In my last blog, I touched upon the contentious issue of data tracking, and the bad reputation that’s doggedly following it around in the media. Wall Street Journal, in particular, has been championing various alarmist stories on data; after all, it makes a better story to portray the online advertising industry as a data-grabbing, inconsiderate bully, out to aggressively target everyone, without consideration of privacy.

The most recent of WSJ’s articles outlined a new potential development in terms of data and targeting. Visa and MasterCard have drafted documents to investigate the possibility of using credit card purchase information for online advertising. The WSJ article reports that the initial proposals have been shared with selected ad companies for “exploratory conversations”. Though the technology is still evolving, if it were to be implemented, it would be mean that offline purchases would crossover into targeted online advertising, using the data segments from Visa and MasterCard.   

With the distrust and dislike of the financial world in general at an all-time high in light of the recession, this did not sit well with the WSJ readers. The knee-jerk reaction from the article’s comments section is one of outrage. Whether or not Visa and MasterCard should even be thinking of selling data to advertisers appears to be a moral, rather than financial, issue, when in fact what’s really driving it is just that: money. Visa and MasterCard are looking to make profit by selling access to the data they have, but, based on the comments, it’s seen as a violation of the right to privacy, with people feeling that the companies have abused the trust consumers ultimately have to put into financial organizations. 

One comment on the article summed it up rather well: “We used to be just the people buying the products. Now we’re the product being sold“. The irony is that the data (segmented, bucketed, targeted) is being bought and used by advertisers in order to serve better, more relevant and contextual ads back to the online consumer. At plista, our RecommendationAds focus on just that: using behavioral algorithms in order to enrich the online experience with contextually relevant ads. Naturally, the bottom line is to make money, but advertisers and marketers these days have realized the power of the consumer, and are now bending over backwards to try to accommodate and pre-empt what they want.

Another (though not as vocal) stream of thought from the WSJ article comments was one of ownership and potential benefits of using data. If consumers can have their say in and benefit from a piece of the data pie, the condemnation of advertisers, Visa and MasterCard seems to lessen somewhat. Says one commentator: “It would be nice to be able to choose who gets your data. I think it would be nice to only see ads that I want to see… I would like targeted ads if they are for my benefit“. And another, slightly more care-free: “I must say that, in spite of privacy concerns, I like the idea of actually receiving advertising that is relevant to me. Imagine that an ad comes to me on a web site that is for a product that I already buy and that the timing of the ad coincides with my purchase history. Go one step further and give me a discount on it and I am all in, privacy be damned!”

And WSJ, despite its history of stoking the data tracking fire of fear, announced only in September that it too would start tracking its readers’ browsing data in order to enhance the user experience. Websites in the Wall Street Journal Digital Network now “connect personally identifiable information with Web browsing data without user consent” in order to provide more customized content. The network stated the data would not be used for targeted advertising purposes unless “you choose in advance to have your Personal Information shared for this purpose”. Data doesn’t have to be the enemy: the fact is, it can be both useful and beneficial for publishers, advertisers and consumers.

I’ll end this blog with one final enlightened comment from the WSJ article: “Important and appropriate distinctions help to differentiate between potentially invasive use of personal information and other, benign and even helpful uses of data in anonymous ways. Without those distinctions, the topic too easily deteriorates into scaremongering by privacy purists”. Here’s to more understanding between advertisers and consumers. Stay tuned for next week’s blog, where I’ll be outlining the various initiatives that have been taking place to make that understanding easier.

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In the last few weeks, the Orwellian-named new social media network ‘Unthink’ has tried hard to stir up interest as a real contender to the Facebook social media throne. The reason for Unthink’s brassy attitude in stepping into the ring with Facebook (and Google+) is that it’s confident in its punch: namely, the promise that it will not mishandle its users’ data. Unthink users- or ‘owners’, as CEO Natasha Dedis prefers to call them- will have control of their own data, which Unthink won’t sell on to advertisers. The idea is a clever one, especially in light of Facebook’s various recent data tracking misdemeanors, and the continuing data-tracking scaremongering stories in the media.

So far, online commentators have been fairly unimpressed- especially as the website was unreachable for part of the time of the potential buzz-build up. The video used to promote the social network, seemingly aimed at teenagers, is also not doing them too many favors. Rather unfortunately for Unthink, it reminded me of a spoof video poking fun at Google+ which did a much better job of hitting the current mood in promoting its (albeit fictional) new social network, ‘Not Google+’ .

What strives to be a call to action to rebel against the ‘data oppressors’ (Facebook, mainly, though Google+ gets a part in the clip as well) ends up feeling like a misguided and slightly creepy attempt to be part of the gang. Or, as AllThingsD put it: “the tone is not unlike someone ranting in a town square to try to attract followers to some new religious sect”. This attempt to stir up a social media teenage rebellion is reinforced by a strapline on the Unthink website proclaiming “We don’t need another social network. We need a social revolution”.

Though it’s easy to make fun (especially as, unthinkingly, Unthink chose to call themselves a non-word that had previously been used in a badly-received KFC campaign in 2009) , the spirit with which its founders have created Unthink- the cornerstones being ownership, privacy, security from unilateral term changes- is highly poignant in today’s data-fraught climate. Data is becoming increasingly important not least as a privacy issue for social networkers, but also as a crucial part of the development and use of online advertising, with data-informed behavioral targeting and re-targeting ever more common.

However, instead of turning its back on the benefits of using data for advertising- as Unthink is doing- and thereby stoking the fire of fear and ‘big brother’ element of online advertising, it would make more sense to focus on lifting the veil of misunderstanding between advertisers and consumers. As a recent Ad Age article stated, if the use of data, as well as the mechanics and benefits of tracking and behavioral targeting were better explained to consumers, they would not be as opposed to it. There needs to be clearer communication in order to better inform the online world. As the author of the Ad Age article rightly points out, the advertising industry has “even made ‘cookie’ sound like a bad word”- I believe everyone will agree that that’s not a good state of affairs.

At plista, our RecommendationAds use algorithms which analyze data from online users as they are browsing, tailoring the website content to the interests indicated and recommending other content the user might also like. These user-individual recommendations, put together through precise interest-based information, reduces the search effort of the browsing experience, bringing what the online user is potentially looking for or interested in right to their screen.

One can’t stop the web and all it entails, from social networks to online advertising, from evolving.

After all, even though Unthink may not sell its users’ data onto advertisers, advertisements are still present on the social networking site in the form of ‘iEnforce’. The idea behind this is that the user selects a brand to ‘sponsor’ their page- the only way to avoid ads completely is to pay. Call me selfish, but I would rather have the best of both worlds: free content, and ads tailored to what I am interested in, recommending new content that I perhaps would have missed were it not for those data-tracking algorithms. I’d say it’s time to ‘unthink’ what we think we know about data.

Find out more about what plista GmbH offers: http://www.plista.com/

Es gibt Begriffe, die werden umso wichtiger, je unscharfer und flexibler verwendbar sie sind. Ein solches begriffliches Konzept, eine Theorie wäre zu viel gesagt, ist momentan die Governance. Das hört man im Fernsehen, damit schmeißt die Firmenleitung um sich, da steckt irgendwie Government drin, aber so richtig weiß man dann doch nicht, weshalb der Begriff so an Popularität gewonnen hat und was er in der modernen Unternehmensführung sucht.

Dabei gibt es viele Beispiele dafür, was Governance bedeutet und warum es in unserer modernen Industriegesellschaft so bedeutsam geworden ist. Eins vorweg: Governance ist nichts, wo jeder „mitmachen“ muss. Governance ist auch kein In-Begriff, dessen Verwendung globale Kompetenz signalisieren soll, sondern kommt tatsächlich aus der jüngeren Wissenschaft. Weil die Verwendung des Konzeptes eben nicht einfach modern und schick ist, es dabei nicht nur um einen anglizistischen Modeausdruck geht, sondern Governance neue Potentiale der Unternehmensführung eröffnen kann, soll es heut in seinen Grundzügen einmal vorgestellt werden. Inklusive Beispielen für eine mögliche Adaption in der Marketing-Branche.
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Over the last few weeks I’ve written about various types of ad formats, from mobile and video to social media ads, which all strive to reach and connect with online audiences in new ways. With other innovations such as RTB still going strong and the IAB unveiling new ad display units in February, online advertising is continuously developing and inventing fresh formats to regain the attention of ad-savvy online consumers, in search of that ever-elusive high click-through rate or consumer engagement resulting in, at best, conversion.

I recently came across an old WSJ article from 2006 on in-text advertising- where key words are bought by an advertiser, and embedded hyperlinked into textual content- which was making ripples at the time in the online advertising world. Hard news journalists, editors and commentators decried the ad format, as it went against the ethical journalistic code of keeping editorial content separate from advertisements.

Interestingly, in-text ads were thought to be acceptable in soft-news or entertainment sites, as the stakes for their integrity and credibility were not necessarily as high as those of hard news stories. Nonetheless, the fear was that the line between editorial and advertising would be blurred, damaging the integrity of online news organizations and causing readers to flock away from sites they now deemed untrustworthy.

This fear, though not unfounded, grossly underestimated the intelligence of online readers. Online audiences, then as now, are perceptive enough to realize what’s editorial and what’s advertising, and the underlined words that denote in-text ads are relatively easy to avoid if readers want to concentrate purely on the story they are reading.

What is important, however, is to ensure that the in-text ads are relevant to the content. The WSJ article outlines a few examples of where in-text ads have appeared out of context, which can be damaging to the advertising brand in question, as well as distasteful for the publisher. plista’s InText RecommendationAds avoid this by using behavioral targeting, which means the ads link to relevant content and offer further information- in line with the plista principle, ‘you might also find this interesting…’- to the article the user is reading. The InText RecommendationAds are also unobtrusive, as the links only come up when the user scrolls over them.

Quoted in the WSJ article was a spokeswoman for publisher Dow Jones & Co, who stated that in-text ads interrupted the reader experience. But if the in-text ads are unobtrusive and offer more information on or relevant links to the subject I am reading about, I welcome the so-called interruption; after all, browsing the web is just that, being referred from website to website, with a little help. If the ads are relevant, in-text ads can complement and even enhance the web browsing experience. plista’s RecommendationAds bring the concept of search and reader interests into the frame of the content the reader is viewing. Even the ever-elusive high click-through rate becomes attainable; plista’s RecommendationAds have an average click-through rate of 7,4%.

Online advertising will continue to develop at a rapid pace, with the next big new ad format or innovation just around the corner. Nevertheless, it’s important to remember the cornerstones: key is, as always, relevancy to the user. If the ad is relevant to the content the reader is looking at, instead of interrupting the reader experience, it is enriching it. In addition, of course, to increasing the amount of time visitors spend on a publisher’s website, and the click-through rates and engagement levels for advertisers. Interested?

Find out more about InText RecommendationAds and RecommendationAds

Am vergangenen Freitag war es endlich wieder soweit. Bei einem nächtlichen Bummel durch einige deutsche und internationale Großstädte ließen sich die verschiedensten Menschen beim Wildcampen beobachten. Statt dem Motto „Back to the roots“ war jedoch technischer Fortschritt und totale Vernetzung der alle verbindende Faktor. Statt die Zelte an einem See aufzuschlagen, wurden die Stühle mit dicken Decken vor den Apple-Stores dieser Welt postiert. Richtig, der Verkaufsstart des iPhone 4S war gekommen. Und mit ihm die Apple-Enthusiasten. Neben einigen kleineren Verbesserungen hat das iPhone 4S vor allem Siri an Bord.

Als Tim Cook während der letzten Keynote die Bühne betrat, um das iPhone 4S zu präsentieren, fragte er Siri, ob er morgen einen Regenmantel brauchen würde. Daraufhin ermittelte Siri das morgige Wetter für den entsprechenden Standort und gab zur Antwort, dass er keinen bräuchte, da morgen die Sonne scheine. Eine intelligente Sprachsteuerung also, die Fragen verstehen und damit die Bedienung des Geräts noch intuitiver und automatisierter ablaufen lassen soll. Da musste ich an einen Post vom August letzten Jahres zum Thema Semantisches Web denken. Auf den ersten Blick scheint Apple mit Siri nämlich einen großen Schritt in diese Richtung zu machen. Zeit also, einige Gedanken zu dem Thema noch mal aufzugreifen und auf Siri bezogen weiterzuspinnen.
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The online world has been abuzz with debate over the last few weeks in reaction to the announcements made by social media rivals Google+ and Facebook. Google threw down the gauntlet and opened up Google+ to everyone, whilst Facebook in turn announced several changes to its site during the F8 developer’s conference. The two giants had officially stepped into the ring, ready to fight it out.

Each contender has his own strengths, but in the short term at least, it seems Facebook need not be overly concerned. Despite an initial huge surge in traffic – 1,200% – after opening Google+ up to the world on 20 September, since then traffic to Google’s social media offering has seen a substantial drop, 60% according to data analytics company Chitika.

Facebook’s extensive changes – including a timeline and partnerships with major music and film companies – appears to be an attempt to transform the world’s biggest social network into a key entertainment hub. Facebook wants to be everything to everyone, the center of one’s web experience, with music sharing, film, and online socializing all in one place.

These changes received mixed reviews from the twitter and blogospheres. Some opined that Facebook had not learned the lessons of AOL and that in trying too hard to be all things to all people, it may have gotten too big for its boots. Meanwhile, Google was also experiencing its share of difficulties, having to defend itself against claims it’s monopolizing the internet search market.

For the advertising world, there was better news; Google rolled out +1 button recommendation ads, which are now also available for display ads run through the Google Display Network. The similarity to Facebook’s popular ‘Like’ button is obvious, and in swift succession, Facebook launched new insight tools. Twitter also got involved, announcing that it would start to allow brands to promote their ads to non-followers- until now, advertisers could only reach their own followers with their Promoted Tweets.

Social media advertising is on the rise; eMarketer recently forecasted that by 2013, social network ad spend will grow by 10 billion dollars worldwide. Considering that social media sites are where online audiences flock to, this prediction seems accurate. The research company Nielsen recently published a report on social media which found that, not surprisingly, social networks and blogs are still the top destination online, with 53% of active social media users following a brand on social networking sites.

plista’s social media ad format, LikeAds, help brands gain more followers on their Facebook pages by  integrating into Facebook for more reach and interaction with the target audiences. Combining the successful RecommendationAds format with the popular Facebook ‘Like’ button, the advertisers’ message is multiplied and promoted through Facebook as soon as the user clicks on the ‘Like’ button.

The success of plista’s RecommendationAds and LikeAds is based on the fact that users receive contextually relevant recommendations. Taking this into consideration, Twitter’s decision to allow Promoted Tweets to show up in the tweet timelines of those not following the brand is a bold one, considering how vocal the Twitter community is. If these promoted tweets were to be perceived as irrelevant spam, the backlash would be immediate and severe. Twitter is safeguarding against this by restricting the roll out to only 10% of its global users at first, and by showing the promoted tweets only to those people who it deems has similar interests to the brand in question.

This is great news in terms of further reach for advertisers, but whether Twitter succeeds or not will rest on its ability to fine tune the relevancy of the Promoted Tweet to the interests of its users. By personalizing publisher’s website content to fit what the user is looking at, plista has created highly successful ad formats. Essentially, it boils down to the preferences of the user: to like or not to like is not the question, it’s their prerogative, and anyone in the advertising game needs to sit up and listen.

Find out more about LikeAds: http://www.plista.com/infos/demo/likead