Briefs

CW, Preston Gralla, 09/18/2007

MySpace is about take the crown from Google for being the biggest privacy-invader on the Internet. It's about to mine all its users personal information as a way to target ads at them. But that may be just the beginning. Will sales of that data be far behind?

The New York Times reports that MySpace has launched a massive data mining operation, with 100 employees, to grab every piece of personal information it can about its users, and then use that to finely target ads.

The goal, of course, is increased revenue. The company may be able to almost double its revenue, from $40 million a month to $70 million a month, thanks to the data mining, the paper reports.

But what happens to that treasure trove of sometimes exceedingly personal information about MySpace users? If the government issues subpoenas for it, will MySpace turn it over? Will MySpace turn it over without a subpoena? What about selling that personal information to the highest bidder?

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Executives at Fox Interactive Media, the News Corporation unit that owns MySpace ... say the tailoring technology has improved the likelihood that members will click on an ad by 80 percent on average.

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