Tuesday, December 4, 2007

When Online Advertising Intrudes On Privacy:

When Google AdWords and AdsSense were introduced they caught up with the end-users quickly. These services were the best thing that could happen to the online advertising as users could have access to adverts that were actually relevant to his interests.

People really did not care much when their personal information was accessed by a third party site in order to send targeted ads. As a result Google’s share of total revenues collected from adverts on the web amounted to 75 percent.

But when Facebook introduced its Beacon system, the reaction from social networking site users was one of strong displeasure. This service retained user activity on certain websites that were in collaboration with Facebook and published it to friends and acquaintances of the user.

The information that was collected also benefited the participating retailers as based on the user’s browsing interests targeted ads could be sent to the user and his friends. Initially this service was activated by default on Facebook member profiles, but after a huge outcry was raised on security and privacy issues, users were provided with the option of signing out.

When a website, retailer or e-marketer places its own interests before the interests of the audience, the results are not going to be that great for business. A certain balance between the user interest and the advertiser interest has to be maintained. When any business owner or online marketer runs an online marketing campaign he has to maintain the privacy of his market.

At Clear Media Online, we place high emphasis on the security of our business database. We consider it vital that the end-user’s details are not given out to third-party sites. It’s how we secure client trust.

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