sentence was just about incomprehensible.

Your sig

[CelticWhisper]

I am a programmer. I am paid to produce syntax not grammar. Deal with it.

Then how can you possibly be pro-grammar?

Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist. Oh god, not the cabbage again. *ducks*

Re:Only the ignorant ones

[owlnation]

So what will happen (and probaly already has) is that the people who do not know any better will form the basis of what "surfers" do.

As the previous poster says, it's pretty much only Joe Sixpack and The Sheeple that are going to get tracked. Hands up any slashdotter that's not using adblock and flashblock etc on their home system. (Those with hands raised please leave your geek id cards on the table on your way out.)

Predicting what Sheeple will do is easy. They eat (to excess - then diet), have sex, breed, like cars or fashion, watch sports as if they were the Circus Maximus, believe News Corps propaganda is "news", feed on the RIAA's outpourings like SOMA, drink, veg out in front of American Idol, and are far more interested in Britney and Parisite than politics or anything that actually matters. You don't really need any new technology to predict the interests of these kinds of "surfers" - it's pretty much basic animal instincts all the way. When McDonalds produces Soylent Green, they'll eat it and like it, even in the unlikely event that they know what it is.

Sheeple - it's life Jim, but not as we /.ers know it.

(As an aside, if no-one's yet formed a band called "Joe Sixpack and the Sheeple", can I suggest that someone does.)

On top of the fridge...

[Isochrome]

http://pics.nerdnirvana.org/v/technology/myhouse_g oogle_com.jpg.html

Re:Except

[Grashnak]

What about people that do searches for their relatives? Or their pets? My dog has glaucoma. I'd be troubled greatly if my researching glaucoma medicines (dogs use the same medicine as people for this disease) caused any sort of reaction from anyone other than a pharmacy to offer me lower priced drops/pills. Just be glad you weren't searching for "incontinency" and "huge tits".