Google to launch "behavioral advertising" (read "spying")!

Google is currently testing the long denied technology for user preferences tracking. The system will track user behaviour across the immense Google partner network. Data on visited sites will be associated with your unique browser ID and stored in Google's database. Mined data are then going to be used for advertising purposes (so called behavioral advertising). According to Google, this is going to be beneficial for advertisers (providing them better targeting options) as well as for internet users (ads shown will be more relevant and thus add more value).

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!

This is a serious privacy disaster! It is equivalent to being followed whenever you go! Sure, more relevant ads are a nice thing, but for what price? How safely will be the data stored and who assures it's not abused? Google is playing with fire here, as it's good image might end up in Microsoft's levels in a few years... What made them change their attitude and start experimenting with a technology they have been refusing so far? Global economic downturn and decreased advertising revenues?

Sure, Google offers an opt-out. You can go to a specific site (note: you can also edit your ad preferences there) and download a plug-in to your browser that insures that you're not being spied on. What a convenient solution! Moreover, they made the announcement silently on their blog. How many people do you think will know that they are being followed and that they can opt-out?

In my opinion, if Google dares to do something like that, it should certainly be on an opt-in basis. I'm pretty sure that we are about to hear more about this story in the media soon. Read more here.

Is Google going to delete my blog?

New world marketing @ Nokia Ideas Project

Nokia recently launched a website called Ideas Project. It is a virtual room for sharing (BIG) ideas, responding to them and elaborating on them. Surprisingly, these do not have to be related to mobile communication in any way.

To speed up the launch of this website, Nokia invited a couple of visionaries to present various ideas. Some of them are really interesting and inspiring, I recommend browsing the site. An example of what dragged my attention are Jerry Michalski's ideas on marketing and social media:

In the new world, he says, you develop your product with your audience from the start and if you actually have to spend any money on advertising, maybe there's something wrong. Well, very provocative, indeed. Reminds me of Apple. But I'd not underestimate the role of advertising as not everyone is engaged on-line and not all product categories  have the ability of creating a global hype like consumer electronics.

One may argue, why did Nokia launch such website? Did they do it, so that they can be part of the on-line massive collaboration trend shaping the future and thus part of the future as well? Looking at the user submitted ideas signals rather a new channel for harvesting ideas on Nokia's products and services. But if it's just a mere new channel, why making it so blurry and unintegrated with other listening channels?