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True.com founder Herb Vest has applied for a patent to improve ad targeting. The application is for a “Method for improved targeting of online advertisements.” Take a look at the patent application for the details.
Patent applications are difficult to understand and the ambiguity makes it difficult to really grok what is being patented. After a quick scan I think the application is about mining dating profiles for demographic information which would be shared with advertisers. This is something I’ve been advocating for years, and written about in detail.
One of the most obvious benefits of dating site advertising is local advertisers. Once we know your zip code, local ads are a snap. Health, entertainment and finance industries would love to get ahold of your profile data, where else do people expose so much about themselves in a public forum?
From the application:
…Advertiser can use that information and categorize users using criteria such as age, gender, location, education, income level, or any other data field of the profile information.
In an example, a dating service may collect user information such as name, age, gender, location, education, annual income, and smoking preference during a user registration process. This profile information, containing both the actively and passively collected information, is extremely valuable to a company who may be interested in targeting their advertisements to certain groups of users who have responded positively to specific placements of an advertisement.
For instance, a dating service may be interested in acquiring additional females with incomes between $50,000 and $100,000. The profile information collected by the advertiser may show that females in that income group respond best to a certain advertisement on a specific financial web site. The advertiser can then shift resources toward those advertisements that best help them achieve their goal.
In the last part, why mention customer acquisition then targeted ads? Confusing.
Several references to dating sites and true.com throughout the application. No doubt True will use this to increase advertising revenue. Does anyone know if a company like Amazon has this type of patent already in place?
Previous posts related to advertising and behavioral targeting.
Technorati Tags: behavioral+targeting, contextual+advertising
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Asset to be put in the balance in order to increase company’s valuation.
(One of the old tricks to make_up a balance sheet is to appreciate Intangible Assets)
Regards,
Fernando Ardenghi
Buenos Aires
Argentina
ardenghifer@gmail.com
Vest claims True will sue everyone that is a felon and married. So why hasn’t he filed against the hundreds that have they do know about. Vest has only filed and done a press release on Dr. Wells. Just another True Lie?
True’s compatibility test isn’t what Vest claims either it is another deceptive business practice of Vest.
The billing fraud is still going on and getting worse.
True is manipulating their customers with the wink system.
True is the most deceptive business I have seen in years.
DO NOT DO ANY OF TRUE’S TESTS OR GIVE THEM CREDIT CARD INFO. REPORT THEM TO THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION THEY ARE INVESTIGATING THEM AND WELCOME THE INFORMATION
Vest hasn’t disclosed that the compatibility test is flawed and has major problems with the calulations and results are not reliable.
Vest hasn’t disclosed that there has been hundreds of users that are felons or married and Vest isn’t suing them. Vest only filed against Dr. Wells for media attention.
Vest won’t tell the public and industry that the background check disclosure bills are to get branding for True to be the safer dating site and he is using the lawmakers to get press for his lies.
For the online dating to be safer we all must expose Herb Vest deceptions, manipulations, and flat out lies. To have Vest market his company with the very deception and lies Vest claims to protect us gives every dating site a black eye.
DO NOT DO ANY OF THEIR TESTS NOR GIVE THEM CREDIT CARD INFO. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO CONTACT THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) AND REPORT THE FRAUD AND DECEPTION. THEY WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!