A few years late and twice as scary, Microsoft’s getting into the paid search advertising game currently monopolized by Google.
“Boogie Shoes” Ballmer is expected to make the announcement today at the annual MSN Strategic Account Summit. Experts say the Microsoft offering, which is expected to be beta tested in Singapore and France (Ed. – What, Mars wasn’t available?), won’t be a “Me, too!” offering on Redmond’s part.
According to IDG News Service:
“For its paid search program, Microsoft will provide advertisers with demographic usage profiles tied to keywords, including users’ geographic location, gender, age group, as well as the time of day when queries were submitted, MSN product manager Karen Redetzki said.
“This information is collected from users who register with Microsoft’s Passport program, but it isn’t used to identify individuals, meaning users’ online activities will remain private, Redetzki said.”
If this were Star Trek, this is where the red lights would start flashing and the klaxons sounding.
Surely privacy advocates will have no problem with this.
