Final Report

Christine Carson and Juan Carlos Noble
Ronald Yaros
Final Report
10/13/10

Social Behavioral Advertising on the Internet


Everyday we view countless web pages, surfing the internet for information, from recipes to facts for a research paper. In our constant search for knowledge we create an online personality for ourselves that says a lot about our sex, race, ethnicity and so on. Marketers and advertisers use this data to send targeted advertisements to consumers, which is called “behavioral advertising.” Although behavioral advertising may help consumers learn of services and products they were not aware of, behavioral advertising does present privacy concerns. Many internet users are unaware that their information is tracked. Should companies like AOL and Google be allowed to collect their users information, and sell it to a third party? Does behavioral advertising infringe upon a person’s rights to not have their information collected? The issue over behavioral advertising suggests clearer regulations need to be created to separate our online actions from our private lives.


Behavioral advertising uses tracking technology that follows consumers’ every click, using this data to make assumptions about you. According to Yahoo! Behavioral Advertising policy, modeling technology gathers “…searches, page views and ad interactions. With these models, Yahoo! Identifies what consumers are interested in and predicts where in the Awareness-Consideration-Purchase funnel they are. (Yahoo!)” This presents a privacy concern because potentially sensitive information such as social security numbers and health information could get to the wrong people.


Social behavioral advertising is one of the biggest driving forces of the Internet. In any business, career field, or industry the straw that stirs the drink is money. Because of this social behavioral advertising is the reason the Internet is seen as such an opportunity to make money for so many companies. The general idea of social behavioral advertising is that companies can pay advertising firms or other companies to post their advertisements where they know their demographic will be on the Internet. For instance, the third party company is able to scan a users computer and see his favorite websites, his history, and other information. Based off of that they can make assumptions now whether he is a male or female, what his hobbies are, where he spends most of his time, and what he is most likely to spend money on. Some people see this as an invasion of privacy but there is no one ruler of the Internet, and their is no governing force of the Internet so it is completely legal. Most people don't understand that the advertisements they see having to do with their likes and interests are not a coincidence.


Websites such as Google, Facebook, and You Tube are three of the most successful Internet companies because of this. Using the likes and interests section on a persons profile on Facebook, advertisers are able to market their product to people they know have a preexisting interest in that topic. Google and YouTube too both keep a history of all the searches a user performs and based on those results, they are able to see what someone is most likely to buy. If you are watching clips of scary movies there is no coincidence that the advertisement next to you says, see what you look like in "scary form.” Its an advertisement marketing to you because chances are if you like scary movies, you would be interested in seeing yourself in "scary form". If you watch a lot of sports highlight tapes there might be an advertisement that says "test you’re sports IQ" or "win super bowl tickets". Social behavioral advertising are these companies bread and butter, their main source of income.


Companies that rely on behavioral advertising often hope to reach a new audience using this specific marketing scheme. Marketers use the information gathered from an individuals search engine to learn more about that person and their interests. For example, last night I went on T-Mobile’s website hoping to upgrade my cell phone. This morning I noticed several advertisements from T-Mobile promoting their new “Kids are free” campaign for customers. T-Mobile’s privacy policy states “we may use cookies…or similar technologies to identify the computer or device and record your preferences and other data so that our websites can personalize your visit. (T-Mobile) This policy notes that when you “visit” T-Mobile, they may customize the page, however nothing was mentioned about when you are not visiting the website. Under this policy, advertisements on non-T-Mobile web pages are still acceptable.


Behavioral advertising presents a privacy concern because it creates a profile of who you are, and prejudges a customer before they have the opportunity to make a purchase online. A Wall Street Journal article discussed how some of the tracking software used by companies, could potentially lead to price changes depending on who they think the consumer is (Steel & Angwin). For example, a wealthy, single, 30-year-old male may see a different price for a Honda Civic versus a 25-year-old mother. This practice could lead to some individuals being barred from viewing certain websites. At Carnegie Mellon University researchers studied interviewed and surveyed more than 300 people to learn about individuals’ attitudes to behavioral advertising. Using a Likert measurement scale, 64 percent believed that following someone’s online habits is “invasive.” (McDonald & Crannor) This suggests that many consumers are potentially uncomfortable with having their information monitored.


Amid all of the controversy one thing is for certain; targeting potential clients via behavioral advertising a major source of income for websites that want profit off of Internet ads. In today’s wireless world and web 2.0 advertisements are not just something to put on you’re website to make it a money machine. Behavioral advertisement has changed the way people think when they create a website. The mindset of “what website can I create so people visit it” in today’s world is not nearly as popular as “what website can i create where people can view, display, share their likes and interests, and then advertise to them based on their activity”. This is how Facebook and Youtube are both so successful. It may be controversial, but if you read the fine print at the bottom you realize it’s completely legal, and that it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.  




Sources
T-Mobile. Retrieved October 12, 2010, from   HYPERLINK "http://www.t-mobile.com/company/website/privacypolicy.aspx?WT.z_unav=ftr__privacypolicy \\ otherprivacyinfo"http://www.tmobile.com/company/website/privacypolicy.aspx?WT.z_unav=ftr__pr ivacypolicy#otherprivacyinfo 

Steel, E., & Angwin, J. (2010, August 4). On the Web's Cutting Edge, Anonymity in name  only. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 13, 2010 from   HYPERLINK "http://online.wsj.com/article/"http://online.wsj.com/article/  SB10001424052748703294904575385532109190198.html?mod=googlenews_ws
McDonald, A., & Crannor, L. (n.d.). American's Attitudes About Internet Behavioral  Advertising Policies. Retrieved October 13, 2010, from   HYPERLINK "http://www.aleecia.com/authors-drafts/"http://www.aleecia.com/authors-drafts/wpes-behav-AV.pdf
Yahoo!. Retrieved October 10, 2010 from   HYPERLINK "http://advertising.stltoday.com/content/behavioral_FAQ.pdf"http://advertising.stltoday.com/content/behavioral_FAQ.pdf