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Google To Monitor Surfing Habits For Ad-Serving

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the do-you-see-what-i-see dept.

superglaze (ZDNet UK) writes "Google is gearing up to launch cookie-based 'interest-based' advertising, which involves monitoring the user's passage across various WebSense partner sites. The idea is to have better-targeted advertising, which is not a million miles away from what Phorm is trying to do — the difference, it seems at first glance, is that Google is being relatively up-front about its intentions."

4 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. I thought they'd been doing this for years by plover · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't that how Doubleclick made their fortune?

    --
    John
  2. Maybe not so bad. by AltGrendel · · Score: 5, Informative

    By visiting Google's ad-preferences page, the user can opt out of having their surfing habits tracked, or input their own preferences for the subject matter of ads they would like to see.

    At least you can opt-out.

    --
    The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination

    - Douglas Adams

  3. Re:evil? by Onaga · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I would rather have tech and sci-fi books marketed to me when I go to Amazon. The big sale on may actually be the price tipping point for me to buy that. I don't really care about a big sale on that blue gem pendant necklace with 18k chain links. So yes, targeted marketing seems good.

    The other side of the fence says, "ZOMG, there is a database with my surfing habits that can be accessed by the government and companies with money willing to pay for it." Some people may not care. Others think that this will allow Big Brother to build a fluff case against them. The middle group just thinks it is a private activity that should not be monitored by others.

    I'm in more of the middle group. I have conversations with my wife all the time that are private. Nothing shameful or perverse, but just amicably intimate. I want them kept private, not indexed. I believe that is the heart of most of the objection.

  4. Re:From the article... by blueg3 · · Score: 5, Funny

    (as should most people, since 99.9999999% of all cookies are redundant)

    There's a word in English, "most", appropriate for this situation. It's not necessary or helpful to invent obviously-made-up-numbers to illustrate "most". I doubt you have data to back up that only one in one billion cookies is useful.