Death of Broadband Privacy in Venice? What’s the Deal with Joost & Viacom?

Reporters are hyping the new deal between Joost and Viacom. Missing from the discussion is the impact of the new video service on privacy and commercialism. According to Advertising Age (my bold):

“So far, Joost’s ad model includes five- to seven-second ads that pop up when certain videos are initiated and mid-roll video ads in videos more than five minutes long, the number of which are scaled pro rata to the length of the content. Wrigley, T-Mobile, Maybelline and Phillips are among the beta advertisers. The idea is to have a single advertiser sponsor a piece of content, but to give it multiple elements, Mr. Clark said.

Like other web ads, they’re interactive and let users click through for more info, e-mail offers and long-form messages. The service also touts what will be powerful targeting and reporting capabilities. Echoing Joost’s founders, Mr. Clark said, “We’re combining the best of the web with the best of TV.”

We hope Joost will clearly spell out what data is being collected and reported to Viacom and others. We don’t believe its privacy policy addresses what it will be providing, for example, its new partner Viacom. But services such as Joost should embrace privacy policies which fully disclose precisely the information provided to advertisers. Opt-in should also be the standard, once users are formally and proactively informed.

Joost update. Here’s how Joost plans to help marketers conduct precision targeting, according to Octagon Music blog: “For every user that downloads the Joost application, part of the registration process is to complete a user profile with typical demographic information. It’s this user profile that will be an advertiser’s dream. Imagine being able to target viewers by location, time of day, viewing habits, and other profile information to serve up the perfect ad… Friis and Zennstram believe this unlocked targeting power will command a premium in terms of dollars from advertisers, which will hopefully keep Joost up and running.”

Media industry watcher Jack Myers reports that “advertisers will be able to cherry pick users by location, time/date of viewing, viewing history and preferences, and even profiles of Joost members who opt-in. In the future both advertisers (and programmers) will have the flexibility to upload content themselves…”
Source: Why Joost Isn’t Just Your Average `YouTube Killer’. Abbey Klaassen. Advertising Age. Feb. 26, 2007 [sub. required]

Author: jeff

Jeff Chester is executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. A former journalist and filmmaker, Jeff's book on U.S. electronic media politics, entitled "Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy" was published by The New Press in January 2007. He is now working on a new book about interactive advertising and the public interest.

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