handsome_rob - 5:53 pm on Jan 19, 2012 (gmt 0)

There are a lot of ad networks out there that allow you to target by interest category. I just did a branding campaign with a name-brand ad agency last year and they had Interest Categories too. And they don't make a 10th of what Adwords brings in for Google. Plus they've also got that contextual algorithm for the content network. Pair that up with a Mechanical Turk team and you've got interest categories.

Now, all that being said, I'm not saying I disagree with you. I've seen them do some pretty indefensible stuff. Not on the level of Yahoo/MicroHoo, but much farther reaching.

My point with my above post, though, is that this is the same company that is about to launch a massive ad campaign to convince the public that they give a **** about protecting your privacy online... what a laugh. Topics get started, Aaron Wall makes infographics, occasionally lawsuits get filed. Advertisers complain to their reps, the odd story about Google makes it to the news media, but what changes?

Nothing. Might makes right and every day we're seeing these internet giants that we helped grow using THEIR might to take advantage of both their users and their advertisers.

Welcome to 2012. No accountability, no customer service, no sense of ethics. And I'm not just talking about Google.