Ad News and Views from Around the Web

Paying consumers for privacy; holistic SEO; more on demand-side platforms, fast cars and fast data, and more

Should ad companies pay for your privacy?
The issue of privacy has hit the mainstream, getting a lot of attention from consumers, the FTC and congress. One way to get around that, suggests BNET’s Jim Edwards, is for companies to compensate consumers for their data. Consumers who don’t want to be tracked—and don’t want the money—could simply opt out.

Vroom! Formula 1 goes wireless with Yahoo! Mobile
You like fast cars; you want fast info. Now you can get all the latest updates on the 2010 Formula 1 season from Yahoo! Mobile. If you’re selling fast cars—or stuff to make cars go faster—there might just be a mobile advertising opportunity for you.

Michael Walrath on demand
We’ve been trying to keep you up on the emergence of demand-side platforms for awhile now (like here, here and here). Over at AdExchanger, Michael Walrath, former CEO at Right Media (now part of Yahoo!), has penned (or is “pixelated” the right word?) an op-ed piece on demand-side. Look out agencies, he says, because demand-side holding companies just might be poised to swipe your martini money.

The value of narrative
Getting your story out is vital. AdFreak’s Rebecca Cullers interviews Rob Walker, New York Times columnist and author of Buying In: What we buy and who we are, on how successful advertisers move product through story. “Narrative,” says Walker, “is a key x-factor influencing an object’s exchange value.”

Creative spotlight: Scary social media profile pics
Sometimes the best ads are less about the product than what people can do with it—for good or ill. In Samsung’s new viral vid, some scary monsters and super creeps are lurking on MySpace and Facebook, though not the usual mortal ones. Hat tip to AdFreak for this one.