The Rise of Online Behavior Targeting

             Since the advent of the internet and its exponentially growing usage, one of the most featured ethical concerns of the internet is that of privacy.  Never before has there been a medium that holds as much personal information about its users as the internet. With the correct skill and knowledge, any individual can get online and hack their way to figuring out specific IP addresses which will subsequently allow them to steal user account information ranging from viewing personal emails to learning bank account numbers.  Yet recently, another concern regarding internet privacy has risen which advertisers are referring to as Internet Geotargeting.

            Essentially, geo targeting is a facet of online behavior marketing used to determine the online location of a website visitor. Internet geotargeting is now the hot trend for advertisers because based off the tracking information they receive, they can determine marketing information about users such as where people live, how old they are, and what their individual interests are. In a 2010 Wall Street Journal article, “The Web’s New Gold Mine: Your Secrets” the author investigated the fast-growing business of businesses spying on internet consumers. 

Numbers Don’t Lie

            A portion of the article addressed the New York Company, Lotame Solutions, and how they use a sophisticated software called “beacon” to capture what people are typing on a website. Lotame then uses this data to package it into specific profiles about groups of individuals and sell it to companies seeking better routes of marketing. Lotame gets so specific with their data packages that companies can even customize what demographic they are seeking and receive the IP addresses of individuals who are, for instance, 21-year-old males who are fans of the Game of Thrones television series on HBO.

                But it is not just Lotame Solutions which is practicing this controversial method of targeting consumers. Online tracking has become a very popular business and hundreds of internet ad networks are constantly following users around the net and watching them to later sell their habits to companies. Even Google, most known for being a search company, is getting into the behavioral advertising businesses. Google has been monitoring its users even as far as noting what they watch on YouTube.  Another internet behemoth, Facebook, was the subject of a  Business Insider study which analyzed how much Facebook is tracking internet activity. The study  concluded that Facebook has over 200 internet trackers around the web which are interested in what users are reading, linking to social media sites, and buying online. 

Mark is always watching

                        It is easy to notice the concerns with this new practice. The level of intrusion into privacy  is unprecedented. The Center for Digital Democracy, which aims for maintaining the personal rights of consumers during the digital age, believes that these companies are attempting to create a science of targeting that learns everything about individuals and manipulates their weaknesses. Other concerns given by critics include that their personal data could be used to discriminate wrongly against them or even exclude them from information and/or opportunities that they might enjoy. And there is always the overarching fear regarding internet privacy that the information gathered by companies could fall into the wrong hands and be used wrongly.

            However, I’m personally in the minority and do not have major issues with this marketing technique. Though, before I explain myself, I would like to state that I don’t necessarily support this new method and I would prefer that advertisers stick to traditional methods rather than more-so invade my privacy. But, there is no doubt that this is the future of advertising. As the internet grows and more corporate giants are being formed from internet startups the revenue from online advertising will also become an industry of massive growth and money. For instance, in 2009, Google collected more than $5 billion in ad revenues. As it continues to invest more in behavioral advertising through online tracking, their advertising revenue stream is surely to increase thereby increasing the draw of online tracking.

            Additionally, most individuals go online for specific reasons and not to just click on advertisements. It will make no difference to me whether or not the banner on Facebook is advertising something that fits to my interests. I would rather have an advertisement for Ski trips in Colorado than for a special coupon on Viagra. I’m more willing to click on an advertisement that fits my demographic than one that doesn’t. Internet companies know this, ad agencies know this, and most consumers probably prefer this. Therefore, I encourage companies to follow the money. In the meantime and as this business evolves, I think it is in our best interests to accept it and continue this conversation by working with companies to address some of the featured concerns while working with them to alleviate the issues and retain the right of privacy for internet users.

            I wanted to research and discuss this controversial debate after the viewing the TED video about phone companies gathering data on their customers and how they create profiles using the information. I had previously been aware of the debate and therefore wanted to research more into the ethics behind this practice. What I found was a massive amount of national news stories and professional sources addressing online tracking for advertising benefits. It is a very interesting debate and one which will be in the public eye for many years to come. As I post in this blog throughout the semester, I will attempt to continue researching the debate and giving my opinion on which side I agree with.