With more than $11 billion in acquisitions that year aimed at reshaping World Wide Web advertising, Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo are ready for the competition to pick up steam.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the courageous new world of online ads: Web users rediscovered a sense of privacy.

Members of the social network Facebook howled that month after it launched Beacon, an advertising feature that tells your network of friends about your shopping habits at dozens of Web sites. Facebook was forced to let users turn off the service.

“Beacon fell victim to a poorly thought out plan of execution,” says Kevin Lee, founder of search consulting firm Didit.

Advertisers are hungry to reach consumers congregating at sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube to socialize and access free composition. Microsoft, Google and Yahoo all want to help advertisers track consumer behavior, next distribute product pitches dovetailing with an individual’s interests. whether they are successful, consumers will see more

Web sites posting compelling free substance.

But pitfalls await tech giants as they attempt to engineer the great leap forward into “targeted advertising” — marketing pitches that key off what individuals say and do online.

Privacy Fears

Google cleared an fundamental regulatory hurdle when the Federal Trade Commission last week approved its $3.1 billion merger with ad placement giant DoubleClick.

But congressional hearings on privacy are set for that spring, and consumer advocates are clamoring for limits on Google’s use of behavioral notes. As part of its merger ruling, the FTC proposed a set of principles for self-regulation in behavioral marketing.

Meanwhile, European antitrust regulators have begun what could be a protracted look at whether the merger could stifle competition. “Google is so big and is moving so fast that they’ve became a natural target,” says tech consultant Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group.

Lack of Sizzle

Microsoft paid…

Orginal post by Top Tech News