This has been a topic of much debate since Kinect’s launch: is the camera peripheral spying on you? Microsoft swears blind that it isn’t and they’ve issued official statement after statement denying this so-called hidden agenda.
That being said, chief operating officer of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment division, Dennis Durkin, has hinted at the potential sitting right in front of advertisers. He was speaking at an investor conference last week when he pointed out the inherent possibility within each Kinect camera to facilitate tailored advertising.
We all know that at any one time, Kinect knows exactly how many people there are in the room and what they are wearing. According to Durkin, this creates the perfect opportunity for tailored advertising. He explained further by saying that if a group of people were watching a sports game over Xbox Live’s streaming ESPN service, then Kinect could tell which team they support judging by the team jerseys and fan kits they might be wearing. This would then allow advertisers to pipe specific adverts into that particular living room. It would also tell how many people remained in the room during advert breaks, and presumably make changes around that as well.
Firstly, before you all freak out, this is not actually happening. Even if it was happening, then we as South Africans would probably not have much to worry about considering how our Xbox Live is minute when compared to the USA’s.
Secondly, this isn’t that different to the tailored advertising you get alongside Facebook, Gmail and even Kalahari.net. When we make purchases online or discuss specific topics over email with friends, that data is captured and we are then fed tailored advertising. Would this Kinect application be that much different? A little creepier, maybe, but not different.
Naturally, Microsoft has been quick to back-pedal on Durkin’s examples and has issued, yet again, a statement denying this application:
Xbox 360 and Xbox Live do not use any information captured by Kinect for advertising targeting purposes. Microsoft has a strong track record of implementing some of the best privacy protection measures in the industry. We place great importance on the privacy of our customers’ information and the safety of their experiences.
One thing’s for sure though: this potential is damn clever. Plus, the thought of having adverts tailored to my tastes is rather appealing; I’d never have to sit through another OMO or Vanish advert again.
Source: Kotaku
Last Updated: November 15, 2010
NiteFenix
November 15, 2010 at 13:42
This just scares me even more. It’s been mentioned how awesome the Kinect is if you had to use it as a interface ala Minority Report, but a negative aspect which I’m sure a lot of you would remember from that very same movie is the fact that as the actors moved through this sci-fi world they had computers which literally tracked every move you made, and adjusted adverts as you walked through shops, etc.
I can see how that would appeal to some people, but I honestly only see the horror-movie value to something like that. Big Brother is becoming scarier and scarier.
Bobby Kotick for Dummies
November 15, 2010 at 13:42
So it reads Billabong on my t-shirt, and immediately starts targeting me with extreme sport on ESPN? Well, if I was living in the States it would… lol *looks at local xbox live*
*laughs*
NiteFenix
November 15, 2010 at 13:45
I’m just wondering what would happen if I was wearing one of those Marijauna Leaf t-shirts.
razer
November 15, 2010 at 13:58
Nice change on the header image, was beginning to think you were putting the lazy in LAZYgamer by copying and pasting header images 🙂
Philip
November 15, 2010 at 14:22
So exploitable. Prank your friend(s) (?) by training their Kinect’s targeted advertising data with oh-so-questionable material.
NiteFenix
November 15, 2010 at 14:26
Like gay porn?
Philip
November 15, 2010 at 14:32
Well, that all depends on the company you keep. If you’ve got any homophobic friends, I say do it for the luuuulzzzz!
😛
Gavin Mannion
November 15, 2010 at 20:48
The only thing that is making people freak out about this one is that the computer is actually using visual cues to see what adverts to load instead of the usual tracking of your movements online.
It’s creepy as all hell but what’s going to be worse is when we play a game at home then drive to the shops and the in mall billboards change to suit us depending on what we just played…
In other words, when the offline and online worlds combine to take us down :ninja: