Can Twitter Make Advertising More Relevant?

In an article I found recently (check it out here), Twitter is rolling out a new feature to identify user interests and display ads based off of these individual preferences. In an effort to minimize wasted advertisements that users have no interest in, the website will use factors like favorite tweets and frequently used hash tags to identify user interests and "likes".  Unlike fellow social network Facebook where users literally "like" things they are interested in, Twitter will have to adapt a more sophisticated method of finding what users are interested in. Like the trend in advertising, Twitter is looking to cut out wasted time, effort and money (something the Neat Freak loves to hear!) and find the most effective use of ad space in hope people will click on ads they are actually interested in.

I think Twitter is taking the right approach to improve their advertising.  All parties benefit from this method; marketers are happy that their ads are directed at those who are interested, users are more satisfied with ads that relate to their interests, and Twitter can make charge more money because of both! I think everyone can agree that if we are to be subjected to advertising, we would much rather see ads for our own interests rather than random ones.

The one issue that may hover over the methods of both Facebook and Twitter is privacy. Where is the line drawn in terms of much they can use the information we post about ourselves? Once we post something is there an implicit agreement for sites to use the information to target us, or do they have a responsibility to respect our privacy and treat all users as equal? It seems that the boundaries have yet to be fully established, and I expect the coming years to be filled with legal battles and new legislation to determine what rights and responsibilities parties share in respect to privacy and targeting based off of posts. It will be an interesting debate, but I think Twitter taking a step toward more relevant advertising is a beneficial move for everyone.