Implementing Behaviorally Targeted Ads

In earlier posts and podcasts we discussed the theoretical advantages of behaviorally targeted advertising and how the Internet is best suited for the technique. Today we interview Bryan Burdick who is the Corporate Development Officer at Bizo which is a company that actually implements behavioral targeting via the Internet...[read more]

Bizo Signs Up With NAI to Push Targeting Education

Congratulations are in order for both B2B targeting network Bizo and the Network Advertising Initiative. In addition to its membership in the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Bizo gets a big thumbs up for signing up with another association dedicated to educating consumers about targeted online advertising. However, it could be argued that NAI gets more out of the deal...[read more]

Bizo joins the Network Advertising Initiative

As strong, and very vocal, advocates for consumer privacy and transparency, we’re excited to report that Bizo has joined the ranks of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) (www.networkadvertising.org), a collective of online marketing and analytics companies who are working together to establish standards to help protect consumer's privacy in the online ad world. Although we have been 100% NAI compliant since our inception in 2008...[read more]

Online Targeting: No Monsters Under the Bed

There continues to be noise around the growing menace of advertising in the online world. Alarmists point to the increasingly sophisticated capability to track and capture a user’s travels and behaviors across the Web, known as behavioral targeting. Armed with this information delivered via cookies placed in your Web browser, advertisers are in the position to deliver highly targeted ads wherever you go online. This is being framed in a “Big Brother is Watching” way as though companies are getting into the business of spying on you (see this recent WSJ article) and threatening your life, liberty and happiness. Here’s the thing – for all the bluster, it is largely an unfair characterization of how the industry actually operates...[read more]

Targeted Advertising: There are No Monsters Hiding Under the Bed

There continues to be noise around the growing menace of advertising in the online world. Alarmists point to the increasingly sophisticated capability to track and capture a user’s travels and behaviors across the Web, known as behavioral targeting. Armed with this information delivered via cookies placed in your Web browser, advertisers are in the position to deliver highly targeted ads wherever you go online. This is being framed in a “Big Brother is Watching” way as though companies are getting into the business of spying on you (see this recent WSJ article) and threatening your life, liberty and happiness.

Here’s the thing – for all the bluster, it is largely an unfair characterization of how the industry actually operates. The problem is not companies getting into the business of spying (it’s just too expensive for companies to spy on consumers – there’s no real revenue in it); the real problem is fear and a lack of education around the online advertising industry. We fear the unknown and what we don’t understand. At first glance, this new world of digital media and targeted online advertising may look frightening. But take a second glance, armed with knowledge about how online advertising works, and you’ll see there’s no boogeyman hiding in the closet, or monster under the bed...[read more]

Bizo hires David Karel as VP-Marketing

San Francisco—Business targeting and ad network company Bizo Inc. has named David Karel VP-marketing. Previously Karel was VP-product marketing at SuccessFactors, a developer of business goal-setting and analysis software. [read more]

Erasing all digital footprints 'impossible'

It's been almost two decades since mainstream users began trekking into the library-slash-playground known as the World Wide Web. Now, several years into that excursion, many are taking a long hard look at the trail they've left behind. [read more]