The new service would let advertisers visit a Web
site to choose a much wider array of characteristics for users who should see their ads -- based not only on age, gender and location, but also on favorite activities and preferred music. Facebook
would use its technology to point the ads to the selected groups of people without exposing their personal information to the advertisers.
Facebook hopes allowing advertisers to buy customized ads online will be a less labor-intensive way to take advantage of the personal data people reveal on the site. Getting this right is important. While the Web site had roughly 30.6 million visitors in July, the company says it needs to do a better job profiting from its huge user base.
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