New Gator (Claria) advertising [Network] coming soon

[Larwee]

They are calling this new advertising BehaviorLink. It is to deliver targeted ads to people based upon their surfing habits.

Since I am not a Claria (Gator) fan and have nothing good to say about them I will keep my personal thoughts to myself since they aren't very nice.

I just do not like this type of advertising. Others might have different opinions.

The full story about this new Gator (Claria) advertising is in the article below.

Claria To Launch Behavioral Targeting Network
by Wendy Davis, Tuesday, Feb 15, 2005 7:00 AM EST
MAKING GOOD ON ITS STATEMENT filed last April with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Claria Corp. today will announce that it intends to start a behavioral targeting service.

With the new service, Claria, known as an adware provider, will send targeted ads to consumers based on their surfing activity. The service, called BehaviorLink, will build detailed--but anonymous--profiles about consumers by combining information from cookies that track behavior across a limited number of commercial Web sites with information about the surfing habits of 40 million existing subscribers gleaned from the company's ad-serving software.

Beginning in the second quarter, Claria will purchase ad inventory from portals and publishers, and then serve ads from marketers who have signed up for the service. Unlike Claria's adware business, the ads won't be pop-ups; rather, they'll appear as part of the publisher's Web site. Claria also intends to continue sending adware pop-ups to consumers who download the company's ad-serving software in exchange for free software like KaZaa, said Chief Marketing Officer Scott Eagle.

The theory behind the behavioral model is that visiting certain Web sites indicates an interest in purchasing certain types of products or services. For instance, Web users who go to car-related sites might be interested in buying an automobile.

Because Claria can use its adware software to create in-depth profiles of consumers, some say the company can present a powerful challenge to other networks that serve behaviorally targeted ads -- such as Avenue A/Razorfish's DRIVEpm and America Online's Advertising.com--that just rely on tracking cookies. Such cookies, in general, only record visits to certain specified Web sites, as opposed to the adware software, which tracks users through a much broader range of Internet destinations.

"It's a great way for them to leverage the systems they've got and the technology they've put together," said JupiterResearch analyst Gary Stein. He added that the deal also gives Claria the chance to "extend an olive branch to publishers they've had run-ins with." A number of publishers have criticized (and in some cases, sued) the company for sending pop-ups to consumers, on the theory that pop-ups distracted them from the publishers' ads.

So far, about 100 advertisers--including those who already use Claria for adware--are on board. Claria also has about 3,000 sites currently available; until now, the company has run ads promoting itself on those sites. Eagle said Claria intends to spend at least $100 million purchasing ad inventory this year, up from $25 million. To gear up for the launch, Claria hired 15 new employees in the fourth quarter, and intends to hire 25 others.

Claria's ambitions don't end with launching the network. The company also aims to persuade a publisher to add Claria to its toolbar, in hopes of growing its software-subscriber base to at least 100 million.

The company also intends to announce today that it has formed a privacy team in connection with the behavioral marketing service. Members include Richard Purcell, president of Corporate Privacy Group and former chief privacy officer of Microsoft; Larry Ponemon, chairman of the consultancy Ponemon Institute; and former Federal Trade Commission attorney Lewis Rose, now at the law firm Collier Shannon Scott.

Purcell said the company is "following accepted industry practices" in its new initiative--that is, Claria doesn't collect or store personally identifiable information about Web users.

Consumer watchdogs, including the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Democracy and Technology, have criticized Claria in the past for its adware. The group has claimed that users don't always understand that they'll be getting pop-up ads when they download programs such as KaZaa for free.

Ari Schwartz, associate director at the organization, said that transparency is still a concern, because it's not clear that consumers will know they're being served targeted behavior-based ads. But, he said, it appeared that Claria had "taken a lot of steps" to protect consumers' privacy. And, he added, BehaviorLink might be preferable to adware. "It's an improved model because it's less invasive," he said.

http://publications.mediapost.com/in...&art_aid=27236

[cheznoir]

Just wait, people here will start posting how I will be lying if I say I would not run the Claria ads. More roaches running to the money regardless of the ethics.

[Larwee]

cheznoir, I might be thinking some of the same things you are thinking, but not everything. So, I guess I'll go out on a limb and make a few comments knowing that some people aren't going to agree with me.

In this thread http://www.geekvillage.com/forums/sh...threadid=26454 with the subject Are interestitials and invues worth the hassle, among other things I said the following:

To me going to sites with interstitials is the same as going to a dentist who doesn't use anesthesia. Both are very painful experiences.

There are certain types of advertising I won't run and I don't care how much it pays.

I have done this full-time for many years and it is how I make a living. But there are certain things I won't do.

If I personally don't like something, I'm not going to do it.

I hate pop-ups. I have never served pop-ups and I never will no matter what the rate! I'm just simply not going to do it. I don't like them and I don't expect any person to visit my site and see something that I hate.

I wouldn't operate an adult site no matter how much the financial reward would be simply because I don't approve of such sites. The money isn't going to make me do something that I am against.

I would say the same thing about pop-unders, interstitials and invues as well as this Gator (Claria) thing as well. I don't like this type of advertising and it is something I wouldn't be involved in no matter what the rate of pay.

If pop-ups or any of these other types of advertising that I don't like were the only types available then obviously I would need to find other ways to make money.

I know I'm not the only person who feels this way. It is all based on principle.

I hate going to sites with any of this type of advertising so I'm certainly not going to use it on any site I might have.

I like for it to be very clear to my visitors what is advertising. I don't like for things poping up at them or flying at them. I don't want them to think something is content and then click on it and find it is advertising. I want the advertising to be very obvious to them and not sneak it upon them, force it upon them or trick them into clicking on it.

If I make less by doing things based upon my conscience it doesn't bother me because I'll be able to live with myself.

I have mentioned before here at Geek/Talk that I don't drink alcohol and that I have never had a drink in my life. I won't go into the personal reasons for this. But there is not enough money in this world that would ever make me take a drink.

The same is true of advertising or anything else I don't believe in. If I'm strongly against it, I'm not going to do it. So no matter what any of this type of advertising pays I don't want any part of it.

I might still be ugly when I look at myself in the mirror. But I'll be able to look at myself and not be ashamed of myself for doing something I'm against just for money.

[Czar]

I would sincerely hope and expect that neither publishers nor networks would support Claria's latest release.

While the company and its ilk, along with adult sites and other non-mainstream properties, may occasionally move interesting technologies to market before mainstream operators (this includes not just behavioural targeting, but the whole contextual advertising principle), Claria/Gator has founded its success on blaitant revenue theft, deception and anti-competitive activity.

This forum has never been a friend of Gator. In fact, Geek/Talk enacted a strict anti-theftware policy years ago, which resulted in a number of large publishers and network reps losing their posting and advertising privileges on this board as a result of their various alignments with Gator and Co.

It's disappointing to see that Claria are still supported by many in the industry (including the influential ClickZ.com and a number of ad-related expos who host Claria booths). Nevertheless, the emergence of mainstream products that replicate the best of Claria's technology, without deceiving consumers, insulting e-commerce players or stealing from web publishers has finally served as a threat to the existence of these players.