Internet controversy focused on a controversial practice by BlueKai, Inc. Tuesday. The Bellevue, Wash-based data exchange outfit rose among the hottest internet topics after the Wall Street Journal quoted BlueKai’s CEO in an article about Internet security . The Journal article is the first in a series saying cookies that collect data about browsing habits are “spying on consumers”. BlueKai CEO Omar Tawakoi disagrees with the Journal’s take, saying that calling cookies Internet spying is unreliable and damaging to the online industry.
BlueKai cookies record data on browsing habits
To exploit a marketing niche online called “data exchange,” BlueKai was founded in 2008. TechFlash reports that BlueKai cookies on leading travel, automotive and retail sites compile anonymous customer data. BlueKai then creates an online auction where advertisers bid on the data. Because BlueKai cookies track browsing habits, advertisers pay real cash to target individuals who have shown they might be interested in a unique vacation destination or automobile model.
Data exchange online is big business
Every day, as outlined by the Wall Street Journal, BlueKai puts 50 million bits of data about individual browsing habits on the data exchange. How Internet spying has become a large business with more intrusive practices than most people realize is the focus of the Journal series. A study conducted by the newspaper found that without warning, the nation’s top 50 sites planted an average of 64 cookies per user. Location, income, buying interests-even medical conditions-are recorded by the cookies. Using online data exchanges that work like the stock market, companies for instance BlueKai market the consumer profiles.
CEO stands up for BlueKai cookies
BlueKai CEO Omar Tawakoi fought the Journal with a rebuttal published on Advertising Age. BlueKai cookies, Tawakoi said, enable promoters to show people ads with stronger relevance at a more effective frequency. The revenue ensures that content providers are compensated. He said a “less polarizing” discussion would be helpful and the Journal calling cookies spying is “misleading at best and damaging to the online industry at its worst “Tawakoi suggested that the Journal’s insistence on saying that cookies are spying is misleading and damages the productive growth of the online industry. His solution, which BlueKai already provides with an online registry, is to make the online data collection process more transparent. BlueKai shows consumers exactly what is known about them and gives them control over what data they will allow the business to use.
Further reading
TechFlash
techflash.com/seattle/2008/12/BlueKai_gets_105_million_to_help_advertisers_target_shoppers36189094.html
Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703940904575395073512989404.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703940904575395073512989404.html?mod=googlenews_wsj%3c
Advertising Age
adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=145208″
