… In late February, Facebook announced partnerships with four companies that collect lucrative behavioral data, from store loyalty card transactions and customer e-mail lists to divorce and Web browsing records. … Targeted advertising bears important implications for consumers. It could mean seeing advertisements based not just on what they “like” […] Read more »
Google testing poll questions to improve search results
Quick poll: Do you want to answer questions to improve your Google experience? The Silicon Valley tech giant is testing using poll questions to improve the search results it shows to users. The Times spotted the feature Friday, and Google confirmed it is an experiment the company is conducting. [cont.] […] Read more »
Social media for social science: The imperfect window
Much of the world, it seems, has been atwitter about social media in recent years. Researchers are no exception. Rather than needing to solicit insight from people with telephone calls during dinner or mailing surveys that largely end up in the trash, social scientists now have readily available tools to […] Read more »
Nielsen Plans to Expand Ratings From TV to Broadband Views
Consumers don’t just watch TV on television sets, and now, Nielsen is preparing to measure TV-watching beyond the obvious boob-tube. The company has disclosed plans to start measuring consumer views of TV programs that are watched via a broadband connection in the home — a development sure to be praised […] Read more »
John E. Karlin, Who Led the Way to All-Digit Dialing, Dies at 94
… Mr. Karlin, associated from 1945 until his retirement in 1977 with Bell Labs, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., was widely considered the father of human-factors engineering in American industry. A branch of industrial psychology that combines experimentation, engineering and product design, human-factors engineering is concerned with easing the awkward, […] Read more »
Twitter Buys Company That Mines Chatter About TV
Twitter confirmed on Tuesday that it is acquiring Bluefin Labs, a company that analyzes online chatter about TV shows and companies and sells its findings. … The deal suggests a new line of business for Twitter, which is under pressure to increase its revenues. Bluefin bills itself as a social […] Read more »