The business of targeting ads based on user behavior is big. Google is in it. So is Microsoft and Yahoo among others. And so is Gator, a spyware maker which is now called Claria. Claria has been smartly shedding itself of the taint associated ith Spyware. It paid off all its suers, many of whom were big media companies. It has also allied with the regulators to,
help government agencies and industry watchdogs establish guidelines for spyware, and perhaps show how its own practices were more benign.
Hell, it even created a post of Chief Privacy Oficer and appointed an ex-FTC guy.
The final step, don’t call it Spyware, call it adware. Why? Because even the FTC thinks it is okay.
…Sometimes tracking makes advertising work better for consumers.
Finally don’t forget Google. This creature pops up everywhere. It has also got one of the largest collection of user profiles which it may use for even better consumer targeting.
Or, maybe one day, Adsense and Adware will mean the same.
