Starbucks Leads Foursquare Rankings For The Most Check-Ins

Random stat of the day, but what's most interesting to me is that Target and Wal-Mart are numbers 3 & 4 respectively. Maybe middle-America has a higher smart phone adoption rate than we expected?

From Trendrr...
You might suspect that the caffeine-driven check-ins that keep Starbucks at the top of our weekly look at Foursquare check-ins come from the centers of coffee-drinking America like New York and Seattle. Indeed New York tops the list for raw check-ins (followed by Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago), but if you scale the check-ins based on population some surprising markets emerge. Leading the ranks of per-capita check-ins is Charlottesville, Va., followed by Washington, D.C., Austin and North Platte, Neb. We'll guess you didn't see that one coming.

(We're producing this exclusive chart with our editorial partner Trendrr, the real-time business intelligence tracking service created by New York digital agency Wiredset. This chart is updated each Monday morning and reflects the seven-day period ending Saturday night at midnight, Eastern Standard Time.)

'Do Not Track' Could Revolutionize Online Ad Industry

Really interesting perspective on the hottest topic on the online ad game today, FTC vs IAB (aka government vs online ad community). Great find by my boy Mintzer.

Here's my usual points on this topic:

1) Do you have a credit card? Great, they know more than we do. Do you really care if someone knows you are trying to buy a TV?

2) The onus is on major sites to protect their information and use it wisely. This ethical business practice is no different than the way any other professional sector works. Act fairly, and the economic and social rewards will come. E.g. ESPN gives users site feature access in trade for user info. Very very positive move.

3) Give users a chance to view who's tracking their behavior and give them control mechanisms. I don't think customers want out of tracking, I think they just want to understand how it's done and why.

Do Not Track could revolutionize online ad industry - USATODAY.com

Here We Go Again; Mobile Marketing Under Fire For Privacy Concern

This is like last year's battle against ISP targeting, and 2006's battle against behavioral targeting all over again... While the argument doesn't surprise me at all because there isn't adequate user- notice when mobile companies are collecting data, it does still surprise me when consumers complain about data collection in general.  These people do know that their credit card reveals twice as much personal info right?

Two advocacy groups are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether mobile marketers are violating users' privacy.
In the 52-page complaint to be filed today, the Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. Public Interest Research Group allege that emerging mobile marketing shops deploy the same "unfair and deceptive" behavioral targeting strategies as older Web marketers.

"Mobile devices, which know our location and other intimate details of our lives, are being turned into portable behavioral tracking and targeting tools that consumers unwittingly take with them wherever they go," the complaint alleges.

The groups are asking the FTC to probe how nascent mobile ad companies deploy techniques like behavioral targeting (or serving ads to people based on their online activity) and geo-targeting (serving ads based on people's physical location). The complaint also asks the FTC to order mobile ad companies to notify consumers about how their data is used, and seek explicit consent to its collection.

The complaint mentions a host of mobile marketing companies, and specifically singles out three--mobile software developer Bango, local online advertiser MarchEx, and mobile ad network AdMob--for allegedly gathering data without adequate notice to consumers.

Currently, marketers that send text ads to users first seek people's opt-in permission--which is a requirement under federal Can-Spam regulations. But marketers also are increasingly exploring search ads and banner ads, which are not subject to Can-Spam.

In addition, some companies are now tracking visitors to mobile Web sites. For instance, Ringleader Digital recently unveiled a "media stamp" that creates and stores profiles about cell users based on the mobile sites they visit. The company, which collects information based on characteristics of the device, says it can gather enough data this way to create unique, "anonymous" stamps for every mobile phone user.

Although the mobile industry is still young, the advocates argue that the FTC should get involved before practices become entrenched. "It is especially critical that FTC act now," states the complaint, "as an even more interactive Mobile 2.0 environment looms on the horizon."

As with PC-based behavioral targeting, mobile marketing companies do not typically collect names, phone numbers, email addresses or other so-called personally identifiable information.

But advocates say the information gathered is so detailed that it poses a threat to privacy. "They don't need to know a name to know that Mobile User 'X' likes to search for fast food, bought a new car recently, and went on the mobile phone looking for a lower-interest credit card," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.

Mobile is also seen as well-suited for targeting because the devices are more personal than computers. While family members or office colleagues might share a computer, they rarely--if ever--share cell phones. What's more, the potential to pinpoint cell phone users via geo-location data raises an additional layer of concerns.

"Although the new location-based services may be useful to consumers, they also represent an entirely new advertising medium, one with potentially grave privacy implications," the complaint alleges.

But some observers say geo-location targeting is still a long way off. "There's no valuable data for us to use," said Eric Bader, a partner in the mobile marketing company BrandInHand. "No carrier or handset maker or software provider related to global positioning can tell me that you are currently on the New Jersey Turnpike near Exit 13."

While the mobile ad market is small for now, accounting for only around $878 million last year, revenues are expected to swell to $6.5 billion by 2012, according to research company eMarketer.

It's also drawing the attention of major Web companies. Just last week, in a much anticipated move, Microsoft announced a five-year mobile search deal with Verizon Wireless. While the companies didn't release financials, The Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft and Verizon will share ad revenue, with Microsoft committing to pay Verizon between $550 million and $650 million over the life of the agreement.

In 2006, the same groups behind this complaint filed papers with the FTC that sparked an ongoing investigation into online behavioral targeting.

Email Targeting Knows I lived In Romania

I've long been a proponent for email targeting in advertising. While it may seem invasive for Google to let me know about airline prices while I'm emailing my buddy about going to Vegas, its also unbelievably convenient. I'm on the side of offering more information to advertising companies because the Web will only develop as a personalized medium when consumers allow it to. And bottom line, anyone who has ever had a credit card has already given up more personal information than any ad targeting company will collect.

Having said all that, I was truly amazed this morning to find this email in my inbox..."Been Looking For ROMANIAN Products?" The capitalization of Romanian is a dead giveaway that my email somewhere crossed with Romania as a trigger. I have no idea who Idakoos is or who they've contracted for their emails, but this is unbelievable Out of left field I'm getting ads for t-shirts that say "Everyone Loves A Romanian." This is amazing because not only am I part Romanian, but I also lived there for 4 months last year. I hadn't emailed or spoken to anyone about this experience in months, and then this email shows up.

Well done Idakoos. However you found me, I'm damn impressed.

Internet Explorer 8 and "Porn Mode"

Do we really think Microsoft is going to end the behavioral targeting market with their new Internet Explorer? Despite what they say about their InPrivate feaure, I highly doubt they would block all surfing history. We can all make our own assuptions I'm sure...

6 Questions For Potential Targeting Providers

When selecting a BT provider, or a vendor who provides a similar service but calls it something different because they remember from business school that points of differentiation are key to success, there are several factors to consider. Here are six questions that can help you drive the most out of your spend:

1. What is the reach of the BT solution, in uniques as well as in estimated consumer "touchpoints"?
2. What are the relevant behavioral categories for my brand? Does the vendor have success in my vertical?
3. What kinds of data does the vendor use in its BT model?
4. Does the model customize to my brand over time?
5. What about reporting?
6. What are the entry costs?

Do you want the answers? Me too…Jim Nichols has them HERE.