In response to Christina Sarette's Blog: New Technology?

I remember when Facebook was a target for bloggers and news organizations who criticized its controversial advertising strategies and privacy settings. At first glance, like them, I felt it was a violation of privacy, how dare they use my personal information to target ads at me? and without my permission!

My opinion on Facebook ads now is very different. I welcome the ads and I don't mind that they use my information to show me ads that are more or less relevant to my interest. I see it almost as a symbiotic relationship between the user and Facebook. Facebook is allowing me to use the service for free and in return they have information that helps them to more accurately target advertisements at me. In order for a company to survive, it has to be profitable. If Facebook was ad-free, they would most likely be charging us for the service they offer. What some people need to understand is that we have control over what is displayed on our public online profiles, and if they don't want Facebook to have access to their information, then just don't use the service. We simply can't blame a company for capitalizing on available data and using it to target ads.

Of course, Facebook isn't perfect... and I do agree with some of the criticism its privacy settings have received, but their ads campaign is totally O.K. with me.

I'm interested to see what other people think about this

A New Age of Target Marketing: Powered by Online Television

I don't have a TV. I haven't had one for over two years and I don't miss it, not one bit. During the holidays, when I'm home visiting my family and I turn on my parent's TV, I really can't seem to stay engaged for more than 30 minutes (if at all). I don't like the commercials that don't pertain to my interests; I don't like that I have little choice about what I can watch at any given moment; and I don't like that the remote always seems to get lost. The conventional television experience: It's antiquated and I hate it. However, you'll find that in spite of my lack of TV, I still manage to religiously follow about 6 primetime television shows a week.

All thanks to Hulu.

If I've never been addicted to the TV, it's because I'm addicted to my computer. So when I first heard about Hulu two or three years ago, my heart skipped a beat. Before, if I wanted to watch an episode of 30 Rock or The Office, I downloaded a torrent or waited until it came out on DVD. Now, my favorite shows are right there in my browser and I can watch them, pause them, rewind them and fast-forward them whenever I want.

It's genius.

Forget about waiting until DVD release or illegally (and unrightfully so) downloading them. Now we have the option to watch our shows online, on demand and with customizable ads in between breaks. It's a win-win: I ask Hulu to hide any commercials I don't want to see, and in return marketing has information that will help to more accurately target other ads at me. It's an excellent example of a marketing-oriented strategy: They fully understand that the customer does not hate ads and in fact, welcomes them so long as they are less "in your face" and more customizable. It's target marketing on steroids.

Oh, and by the way... If you missed this year's Superbowl ads, or want to see them again, head on over to the Hulu AdZone, where you can watch and rate the latest ads.

See what I did there?