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Zedo

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Zedo, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryInternet marketing
FoundedSeptember 1999 (1999-09)
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, USA
Key people
Roy de Souza, Co-Founder/CEO; Paul Prior, President; Joseph Jacob, CTO; Summer Koide, VP, Products and Services
ProductsZedo Ad Server (Publishers, Marketers, Networks)
Network Optimization (Publishers)
Behavioral Targeting (Networks)
Websitewww.zedo.com

Zedo (trademark styled as ZEDO) is a privately held company founded in 1999 by Roy de Souza, which provides several online advertising products and services to websites, ad networks and direct publishers.[1] The company works with publishers who sell space on their web pages to online advertisers. Zedo's servers send advertisements to users' browsers.[2] Zedo uses an HTTP cookie to track users' browsing history resulting in targeted pop-up ad and pop-under ads. The cookie is often flagged by spyware and adware removal programs.[3]

History

Zedo began in 1999. The company headquarters is located in the North Beach district of San Francisco, California.[citation needed] Reducing costs, Zedo's development center is in India.[4] In 2001, it expanded by offering the ad-serving technology to large websites.

By 2004, the use of filters to limit pop-ups and pop-unders increased. Zedo began using intromercials—advertisements served before the requested content—as an alternate method.[5]

Zedo has also experimented with creating its own social networking sites. In 2006, it launched a social networking site where users get shopping advice from friends who own products called Zebo.com.[6]

Zedo works with newspapers.[7]

Criticism

Zedo uses HTTP cookies to track users' browsing and advertisement viewing history.[8] A writer for The Independent called pop-unders from Zedo and other providers "annoying" while also describing the advertisements' windows as a "seemingly endless barrage".[1] Technologist Danny Sullivan has stated that Zedo carries misleading "junk" ads linking to fake news sites.[9]

Zedo offers an opt-out option[10] and says that it has an anti-spyware policy.[11] CA Technologies has categorized Zedo's over risk of spyware as "very low" and privacy risk as "very low".[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Internet advertising: Top of the pops". The Independent. 2002-10-07. Archived from the original on 2008-04-3. Retrieved 2012-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help); Unknown parameter |authpr= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |dead link= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Heim, Sarah J. (2001-07-21). "Zedo Ad Serving Technology puts consumers in control". AllBusiness.com. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  3. ^ Kaye, Kate (September 13, 2006). "Anti-Spyware Programs Snare Ad Cookies, Google Cookies Evade All". ClickZ.com. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
  4. ^ Kaiser, Nathan. "Interview with Roy de Souza, CEO of Zedo". Npost. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  5. ^ Olsen, Stefanie (June 4, 2004). "Revenge of the pop-ups". Cnet. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  6. ^ Tedeschi, Bob (April 30, 2007). "Got Roomfuls of Stuff? Now Sites Will Help Keep Track of It". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "Zedo refocusing on newspapers". News&Tech. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  8. ^ Penenberg, Adam L. (2005-11-07). "Cookie Monsters". Slate. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  9. ^ Danny Sullivan. "Of Misleading Acai Berry Ads & Fake Editorial Sites". daggle.com. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
  10. ^ "Opt Out". Zedo. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  11. ^ "Anti-Spyware". Zedo. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  12. ^ "Spyware Detail : Zedo". Computer Associates. 2004-08-16. Archived from the original on 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2008-02-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead link= ignored (help)