Wall Street Journal furthers the discussion on user tracking (Covered in previous post May 25th Re: Sacbee.com user profiles.)

Ok so not to beat this to death - BUT - Today, the WSJ ran a great piece on the power of online behavioral targeting and how it can be a superior advertising method when compared to simple, contextual banner placement. (Behavioral puts an Ad in front of a user who has shown interest in a category through some number of qualifying online activities, like making multiple visits to travel sites over a short period of time, regardless of what in-network site they are on or what category of content they are they are viewing when the Ad unit is served. Contextual places a travel banner (for example) on a page containing travel content, making the assumption that readers there have an interest in that type of content based on that single visit. Both are usually sold on a CPM basis.)

Any-who... it is a great read if you are interested in simply understanding how companies like Tacoda are changing things.

So, why am I connecting this to the privacy issues raised of The Sacramento Bee user tracking post from last month? I'll let the WSJ writer summarize it for me...

"Behavioral targeting draws criticism from privacy advocates who are concerned about the collection of private data. But the behavioral targeting firms note that they track the behavior of an anonymous browser, not a particular person, and don't connect the dots between private and identifiable information. Sites usually allow a person to opt out."

So therein lies the powerful difference... The Bee (and perhaps McClatchy overall) is capable of connecting online behavior to that print subscriber's home address. The home address allows The Bee to build sophisticated user and household level profile that can then circle-back around to create a very deep and not at all anonymous profile that can be tracked via cookie technology and the registration system at work on the site.

Don't get me wrong - I love this. I believe this is a great way to get Ad units to stop interrupting and to start interacting - enhancing a user's on site experiences.(But I digress...)

Is this technology bad? I guess it depends on how its used.

If I as a upscale grocery store can tell by income level, age, and online consumption of certain content that a user is a wine lover who lives in my market area - win for me win for the user because I can message to that user in a way that is valuable for him/her. (Coupons, incentives, discounts, Etc.)

As a marketer or business owner, I can also use the same marketing machine to EXCLUDE "certain demographic types" from getting certain special offers and discounts that are likely to be made to upper income groups only. Could be very smart marketing, could also call into question certain ethical and moral questions. (Especially for media outlets like The Bee.)

Finally, I am not sure, but unlike the Tacoda network (the same technology that powers The Bee's tracking solution BTW) I don't think a user can opt-out of the tracking and profile building on Sacbee.com and still enjoy full access to all content. It is my understanding that If you are not registered, you can't see all of the premium content. Registration triggers profile building, and away we go! (See The Sacramento Bee privacy policy here Last updated June 10th, 2005 (2 years ago!)

Again, I love this technology and will use it for my clients. This is not the pot calling the kettle black. I applaud the many publishers who are using tools like these to make advertising online more effective, transparent and productive.

It is, however, the pot calling on The Bee to explain its policy on this issue and to take a stand - Their criticizing of Google and Double Click for their POSSIBLE or INTENDED user tracking while doing the exact same thing, and more, without disclosure just rubs me the wrong way.