InternetYahoo to let visitors decline more targeted ads (AP)
AP - Yahoo Inc. will let its Web visitors decline ads targeted to their browsing habits, becoming the latest Internet company to break from a common industry practice as Congress steps up scrutiny of customized advertising and consumer privacy.
NEW YORK - Yahoo Inc. will let its Web visitors decline ads targeted to their browsing habits, becoming the latest Internet company to break from a common industry practice as Congress steps up scrutiny of customized advertising and consumer privacy. Yahoo has been offering that opt-out choice only to ads the company runs on outside, partner sites. Yahoo said Friday it now would extend that option to ads displayed on its own sites, to boost users' trust — and in doing so, perhaps draw visitors from its rivals. The option will likely be available by the end of the month. Yahoo spokeswoman Kelley Benander said the change has been in the works for some time, but the company decided to announce it early in response to an inquiry from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, whose subcommittee on the Internet held a hearing last month questioning online advertising practices. Visitors who decline would still see ads, but not ones delivered through "behavioral targeting" — in which a site displays ads for golf carts, for instance, to visitors who frequent golf sites, even when they are reading about Paris Hilton. Instead, they'd see a generic ad. The policy change does not affect Yahoo's other targeted ads, such as those tied to search terms or location. Nor does it stop the collection and retention... [ Read more on www.yahoo.com ]
InternetGoogle admits its AOL investment may be impaired (Reuters)
Reuters - Google Inc's 5 percent stake in Time Warner Inc's AOL unit may be worth less than the $1 billion the Web company paid for it in 2006, Google warned in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
InternetThe Data Pileup: Save Money or Save Data?
Expanding the storage farm may be cheap, but is it a cost-effective way for storing data?