Nine of 10 poll respondents say they pay little if any attention to the ads they see on websites. Still, 61% say they have noticed ads that "seemed to be directed specifically" at them and that are related to websites they've previously visited. Two-thirds don't believe Internet advertisers should be able to tailor pitches by collecting data that show where they've been prowling around in cyberspace.
What's more, 61% of those surveyed don't believe that the methods used in targeting ads are justified just to keep costs down so that people can visit websites for free.
Anonymous Internet monitoring has become common practice and big business. Online advertising accounted for $12.1 billion in revenue in the first half of this year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. The Federal Trade Commission, in response to consumer complaints, has called for Congress to pass a law requiring a Do Not Track opt-out system that is similar to the Do Not Call phone list aimed at telemarketers.
Poll respondent Timothy Philbin, 51, of Palatine, Ill., reflects the attitude of those concerned about privacy. "There is always the danger that you're going to be judged or somehow pigeonholed by the site you are looking at," he says. "I don't think I like that very much."
But respondent Trina Milius, 21, of Rexburg, Idaho, is less concerned. "I'm fine with it. I'd rather see ads that I'm actually interested in rather than random things I find bothersome."
Given a choice, 47% of the respondents said they would allow only advertising networks that they have specifically authorized to tailor ads to them. Just 14% indicated they would allow all advertising networks to tailor such ads. But 37% said they wouldn't allow any advertising networks to target ads their way.
This is one of the areas where responses differed by age and other demographic measures. A little over half of the respondents ages 18 to 40 said they would allow only the advertising networks they choose to target Internet ads. Only 38% of the 50-and-older crowd answered the same way. Meanwhile, 51% of people making $30,000 a year or more would allow the networks they choose to tailor ads compared with just 35% of people with lower annual incomes.
Allan Ayella, 30, of McPherson, Kan., wants a say on who is tailoring ads. "I'm not against companies advertising. It's the not-knowing part that worries me. Who has this information and who is going to send me what?"
The results are based on telephone interviews conducted Dec. 10-12 with a random sample of 814 Internet users living in the continental U.S. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
COMMENTARY: Usually, the websites you visit can easily be tracked down using cookies and other mechanisms. Individuals and organisations will soon be able to indicate which websites they would like to be blocked, by creating lists of these websites, which they can also make available to the public.
“These lists include Web addresses for IE to treat as ‘Do Not Call’ unless the consumer visits the address directly, and also if a consumer chooses to add a Tracking Protection List, Internet Explorer 9 prevents information from being sent to the addresses in that list,” says Dean Hachamovitch, head of Internet Explorer development.
This new system will be featured in the new Internet Explorer (IE) 9, which is set to be released early next year.
If you are a member of a social network or any other website, do not click the LIKE button regarding a brand's Wall or tab post. This invites nothing but attention. Zuck will supply this information to his advertiser's who will then know if you like their products. From that point on you are toast.
Courtesy of an article dated December 14, 2010 appearing in USA Today
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