demedia's blog

When the head of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB/US) goes on a tirade in front of the world's leading digital marketing and advertising companies, it's worth noting what's the alarm about.  According to IAB CEO Randall Rothenberg, the biggest threat to the Internet today isn't SOPA or PIPA--it's the work of the EU and W3C to protect consumer privacy!

The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) political wheeling and dealing should come under greater policymaker and press scrutiny, especially from EU privacy officials.  Online data collection companies are terrified that policymakers will enact reasonable safeguards that ensure consumers and citizens get to decide how their data can be collected and used--not the digital data grabbers at Google, Facebook, and many others.  These digital marketers would prefer that private deals be struck that will allow the data profiling status quo, including on issues related to our finances,

Say a user wants not to be tracked.  That's their choice and right, yes?  It should be.  But it appears that the White House and FTC blessed Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), including Google, has other plans for a user in mind.  According to the trade publication Digiday, "the ad industry’s Digital Advertising Alliance is currently in discussions with all major browser manufacturers to agree to a consistent implementation of the feature.

Is the development of a global, uniform, and powerful means of protecting some of a users information online about to be derailed?  That's certainly a possibility, given this week's White House's endorsement of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) plan to implement its own form of do-not-track (DNT).  The ultimate fate of the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) own work to create a "tracking-protection" standard--one that would likely be more effective--is in doubt.  It's precisely because the DAA and i

The key to understanding Google's privacy and data practices is to look at its online marketing initiatives.  Users can't be assured their privacy will be protected in a system designed to peel-off so much of their information to be used for profile-based targeting.  One Google effort that requires greater scrutiny is its "Zero Moment of Truth" effort, e-book, website, video and all.  It's about using search and all the Google tools to influence a consumer precis

The use of "Big Data" marketing tactics to track and target voters raises concerns about the surveillance and manipulation of voters.  Compiling huge, private, and unaccountable political databases that tap into our Facebook, mobile phone and web data to better influence voters should not be tolerated.    A voter should decide what can be collected and used about them--not the parties or special interest group.  As this new Guardian article underscores, both parties must make public how they collect and use information for digital campaigning.  In the

We have long said that the biggest advertisers using Facebook get a special deal when it comes to using its targeting platform.  This week's Ad Age gives insight into this.  In its story on Facebook, marketers and data, it explains that:  "Facebook typically gives top advertisers early access to products. That special attention extends to interest-level data for marketers spending at least seven figures, according to someone familiar with the deals.

We support the aims of the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism and others who want to help ensure the survival of serious news reporting in the U.S., especially in newspapers.  But the center's new study fails to address the key questions--and policy issues--connected to digital advertising and newspaper sites.  Ironically, if they had asked their outside expert Prof.

We will present this Wed. at the WHO's Global Alcohol Policy conference.  Our presentation is:  The Digital Marketing of Alcoholic Beverages to Youth:  How Social Media, Mobile Devices, Personalized Data Collection and Neuromarketing have transformed the global advertising landscape.
Here's the abstract.