Google Targets Users With Behavior-Based Ads

[ZombieHorde]

Google on Wednesday will officially take its controversial behavioral advertising into beta testing. The technology will base targeted ads on users' online interests and activities.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company announced Wednesday that it will begin offering ads on YouTube and on its partner AdSense sites using what it terms "interest-based advertising," which tracks users' online behavior and displays ads based on the sites they have visited in the past.

snip

However, unlike previous advertising tactics, Google's new behavior-targeted advertising will associate categories of interest -- such as travel, sports or kitchen supplies -- with users' browsers, based on the sites they have previously visited and the types of pages they viewed.

Google's targeting tactics will include advertising cookies designed to track patterns of online users' behavior to determine their interests and preferences. Users will be placed into one or more of 600 categories based on their personal interests. Once a user's interests are determined, advertisers will target their ads accordingly. For example, if a user is deemed a skydiver, then a skydiving service might display ads, even if the user browses other sites.

http://www.crn.com/security/215801961">More to this story at this link.

[lunatica]

1. So will closet porn viewers get sex toy ads?

:spank: :puffpiece: :grouphug: :pals: :blush:

[msongs]

2. clear your cookies frequently, install cookie blockers, avoid...google for firefox, try

an add on called cookie culler. it lets you save certain cookies, like DU ferinstance, block some, and delete ones you don't want. probably other similar programs out there.

Google used to be cool, now it's the all intrusive big brother is watching you saves your internet history monster.

Msongs

[ColbertWatcher]

3. Get out of my computer's head google! Do no harm, my ass! n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

4. This is scary shit.

Not only "Dear, why are all these porn ads showing up on the computer?" but it would be a good way to round up political dissidents.

[RandomThoughts]

5. Here is the real question.

Will those cookies be used to decide what web sites you get back on searches. Alls someone has to do is move a search hit from page 1 to page 4, and most people will never click on it. The choice of what items come up for all of society can manipulate public opinion. The ability to target groups giving them wacko, or even manufactured hits, can really disable groups by having them say things that are outside of norm.

lets say you want to stop PETA from entering mainstream,(just an example) everyone that visits peta based sites, get special search results back when doing searches. those specials, are extream ideas or comments barely true, and nobody else gets those pages on searches. Now that group is pushed to extream ideas, and sounds nutty to 90% that just gets bland hits.

Person that questions governments honesty with people- gets hits to conspiracy sites to make them wacko.

Person with trust of government - gets hits to sites that are party line comments.

Now we have two bubbled groups, and if they talk they think each other are crazy, creating a two sided paradymn.

If control of searches is based on individuals then news reporters or diggers could be kept from certain sites, and positive diggers could be routed to more relevant info.

Even more nefarious, is to set up a series of web pages, if you have a certain cookie, clicking on that page gives you one set of information different then others. Again marginalizing anyone you give that cookie to.

Imagine every Red stater getting only hits about birth cirtificates or earmarks, and Democrats only getting hits on wild Rush comments, or Bush crimes.

This is the problem with non open search algorithms in search engines, because it could happen.

[4lbs]

7. I set my Google preferences to return 100 results per page. If any search result is on page 4 of my

results, they likely aren't what I need. They'd be the 300th to 400th most relevant.

In most cases, I never have to get past the first page of my searches because my preferences are set up that way.

[RandomThoughts]

8. I think you missed the point.

And also this was a more larger point on bubilization that occurs with all groups. Even social sites and forums create this effect.

But manipulation of search results to help you find personally relevant information would increase the effect.

Ask.com when you searched for Micheal Moore's film Sicko, would have negative post at the top, then finally search 40 was MM web page, same thing for code pink, and a few others.

When compared to google, which I think uses a different set of original sites to key off of, had completely different slant in returns. Hits were all higher, even if left in political view.

That is more what I was talking about.

[NashVegas]

6. History ---> Show All History --->

Apple +a / ctrl + a -----> delete

Preferences ---> privacy ---> show cookies ---> delete all but you need for logins

Do that everytime and you'll confuse the piss out of 'em.