Online tracking on 50 of the most-visited websites has risen
sharply since 2010, driven in part by the rise of online-advertising auctions,
according to a new study by data-management company Krux Digital Inc.
The average visit to a Web page triggered 56 instances of data
collection, up from just 10 instances when Krux conducted its initial study, in
November 2010. The latest study was conducted last December.
The rapid rise in the number of companies collecting data about
individuals' Web-surfing behavior is testament to the power of the $31 billion
online-advertising business, which increasingly relies on data about users' Web
surfing behavior to target advertisements.
Krux, which sells a service for website publishers to protect
their customer data, conducted its survey by automatically crawling six to 10
pages on each of the 50 most-visited sites as measured by comScore Inc. The
study didn't includes sites that require a user to log in, and Krux didn't
identify the sites it surveyed.
Despite rising privacy concerns, the online industry's
data-collection efforts have expanded in the past few years. One reason is the
popularity of online auctions, where advertisers buy data about users' Web
browsing. Krux estimated that such auctions, known as real-time bidding
exchanges, contribute to 40% of online data collection.
In real-time bidding, as soon as a user visits a Web page, the
visit is auctioned to the highest bidder, based on attributes such as the type
of page visited or previous Web browsing by the user. The bidding is done
automatically using computer algorithms.
Forrester Research estimates that real-time bidding will
constitute 18% of the online display-ad market this year, up from 13% last
year.
"It's gone from virtually zero in 2009 to about a fifth of
the entire market right now," said Michael Greene, a Forrester senior
analyst. "We've moved from a traditional advertising model of buying 1,000
impressions. Now you evaluate and buy a single impression."
To make the auctions work, advertising companies are racing to
place tracking technology on as many websites as possible. That technology gives
them user and Web-page data to sell in the auction.
Krux in its latest study found that more than 300 companies
collected data about users, up from 167 companies in 2010. The latest figure
easily topped the 131 companies that The Wall Street Journal identified in a
2010 survey of tracking on the 50 most-visited websites.
More than half the time, Krux found that data collectors were
piggybacking on each other. For example, when a user visited a website that had
code for one tracking technology, the data collection would call out to and
trigger other tracking technologies that weren't embedded on the site. As a
result of such piggybacking, websites often don't know how much data are being
collected about their users.
"It may be the first medium where the buyers have more
information about the price, the value and the amount of inventory than the
seller," said Krux President Gordon McLeod.
j �
y e p� Ю B of storage. Microsoft
said they would be priced at a similar rate to other tablets using the same
type of processor built by other firms.
It added that the
Intel-based versions would be offered with either 64GB or 128GB of storage and
would have price tags comparable to ultrabook laptops.
Different
chipsets
One tech analyst told
the BBC that other hardware makers were likely to feel aggrieved by the news.
"Microsoft can offer
a competitive price for these specifications as it doesn't need to pay itself a
licence for the Windows 8 software which other manufacturers will have to do,
and that might make its PC and tablet-making partners unhappy," said
Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at the technology consultants
Gartner.
She added that the
firm appeared to have focused on a specific part of the market which wanted a
more powerful device than the iPad.
"They seem to be
be targeting a professional audience," she said.
"So they are
going head-to-head with Apple within the corporate sector. Price will be key -
these devices won't be at the bottom end of the market. They will probably let
other manufacturers fight over that space."
By contrast the tech
research firm Forrester said it thought the focus for ARM-based Surface tablets
would be consumers, rather than the enterprise sector.
But one of its
analysts warned there was a risk customers would shy away if they found it
confusing distinguishing between the two types of Windows 8 experience. This
will be the first time Microsoft will offer a version of its PC system designed
for chips based on ARM's architecture.
"Consumers aren't
used to thinking about chipsets. Choice is a key tenet of Windows, but too much
choice is overwhelming for consumers. Apple gets this, and limits iPad options
to connectivity, storage, and black… or white."
ARM's ambitions
Despite the potential
for confusion, British chip designer ARM said it was "excited" by the
news.
The firm's designs
have already proved popular with smartphone makers, but Microsoft's support for
its technology in Windows 8 offers it the potential to expand into a market
dominated until now by Intel and AMD.
"This represents
a significant milestone in Microsoft's journey to expand the support of the
Windows operating system and embrace the ARM architecture," said Lance
Howarth, the firm's vice president of marketing.
"With the Surface
for Windows RT announcement we are delighted to see yet another example of this
partnership in action which follows on from various Windows RT devices
demonstrated at Taiwan's Computex show recently."
Intel said it was also
"pleased" about Microsoft's move.
"Intel believes
in and supports an open and healthy ecosystem that delivers a broad scale of
innovation and choice in solutions and user experiences," a statement
said.
"We also believe
Windows 8 on Intel architecture will deliver the most complete experience with
the best performance and compatibility across all computing platforms."
