Imagine this. You're using your computer to watch TV shows. While you flip through different channels and view clips, your TV history is being stored locally in your cache.
Why is your viewing history important? In general, you are what you watch. If you list your top ten fave TV shows, an algorithm can tell me all about your buying habits. Your TV list usually leads to greater consumer insight than your age, gender, race and income.
Now what? If you're Microsoft, you use this info to make money. You can strategically overlay ads (e.g., watermark), place ads in the black letterbox area, use interstitial commercials as you change channels. The options are really endless, and we'll be bombarded with more ads than ever before.
But Microsoft is more creative than that.
What's the first thing you see on your computer when you come back from lunch? That's right. You see the same thing everybody in your office saw for the last 30 minutes of your lunch. Your screen saver. What a wonderful place for targeted advertising.
Microsoft thought so too. Today the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) published Microsoft's patent application (20060117366), "Television tuning device screen saver advertising."
'nuff said.
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