I-COM worldmeasurementnews

The Death of Google's Urchin Analytics -- And Why We All Should Care

Ryan DeShazer, Vice President, Global Practice Leader – Search at GyroHSR writes at MediaPost: Last week Google officially announced it would be retiring its Urchin Software web analytics technology -- a move that was a long time coming.  Since Google acquired Urchin Software in 2005, it has made significant enhancements to the application’s core functionality.  Focusing primarily on the JavaScript-based version of Urchin, and rebranding it “Google Analytics,” Google evolved the simple on-demand application into the world’s most widely use analytics platform.  More...

Google Widens Its Tracks - Privacy Changes to Combine Data on Users, Making Anonymity Harder to Keep

Julia Angwin of The Wall Street Journal writes: In a move that could make it harder for Google users to remain anonymous, Google Inc. said it would start combining nearly all the information it has on its users.

With Tuesday's changes, Google is "setting the stage for one-upping" Facebook in terms of being able to better target online ads to website visitors based on what it knows about their interests, said Brian Kennish, a former Google programmer who runs Disconnect Inc., a firm that offers software to block Google and other companies that collect information about Web users. More…

"We'll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience," Alma Whitten [pictured], Google's director of privacy, product and engineering, wrote on the company's blog. More…

How to Evaluate and Buy Online Ad Effectiveness Research | Part 4: Cookies

Marc Ryan [pictured], Senior Vice President & Chief Research Officer at InsightExpress writes at InsightfulAnalytics Blog: True to its pedigree, the cookie enjoys quite a bit of notoriety,  frequently showing up in Wall Street Journal headlines.  Some consider it to be the Achilles heel of online ad measurement because it’s so susceptible to deletion.  The idea that an individual could be exposed to an ad,  delete the cookie associated with the ad, and subsequently be sampled for a control cell seems to be a deal breaker to some buyers of ad effectiveness research. More…

The Evolution of Online-User Data

bcg.perspectives: Over the past five years, we have seen the development of a robust secondary market allowing the buying and selling of user profiles.

Ad networks and agencies leverage user data to more effectively target ads in hopes of improving click-through rates, that is, how often a user clicks on an advertisement.

The purchase of advertising inventory is shifting from networks to real-time bidding on ad exchanges. Advertisers are increasingly incorporating user data to target the ads traded on these exchanges.  More...

In EU: Take Action on the ePrivacy Directive with Evidon

Leading speakers including Gary Davis, Ireland's Deputy Data Protection Commissioner, will outline what businesses can do to comply with the EU ePrivacy Directive

LONDON, Jan 24, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Following the well-attended inaugural Evidon Empower Europe event in December, Evidon, the world's largest dedicated provider of privacy and compliance solutions for digital media, is to host a webinar on 31 January for businesses looking to take the next step towards compliance with the EU ePrivacy Directive.

"Transparency, control and education were the three takeaway watchwords from the Interactive Advertising Bureau at Evidon Empower Europe," said Scott Meyer [pictured], Founder and CEO of Evidon. "But how are you supposed to execute on that? The emphasis is on website owners to show initiative, but it's all wide open to interpretation. We're here to explain some best practices for demonstrating compliance - from conducting audits on trackers and cookies on websites, to displaying privacy notices on ads that will furnish attendees with the knowledge and confidence they'll need to move forward. Anyone operating in the EU online ecosystem is welcome to join us." More…

Google updates privacy policies and terms of service

1/24/2012 01:30:00 PM. Posted from the official Google blog: In just over a month we will make some changes to our privacy policies and Google Terms of Service. So we’re rolling out a new main privacy policy that covers the majority of our products and explains what information we collect, and how we use it, in a much more readable way. While we’ve had to keep a handful of separate privacy notices for legal and other reasons, we’re consolidating more than 60 into our main Privacy Policy.

These changes will take effect on March 1, and we’re starting to notify users today, including via email and a notice on our homepage. More...

In Europe, EU regulators threaten the fundamentals of the internet ecosystem

Likely to hit advertising revenue, the fuel of the digital economy
Hinder long-term innovation, competitiveness and growth in Europe

Brussels, January 25th 2012: The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has expressed serious concerns about proposals published today by the European Commission to overhaul EU Data Protection rules.

Said Stephan Loerke [pictured], WFA Managing Director:"There's no denying that the current data protection framework needs updating but today's proposal would have damaging consequences for jobs and our economy. It would stifle both growth and innovation across Europe – the opposite of what is needed in the current economic climate. Proposals for data protection must protect people's legitimate rights to privacy while also enabling business opportunities. These proposals have failed to achieve that balance." More...

Is Big Data at Risk of Unleashing Big Brother?

Bill Franks [pictured], Faculty Member of International Institute for Analytics writes: The extent to which the tracking of behavior on the internet occurs – with Facebook, Google, and other public sites capturing data about who you are, what you are doing, where you are going, and what you want – is not known to most people.

This is one example of how the world of big data enables analytics and actions that are very much like Big Brother. Without immense care and caution, organizations can wander into a quagmire like the carriers, software providers, and device manufacturers did with Carrier IQ.  More...

In UK, Experian Acquires Garlik Limited

23 December 2011. Experian, the global information services company, announces that it has acquired Garlik Limited, a provider of web monitoring services based in the United Kingdom.

Founded in 2005, Garlik helps consumers to protect themselves from the risks of identity theft and financial fraud. Through its main product, DataPatrol, Garlik captures and monitors information from a variety of sources across the wider web and social networking sites using its proprietary web-crawler technology. DataPatrol generates alerts when an online loss, disclosure or theft of consumer data is detected, and suggests next steps on how to respond to incidents before an individual becomes a victim of financial crime or identity fraud. Garlik provides services in the UK, US, Germany and Italy. More...

Many Consumers Would Allow Online Tracking by Retailers and Service Providers if Discounts Applied, KPMG Survey Finds

Security and privacy concerns continue; Digital shopping slow to catch on for some consumer products; Price is still king when it comes to picking mobile and broadband providers

SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers are spending considerable amounts of time online and on mobile devices for shopping and entertainment, and many indicate that they would allow retailers and content providers to track their activity, or solicit them with advertisements, in return for discounts on products and services, according to the 5th Annual KPMG Consumers & Convergence study. Some security reservations and usage preferences exist, but the increased adoption of digital business models provides a compelling argument for retailers, content providers and advertisers to conquer the digital divide.

"Consumers are in the driver's seat," said Mark Larson [pictured], KPMG's global retail practice leader. "They continue to be guarded about invading their space and wish to dictate their terms of access. It is imperative for these companies to use data analytics to leverage the customer data they have at their disposal to conduct customized consumer outreach. We see some retailers adopting these strategies online to offer customer product suggestions, coupons, and mobile shopping applications, among other programs." More...