Final dealy thing.

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo.

Predicta BT, AdLINK 360, Adaptlogic, Avail, Boomerang, Criteo, DoubleClick (prior to 2002)[1], Leiki, nugg.ad, prudsys, ValueClick[2], Netmining and wunderloop, Tacoda.

AudienceScience (formerly Revenue Science), Navegg, BTBuckets, Connected VITES, , SiteSpect, Maxymiser,Omniture and Netmining Decision engine.

Undertone Networks, eXelate, Lindotiger, Collective Media, Tatto Media, Front Porch[4], Media Networks Inc., Netmining, Burst Media, Phorm, ValueClick,Tribal Fusion Mediaplex, osAdsPr, Scanscout
and my personal favorite, "PredictiveIntent"

you might as well add fucking Skynet and Cyberdyne Systems to that list if you ask me.
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Behavioral targeting:

using cookies to track sites visited, content viewed, length of visit among a host of websites.


59 percent of americans are uncomfortable with it.

-Transparency makes the user more comfortable, or in the least more accepting of these practices.



It is an interesting technology, but I don't appreciate they way it tends to fly below the radar for sometimes years before it's ever brought to our attention or regulated. With Googles constant rollout of new mobile services, which are beginning to utilize your GPS coordinates, I just want to be able to know EXACTLY where this information is going, who can view it, and how long it is stored, and I for one feel this is too important to be buried in an end user license agreement.

A consequence of this that I find pretty disturbing under the surface level is that alot of the seemingly innocuous deals with companies like google and microsoft aquiring small tech firms, they are pretty much just buying and selling a trove of profiles filled with personal information, search habits, purchases and other info. Again, theres nothing illegal but the lack of transparency is unfortunate.

In one month, yahoo collects about 811 pieces of information on each user of its site that goes towards a behavioral advertising profile, or about 110 billion in total.

Amazon.co.uk  is opting out of BT's deep packet inspection system to deliver targeted advertising, reports Network World.
 
-TACO opt-out cookie from Network Advertising Initiative
(gets deleted when you delete your cookies)

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Deep packet inspection: sounds like a fucking prostate exam.

PHORM
The system, which tracks users' every click online in order to provide advertising targeted to specific interests, has generated a storm of protest by privacy advocates in the UK. The European Commission earlier this week opened legal proceedings against the UK government over the covert testing of Phorm in 2006 and 2007.
 
Network World also reports Google may opt out of the program, too.

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These companies measure success through click-through-rate and -action-through-rate.

-I do see the whole thing as a rather interesting study, or reflection on human nature and the companies have made some pretty clever concessions to get their CTR up, for example:

During work-day hours, were a person to be browsing a Business and Finance website, they found they had a 100% higher CTR rate by advertising things COMPLETELY out of context with what they are looking at: basically, these people are bored as shit and are eager for something to steal their attention. People on an entertainment website, are 100% more likely to click on something In context to what they are looking at.


When advertising gets too specific, too true, too all-knowing, its going to end up advertising a product that you either already have, or are already massively aware of and the advertising is then just a waste of time, and a result of an unnecessary harvesting of our daily life habits.

Thankfully, bandwidth still hinders attempts to personalize the TV ads you see based on viewing habits, but several outfits are trying to find a way to just route them that computer you're browsing on during the commercial break.

We're not going to stop it completely, but the least one can do is demand transperancy when we have the chance, and be given at least a sliver of an opportunity to opt out of this sort of thing.




http://taco.dubfire.net/
http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/news/vam/blog/amazon-to-skip-phorms-targeted-advertising-in-uk/?cs=31849
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2008/04/study-shows-tar/

http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Website-Marketing-Help/How-and-Why-Behavioral-Advertising-Works/1/
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/technology/10privacy.html?_r=1&ex=1362801600&en=11b07686f592a0c8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

Second Life

I would try to be a morning person, rather than an "up-til-morning" person. I would still make music, but I'd put more effort in to making it heard than just making it. I would try harder to get them, even though it's easier to let them get away. I would try to spend more time reading literature than I do trying to read people. I would try harder.

I would live somewhere I don't ever have to drive a car again.

I'd keep the name though. I like my name.

My Holiday!

This is a good one! I thought about it for a few days, and one of my ideas stands out way over the other ones! My holiday is this:

It takes place one day a year, between in close proximity to the christmas season. It has two rather outrageous components: The first is a complete reversal between daytime and nighttime activities for one 24 hour cycle: All but the most essential of services and businesses will be closed during the day on a particular friday, but rather than celebrate and be proactive like on a christmas or thanksgiving, we are encouraged to rest for the coming night. Once the sun starts to set, all businesses, restaurants, shops will proceed to open as usual and people will carry on with their usual routine from the hours of about 6pm till around 4am. Then, as the sun starts to rise on Saturday morning, as the bars and nightclubs will open for business, all major telecommunications companies will temporarily shut down the use of the internet except for those that have filled out a painful 38-page form in triplicate requesting a special exemption for business or emergency use. The spiritual crux of the holiday will be for people to gather with friends and family for these reverse-night-morning hours and LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONE AT HOME. It's not that crazy, 1996 didn't feel like the stone age when you lived through it, did it? Anyone caught with a phone will be chastised, and ribbed and humiliated. Perhaps for a few brief hours, people might stop worrying about what they could be doing and just do something... like have a conversation with friends without checking and writing text messages every 15 minutes. Just a thought.

Humor

I spontaneously recorded my friend, a stand up comedian in training last night. He was extremely inebriated but its still pretty entertaining, I wanna chop it up a bit though.

What if

What if dreams had box office returns?
What if undertakers drove el caminos?
What if we were magnetic?
What if water stung?
What if interstates were underground tunnels?
What if I didn't get sick this week?
What if internet bandwidth corresponded to relative humidity?
What if razor wire went wireless?
What if sound had a taste?
What if clouds are laughing at you?
What if the wind talks about you behind your back?
What if cocaine was a popular condiment?
What if the FCC bowdlerized your bathroom usage?
What if God was a sex toy?
What if you couldn't use the Internet on Sundays?
What if we bought cars for our newborn children?
What if you knew better?
What if mcdonalds sold sashimi?
What if the mind's eye went blind?
What if Rachmaninov was locked by DRM?
What if you could sell your emotions?
What if tv's were illegal in public?
What if the weather was publically traded?
What if we could only love once?
What if music could give you the silent treatment?
What if the universe got lost on the way here?
What if death forgot to call you back?
What if our brain had a corporate sponsor?
What if cats sold your story to US magazine?
What if you didn't have to pretend like you don't?
What if I didn't come to class today?
What if your teacher had a tip jar?
What if bubbles had OCD?

The whatever, about that thing, that has to do with school.

There are far worse ways to spend a Monday. Class was good, but a little frustrating. I certainly had fun listening, if not participating (such seems to be my lot in life). On the subject of burnout, I am torn these days. I sympathized with Beth's honest and frank discussion towards the start; The first day of classes this semester unfortunately coincided with the funeral of my best friend, my partner-in-crime, whom happened to die in a very accidental, very public way. It is disarming to hear of a friend's death through MSNBC. I had alot to say about my being burnt out, but I'm not quite comfortable talking openly about this yet (outside close friends) so I felt guilty for being so introverted... In some ways I am actually oddly and unnaturally motivated right now, kinda like Beth was talking about.

I pretty psyched to learn about ted.com! I've been watching alot of cool videos there. I was really proud of my project due on Monday, and was bummed I didn't feel like I was supposed to show it. In fact, after some of the discussion in class I felt like the point was to not really do the assignment to "walk away from it!" I was embarassed to have it sitting on my desk the whole time, until thankfully Beth explained at the end that she just wanted us to have more time to work on it, which I will!

p.s. I was actually disappointed when she said that we weren't going to meet next week. I am officially now Bizarro-John.

We are the World

Hmm. I really wasn't sure where to start with this one. Mine is defnitely more along the lines of creating a lasting message than having a drastic positive impact on society... But I think it looks neat. Plus it's dangerous. I was inspired by this story:

http://www.vimeo.com/1546186

If no one is going to take care of this, somewhere in the range of 73% of our musical history will be lost forever.