Blocking Personalized Ads? Good or Bad?

[KevinG]

There's an interesting article in today's NY Times about an effort to allow consumers to opt-out of having their surfing habits tracked in order to deliver personalized ads.

It's easy to jump on the bandwagon without thinking about it. I am big on personal privacy myself.

However, aren't there some consumer benefits to this?

What if I am looking for life insurance and I am reading an article about it and then I am served an ad for SelectQuote.com to easily receive life insurance quotes online?

What's so bad about that? They just helped me do something I wanted to do anyway.
(Google Ad Words works like this anyway.)

As consumers, we also have jobs. What is so bad about the consumers that have jobs in marketing and advertising having tools to make them more successful at their jobs?

Online Marketers Joining Internet Privacy Efforts

Most consumers are familiar with do-not-call lists, which are meant to keep telemarketers from phoning them. Soon people will be able to sign up for do-not-track lists, which will help shield their Web surfing habits from the prying eyes of marketers.

Such lists will not reduce the number of ads that people see online, but they will prevent advertisers from using their online meanderings to deliver specific ad pitches to them.

Today the AOL division of Time Warner will announce a service of this type, which will be up and running by the end of the year. Other programs are likely to be articulated soon, as online advertisers prepare for a two-day forum on privacy to be held by the Federal Trade Commission.

AOL says it is setting up a new Web site that will link consumers directly to opt-out lists run by the largest advertising networks. The site’s technology will ensure that people’s preferences are not erased later.

There is a silver lining for marketers, however: the AOL site will try to persuade people that they should choose to share some personal data in order to get pitches for products they might like. Most Web sites, including AOL, already collect data about users to send them specific ads — but AOL is choosing to become more open about the practice and will run advertisements about it in coming months.

Consumers who have already seen some benefits from online tracking systems — in the form of movie recommendations from Netflix, perhaps, or product recommendations from Amazon — might warm to AOL’s argument.

“Instead of having interruptive ads, instead of jarring things that will grab your attention, things are hopefully tailored to be suitable to your experience,” said Jules Polonetsky, the chief privacy officer for AOL. “We think tailoring advertising content in a way that is useful is a good proposition.”

Full article

I don't want my privacy invaded, but I don't think it's so bad if something can help me find what I need or complete a task.

So how do we balance privacy with helpful personalized advertising?