With over 10% of America's 200-plus million cell phone subscribers now using the wireless Web on a regular basis, it's clear a critical mass of both consumers and mobile consumer data will soon exist to make scaleable mobile targeting a reality. In theory, that is. In practice, the challenge remains creating a viable "ecosystem" for leveraging all that emerging behavioral data among mobile operators, mobile content providers and advertisers. Adam Soroca, vice president of search at JumpTap, a provider of "white label" search solutions for mobile operators, outlines what such an "ecosystem" might look like.

If our informal straw poll of BT's top executives is any indication, there doesn't appear to be a comprehensive interest in the field to push the issue at consumers. Generally, digital users are not complaining. As Dave Moore, CEO and chairman of 24/7 Real Media, tells us this week, it really isn't that complicated for consumer to grasp. "If you frequently visit travel sites, then you will receive more travel ads," he says.

Most current approaches to behavioral targeting put all or nearly all their emphasis on what people are looking at and for online. While that's an important first step, truly customized granular targeting involves going deeper, learning new ways of asking and answering the question of why and how specific consumer segments differ in their search behavior, as Susie Kang, senior vice president of WhitePages.com, explains.

Consumers need to consider how well the online ad industry protects rather than violates their privacy, says SpecificMedia CEO Tim Vanderhook. SpecificMedia targets up to 80 million unique users demographically, contextually and behaviorally across its ad network. Explaining to end users the technical details of cookie placement and anonymous tracking, let alone the B2B relationships among advertisers, networks, and publishers, may not be a cost-effective solution to the privacy debate, he argues.

For many ad networks and publishers, deploying behavioral data has already proven itself as a selling point for justifying higher CPMs. But Alex Hooshmand, director of product management at Right Media, argues that defining behavioral targeting's value in terms of the CPM model may be selling the true potential of the behavioral revolution short.

For the most part -- unlike some of his peers in the BT industry -- Bill Gossman, CEO, Revenue Science, is not worrying about a backlash over privacy and behavioral tracking. He feels the industry already does a good job of covering privacy concerns and giving consumers the tools for opting out of whatever offends them online. If education is needed, it is more about how these technologies keep offers and messaging relevant for consumers, he argues.

The "paradigm shifting" innovations that have moved online advertising forward have invariably involved a radical simplification and streamlining of what had been complex processes. Display advertising is ready for its streamlining, one involving a synthesis of all the currently siloed targeting methodologies being advanced and used in isolation, Jim Barnett, CEO of the new automated targeting ad network Turn.com, argues below.

If you want to get the word out about an ad targeting model and its privacy policies, then, well, advertise it. Tacoda, Inc. recently launched a "Consumer Choice" campaign across its network that explains the company's approach to behavioral targeting and gives users opportunities for opting out of the system. In this ongoing series of interviews with top executives about their approach to the privacy issue, CEO Curt Viebranz explains Tacoda's proactive approach.

Beyond the bells and whistles, a fundamental premise of Web 2.0 is that cultivating user engagement, interaction and community are the keys to building Web site loyalty. Yet, as Roy DeSouza, CEO of the Zedo Ad Serving network explains below, when it comes to serving ads, far too many Web 2.0 publishers fail to use what they know about their audience to deliver relevant, engaging advertising.

FTC hearings late last year re-energized discussions over privacy and consumer choice in online data collection. As the model du jour, behavioral targeting is getting its share of scrutiny, while the BT networks enlarge and major players like MSN launch new targeting products. And so, in the coming weeks, BI will poll the industry by interviewing executives at the top BT firms to flesh out their stand on privacy policies, consumer education, and industry-wide standards for implementing BT opt-out.