Back in the eighties, I used to hate television commercials, but I eventually got used to them. Had to, in order to enjoy my favorite shows. Then, the increasing number of billboard ads annoyed me in the nineties. They followed me everywhere I went--no escape--persuading me to buy the newest whatever. It seemed like Big Brotherism--like They Live. But, I got used to it. When I finally entered the digital age and became a web addict, I was peeved at the constant sight of online ads everywhere I visited. My rage eventually passed and... I got used to it. Had to.

But now that the whole world is connected to the Internet, advertisers are upping their game even more, with behavioral targeting. It's been around for a while, and if you've never heard of it--fine, then listen up--because you've been a target of it regardless.

Advertising is absolutely necessary on the web to keep all of that content you love and enjoy free. If there wasn't any advertising, none of us would be addicted to the web because we couldn't afford it. We would be paying for anything and everything. So, whenever you see an ad on a website, you can choose to check it out or ignore it. Whatever you want. Fine--get used to it.

Behavioral Targeting Across the Web

Reasonably, those advertisers want a return on their investment, and that's where user demographics come into play. It wouldn't seem right to waste money marketing the newest Ford truck to a quadriplegic, so online marketers went on their quest to make online ads more targeted, more relevant. And website owners learned that the more focused the ads were, the more advertisers would pay them.

Hence, the current world of behavioral advertising. And, well... that's something you DON'T have to get used to, because now you have an online privacy issue.

Behavioral targeting tracks and analyzes your online behavior, tracking what you search for, what websites you visit and what services you use. This could be used to determine what ads are shown to you and where, even having the same ad follow you from site to site, a practice known as retargeting (or remarketing). Outside the advertising industry, most call it stalking.

Back in the eighties, I used to hate television commercials, but I eventually got used to them. Had to, in order to enjoy my favorite shows. Then, the increasing number of billboard ads annoyed me in the nineties. They followed me everywhere I went--no escape--persuading me to buy the newest whatever. It seemed like Big Brotherism--like They Live. But, I got used to it. When I finally entered the digital age and became a web addict, I was peeved at the constant sight of online ads everywhere I visited. My rage eventually passed and... I got used to it. Had to.

But now that the whole world is connected to the Internet, advertisers are upping their game even more, with behavioral targeting. It's been around for a while, and if you've never heard of it--fine, then listen up--because you've been a target of it regardless.

Advertising is absolutely necessary on the web to keep all of that content you love and enjoy free. If there wasn't any advertising, none of us would be addicted to the web because we couldn't afford it. We would be paying for anything and everything. So, whenever you see an ad on a website, you can choose to check it out or ignore it. Whatever you want. Fine--get used to it.
Behavioral Targeting Across the Web

Reasonably, those advertisers want a return on their investment, and that's where user demographics come into play. It wouldn't seem right to waste money marketing the newest Ford truck to a quadriplegic, so online marketers went on their quest to make online ads more targeted, more relevant. And website owners learned that the more focused the ads were, the more advertisers would pay them.

Hence, the current world of behavioral advertising. And, well... that's something you DON'T have to get used to, because now you have an online privacy issue.

Behavioral targeting tracks and analyzes your online behavior, tracking what you search for, what websites you visit and what services you use. This could be used to determine what ads are shown to you and where, even having the same ad follow you from site to site, a practice known as retargeting (or remarketing). Outside the advertising industry, most call it stalking.

Is this not an invasion of your privacy?

There's tons of behavioral advertising companies out there now, and you'd be surprised at how many are actually tracking your web usage. But you can stop them!

Step 1 Opting Out with NAI >> Click HERE.