2. • Have you ever wondered how your favorite website remembers you
as well as your likes and wants? Did it not catch you off guard or
even pleased you that you are presented with ads that feature
things that you are interested in? Well do not fret nor do not be
afraid because you are not being stalked. Actually, you have just
experienced behavioral targeting, and it is just the beginning.
• Behavioral targeting is nothing evil but a real effort on the part of
known firms such as Microsoft and Apple try to learn what their
customers like and dislike. Once they know this, then Microsoft will
then try to create new or update their current programs to fit the
needs and wants of their customers. But since firms like Apple and
Microsoft have customers all over the world, they cannot simply ask
these questions. So, instead, what they will do instead is have
someone else do it for them.
3. • Basically, behavioral targeting works along these
lines: Microsoft and Facebook will contact a
known firm that specializes in behavioral
targeting and ask them to target end users of
their products in Asia, for example. The firm, let’s
call them the XYZ Company, will then place a
tracking code on both Facebook and Microsoft’s
sites. So now, when you visit either of these sites
you will be see a message on privacy and you
have the right to opt out or say no and you will
not be tracked; however, if you do not opt out,
then the XYZ Company will start tracking you for
their clients Microsoft and Facebook.
4. So as you go about surfing on the World Wide Web, the XYZ Company
is tracking and collecting data on you. This data includes:
• Your age
• Ethnicity
• Favorite sites
• Favorite topics
• Location
• Payment history
• Applications you use
• Applications you do not like
With this information at hand, Microsoft and Facebook can now
concentrate on tweaking their applications so that their customers in
Asia will remain satisfied. And with their client based happy, they will
more than likely tell their friends of their positive experiences with
both Microsoft and Facebook and encourage them to become clients
as well.
5. With behavioral targeting in place the natural question comes to mind what
does this mean long term for the internet? The answer is very simple; the
World Wide Web will become a customized personalized online home for end
users.
Think about it; because of behavioral targeting you have one end user who is
a National Football League (NFL) fan of the Dallas Cowboys. So now, every
time he logins on to his home page, it will automatically change itself to a
Dallas Cowboys’ theme; the color scheme as well as the latest team news on
the front page. And as he continues to surf the web the background color
remains the same and once in a while he will encounter banners and ads
related to the Dallas Cowboys and or the NFL that might interest him. At the
same time, you have another user whose interest lies with fashion. When this
particular user logins to his home page, he will not be seeing the color
schemes or themes related to the NFL but rather the fashion shows in New
York.
Behavioral targeting is a term that is foreign to most internet users but it is a
practice that has been going on for a long time. Because of behavioral
targeting the internet is changing from an impersonal void of information to a
personalized portal of the future.
