Microsoft Finally Launches Its Own Ad Platform

from the what-took-so-long? dept

It only took Microsoft a few years after Google proved that there was big money in running your own ad network on top of a search/portal property for Microsoft to finally get around to launching their own such system. Of course, they had to revamp their search engine first, which took plenty of time (and is still a work in progress). The difference they're claiming with the new ad system, is that they're giving advertisers more control over who sees the ads -- by letting them limit ads based on info that Microsoft knows about you. Whereas Google and Yahoo mostly sell just based on keywords, Microsoft thinks all that bogus info you entered when you signed up for a Hotmail account will help advertisers decide whether or not you're worthy of seeing their product. It'll probably fool advertisers for a while, but, honestly, how many people actually fill in accurate info on those things? Also, giving that much control to advertisers probably means they're going to over-think and over-target their markets, cutting off ads from people who might actually want their products.

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