News stories from the past week

Here are some interesting industry news that I have selected from the past week.

FTC updates behavioral ad guidelines
"In the US, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a revised report which reinforces the view that companies which track peoples’ online behaviour should follow self-regulatory guidelines to protect user privacy. The FTC began investigating behavioral targeting after the Center for Digital Democracy and the US Public Interest Research Group filed a complaint about the practice in November 2006. In its report, the commission updates concerns about how online advertisers can protect consumer privacy while collecting information about their online activities in order to serve up ads tailored to their interests." MrWeb Daily Research News Online

Do we need a new Internet?
"Security and privacy have become so compromised that many experts believe it is time to start over. What a new Internet might look like is still widely debated, but one alternative would, in effect, create a “gated community” where users would give up their anonymity and certain freedoms in return for safety. Today that is already the case for many corporate and government Internet users. As a new and more secure network becomes widely adopted, the current Internet might end up as the bad neighborhood of cyberspace. You would enter at your own risk and keep an eye over your shoulder while you were there." New York Times

Study to shed light on state of play in UK mobile ad industry
"Mobile operators and ad agencies are backing a major new research project into mobile advertising in the UK. The project aims to “document the state of the mobile advertising industry in the UK, identify growth opportunities in the emerging mobile advertising marketplace, and benefit stakeholders, shareholders and consumers worldwide”. It has been commissioned by Every Single One Of Us, a joint initiative backed by mobile operators, ad agencies and brand owners to promote mobile marketing, and has the support of the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)." Research Magazine

Market researchers need to develop softer skills
"Market researchers need to listen to consumers rather than focuson "feeding the metrics monster", according to Procter & Gamble's senior researcher Kim Dedeker. Dedeker told an Advertising Research Foundation forum that market researchers need to employ softer skills, such as finding and telling persuasive stories or making greater use of ethnography and online communities." Brand Republic