Pretty soon, The New York Times is going to need more compliance officers (Web watchdogs?) than reporters. The august publisher has yet to debut the domestic version of its metered paywall, but breaches already abound. Under the new terms, users are only allowed 20 pageviews a month before the wall kicks in, but visits to the site via social media links are unlimited. "As I predicted, this was an inducement for someone to simply tweet a link to every single story on the site," writes Forbes' Jeff Bercovici. In the latest instance, a web developer used the Times's own …

For the very first time in the country the Census will be putting out, annually, small- area data looking at occupational distribution, educational attainment, commuting patterns, housing, and socio-economic data, according to Robert Groves, director of the U.S. Census Bureau. Speaking at ARF, he said every year, the Census will promulgate community and neighborhood-based data. "This has never happened before," he noted. "In prior years we offered a big dose of data every ten years, which became less and less valuable as the years passed." The new product, The American Community Survey, is based on ongoing polling of 3 …

The Advertising Research Foundation gave Dominos Pizza the Grand Prize for using research and ethnography to learn people thought their pizza was, um, not greaet. Not only did they change the way they make pizza but used the results in advertising. Other winners: Kimberly-Clark, for Kotex, for new product variants driven by research and the U.S. Census for 2010 which purportedly reached 99.4% of all people in America.

There was a line of people for coffee at Starbucks this morning before the ARF conference. Note to ARF: COFFEE!!!

Bloomberg L.P. Tuesday announced the Bloomberg Media Group, a consumer media group that ties together Bloomberg's television, print, radio, mobile and digital media properties. The new structure is designed to allow advertisers to make buys more efficiently across the company's media properties including Businessweek, Bloomberg Markets magazine and Bloomberg Television. In connection with the move, Paul Bascobert, president of Bloomberg Businessweek, has been named head of operations for the new unit. "By operating under one umbrella, we can better leverage our resources, drive deeper engagement with our readers and viewers, and provide the best solutions for advertisers," said Andy Lack, President …

In the wake of Verizon getting the iPhone, mobile ad exchange Mobclix combed through its own data and surveyed Verizon iPhone owners to see how the move is playing out in the battle for iPhone customers with AT&T. Here are the key findings:

• AT&T iPhone customers use WiFi an average of 53% of the time vs 38% Verizon iPhone owners.
• 2 in 3 AT&T customers who switched to Verizon iPhone paid the termination fee.
• The top three reasons for AT&T customers making a switch to Verizon are: reception issues, personal hot spot and reputation.
• 14% of iPhone 4 users …

The improving economy doesn't seem to have dampened consumer demand for a good deal: Dollar General says its fourth quarter sales gained 9.4% to $3.49 billion, buoyed by a same-store sales increase of 3.8%. And adjusted net income rose 30% to $226 million. The Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based chain says the first quarter is also off to a strong start, and that it anticipates a sales gain of 11 to 13% in the year ahead, with same store sales rising 3 to 5%.

So what do consumers really want from online advertising? Do they care about being tracked, anyway? Those are a couple of the questions addressed in a panel looking at online privacy. Based on research done at Ball State's Center for Media Design, Michelle Prieb said people's attitudes about data collected about them online is situational but that they would rather have advertising that's more targeted and tailored to their interests or preferences. There's isn't as much concern about being tracked in itself as to what happens to data collected about them. For that reason, Prieb suggested its incumbent on advertisers …

Get ready to have an up-close and personal relationship with your red snapper supper. In response to last year's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and growing concerns about ocean sustainability, the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance is launching Gulf Wild, a branding effort that will attach a unique tag to the gill of every fish its members catch. Chefs and consumers can then enter the code in a "Find my fish" feature on its website, and not only see precisely where the fish was harvested, but even a photo of the fisherman who caught it. …

Quick, who indexes higher on purchasing behavior on Amazon, men or women? That's a question former Amazon R&D executive David Selinger asked on a panel on recommendation engines, the more transparent, less creepy side of behavioral targeting. The answer: neither. Selinger, now head of RichRelevance, used that example to illustrate that assumptions about behavior--that women overindex on online buying--turn out to be wrong 99% of the time. "You need to see all dimension of consumer behavior to create a full profile," he said. Without getting a 360 view of user behavior, you won't be able to derive any meaningful data. …