Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Re: Microsoft Disconnect
Author: Richard Johnson Posted: 7/21/2000; 4:56:57 PM Topic: Microsoft Disconnect Msg #: 18905 (In response to 18872) Prev/Next: 18902 / 18906
As a former employee of a cookie tracking advertising firm, I mostly concur with the anon MS source. He's dead right about the motivation. Moreover, such companies want to make their inventory (consisting of you and I) as valuable as possible to their customers (advertisers).As a result, a typical strategy session at such a company will involve finding ways of adding value (more information) to what they know about each target. For example, what if the target has a finger daemon running? Give it a try -- it may cough up their email address, phone number, home address... And what if we can offer Super Bowl tickets as an incentive in a sweepstakes to entice the targets to give us their true names at the same time as we tag them with a cookie? And what if we just go and buy a company that already has a large database of true name info...
Those things actually happen at cookie tracking companies. The goal is indeed better "tracking" to enable more accurate, even individual "targeting."
In the final analysis, I think the anon MS source is wrong about the value of detailed snooping. There is great value in the insidious behavior. If you know how much the person behind that cookie makes, you can sell that person to your customers for more money.
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