Women click, men scroll
Software from the US company Predicitve recognizes the gender of Internet users
Software from the US company Predicitve recognizes the gender of the Internet userBy Carmen GasserA US company claims to have discovered differences in the surfing behaviour of men and women and is therefore adjusting the display of banners according to gender.
Predictive, a company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recently made people sit up and take notice with its announcement in the Wall Street Journal that women not only think differently (which we already knew...), but also click differently (note: not tick). Studies have shown that men use the tab key more often and scroll through websites with the wheel of their wheel mouse.
Women, on the other hand, are said to give themselves away by using the mouse more. Each user therefore has an individual pattern of how they use a keyboard, a mouse or the remote control of a TV set with set-top box. Based on these findings, it is possible to distinguish which family member is currently working on the shared
PC surfs.
Based on this information, Predictive has specialized in marketing such knowledge. The magic word is target group-specific advertising: when the father is surfing, a banner for beer is displayed, a diamond ring is conjured up on the banner for the mother, and the son should also be inspired by the new skateboard using a banner.
The software is also welcomed in Switzerland
The use of the new software goes even further, as it can also be used to analyze the conditions of use of the remote control. It can be used to differentiate between men, women and couples watching television. Men switch the channels up and down more often, while women change channels less frequently.
Commercial breaks are used by men to search for a sports program, while women usually watch a whole interruption of music videos. In the USA, the first Internet providers such as AT&T's WorldNet are already using Predictive's service. Last but not least, the possibility of gender-specific advertising on Internet sites is expected to boost the flagging online advertising market.
Pascal Zähner from Real Media Europe welcomes this opportunity to turn the anonymous user into a personalized user. Last but not least, there is a simple profit motive behind it. "The more characteristics that can be filtered out, the higher the
the price. With a qualified audience that can filter out three to four criteria, the price triples," Zähner admits openly. But he also has concerns about the use of the software: "The basis for all actions must be the user's consent to collect their data," explains Zähner.
In the USA, the software is still in the testing phase and is being watched with suspicion by data protection experts. For example, the question arises: who can ensure that the method does not make mistakes and that the system does not deliver advertising to the wrong target group, such as banners for sex sites aimed at children? To refute this objection, Predictive does not want to make the method available for advertising porn sites, alcohol or weapons. In addition, children can be recognized by their gross motor movements with the mouse.
Predictive, a company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recently made people sit up and take notice with its announcement in the Wall Street Journal that women not only think differently (which we already knew...), but also click differently (note: not tick). Studies have shown that men use the tab key more often and scroll through websites with the wheel of their wheel mouse.
Women, on the other hand, are said to give themselves away by using the mouse more. Each user therefore has an individual pattern of how they use a keyboard, a mouse or the remote control of a TV set with set-top box. Based on these findings, it is possible to distinguish which family member is currently working on the shared
PC surfs.
Based on this information, Predictive has specialized in marketing such knowledge. The magic word is target group-specific advertising: when the father is surfing, a banner for beer is displayed, a diamond ring is conjured up on the banner for the mother, and the son should also be inspired by the new skateboard using a banner.
The software is also welcomed in Switzerland
The use of the new software goes even further, as it can also be used to analyze the conditions of use of the remote control. It can be used to differentiate between men, women and couples watching television. Men switch the channels up and down more often, while women change channels less frequently.
Commercial breaks are used by men to search for a sports program, while women usually watch a whole interruption of music videos. In the USA, the first Internet providers such as AT&T's WorldNet are already using Predictive's service. Last but not least, the possibility of gender-specific advertising on Internet sites is expected to boost the flagging online advertising market.
Pascal Zähner from Real Media Europe welcomes this opportunity to turn the anonymous user into a personalized user. Last but not least, there is a simple profit motive behind it. "The more characteristics that can be filtered out, the higher the
the price. With a qualified audience that can filter out three to four criteria, the price triples," Zähner admits openly. But he also has concerns about the use of the software: "The basis for all actions must be the user's consent to collect their data," explains Zähner.
In the USA, the software is still in the testing phase and is being watched with suspicion by data protection experts. For example, the question arises: who can ensure that the method does not make mistakes and that the system does not deliver advertising to the wrong target group, such as banners for sex sites aimed at children? To refute this objection, Predictive does not want to make the method available for advertising porn sites, alcohol or weapons. In addition, children can be recognized by their gross motor movements with the mouse.
