Introducing interest-based advertising - Action required for your AdSense account

[Kenny]

Just got this from adsense:

Hi,

We're writing to let you know about the upcoming launch of interest-based advertising, which will require you to review and make any necessary changes to your site's privacy policies. You'll also see some new options on your Account Settings page.

Interest-based advertising will allow advertisers to show ads based on a user's previous interactions with them, such as visits to advertiser website and also to reach users based on their interests (e.g. "sports enthusiast"). To develop interest categories, we will recognize the types of web pages users visit throughout the Google content network. As an example, if they visit a number of sports pages, we will add them to the "sports enthusiast" interest category. To learn more about your associated account settings, please visit the AdSense Help Center at http://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/topic.py?topic=20310.

As a result of this announcement, your privacy policy will now need to reflect the use of interest-based advertising. Please review the information at https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=100557 to ensure that your site's privacy policies are up-to-date, and make any necessary changes by April 8, 2009. Because publisher sites and laws vary across countries, we're unfortunately unable to suggest specific privacy policy language.

For more information about interest-based advertising, you can also visit the Inside AdSense Blog at http://adsense.blogspot.com/2009/03/driving-monetization-with-ads-that.html.

We appreciate your participation and look forward to this upcoming enhancement.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

Thoughts?

 

[NetOctave]

Google spreads its wings again.

Don't know what google will come up next with. And then they will justify it saying that there are disclaimers all around and that users can opt out. I hate someone tracking me. And when the company tries to hide behind a legal loophole of a privacy policy, i start to hate them.

It is going to affect the thousands who just don't know what a cookie is, leave alone how to disable it. And they are what google is planning to track. There's no place for them to hide.

For me, time to install one of these firefox extensions..
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search?q=cookie&cat=all

and time to uninstall google chrome.

 

[Keral_Patel]

Thoughts :D Hmm Let me start by giving my thoughts :D

1st of all adsense used to perform better for niche sites. Now there will be no niche ads shown but you will see a "Buy this Baseball bat" [As that person is interested in sports] on the site where the content is about Makeup and Lipsticks [As this person has a girl friend and wants to buy a gift for her] So he just keeps on reading that article about how to buy a wonderful makeup set to impress your girl friend but has no place to go except buy another baseball bat that he already is fed up of buying again and agian and again :D

 

[mwzd]

You can just set firefox to delete the cookies every time it closes.

Google is trying to capture customer data and provide targeted advertising to advertisers.

This will lead to a new low in web income.

 

[copper]

Humm...
I don't see why cookies are so bad as long as they don't use it against me.
I rather see ads that interest me than other ads.

As for new adsense policy, I think it basically says adsense monetized sites must
change "privacy policy". Better put one up if it's not already there.

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

I hate it; Google has created another task that I have to do, and they have left legal responsibility up to me.

Just place this privacy policy on your sites, but we can't tell you what it is because it's different for every country.

So they are imposing a policy on you, and you had better comply, or else, but Google can't tell you what to place on your site. If you don't obey the great Goog, your account will be disabled. So even though they can't tell you what to place on your site, just follow the rules, and you'll be okay (???)

How lame is that?

I'm beginning to think adsense isn't worth all the hassle.

As for cookies: I have statcounter on all my sites, so the privacy train has left the station long ago.

Still, I use it only as a counter and rarely even look at "who" has visited my site.

Anyone who thinks the web offers any kind privacy is sadly mistaken. Even proxy sites are easily hacked (if someone is determined enough, like the police who are looking to bust pedophiles).

*

 

[yilduz]

Thoughts :D Hmm Let me start by giving my thoughts :D

1st of all adsense used to perform better for niche sites. Now there will be no niche ads shown but you will see a "Buy this Baseball bat" [As that person is interested in sports] on the site where the content is about Makeup and Lipsticks [As this person has a girl friend and wants to buy a gift for her] So he just keeps on reading that article about how to buy a wonderful makeup set to impress your girl friend but has no place to go except buy another baseball bat that he already is fed up of buying again and agian and again :D

This same topic is being talked about in the adsense board, and this posts answers my question in it.
Thank you.
Rep+

 

[Seabass]

I got the email also.

We now will have major TM problems......and not just on developed domains. If they apply this to parking can you imagine the implications?

Also, imagine, using the example above, you have a Makeup site that shows baseball bats.......you think that guy/gal will return to that site?

He/she is going to think that you have built up a real sh*tty site. Again G wins and you look like an MFA site builder now.

I'm really f'n mad about this.......and I don't want to hear about how I can "opt out". They are putting me in harms way......more harm than the Adsense or parking can pay out to justify staying with them.

My domainer friend who has some of the best domains in the world just moved some 15,000 to 20,000 daily uniques in parking from G today b/c of this. He moved them all back to Yahoo.

I'm also moving everything to different Yahoo feeds for now.
.