
Our business idea based on the CSS history hack: a new way to monetize web assets. - jjfarren-
http://wozad.com/
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henryl
This hack can only tell you what sites a user has visited out of a list of
sites you specify. A general ad platform based on this hack would presumably
have a list of sites to query against, acting as a litmus test for determining
a user's interests and socioeconomic status. I would argue that such a list
would be difficult to compose (javascript/JSON size vs. generality vs.
granularity) and no better than the cookie / flash cookie / geo IP lookup
technologies currently being employed by doubleclick and others. Such a list
would necessarily have to target sites in the top 500 whereas networks like
doubleclick can mine niche sites that may serve as better indicators of a
user's true behavioral profile.

~~~
lionheart
It's not necessarily quite that bad. The list can be made modular.

One option would be to start of with a list of the top 500 sites and then
determine from that information what demographic the user fits it. Then you
could load a list of sites pertaining to that demographic and further narrow
down the user's behavior.

Also, if you're talking about ads on a certain site, the publisher can make a
list of the sites in their niche and then you could load that list and move on
from there.

All in all, this has some very interesting potential. The question is, why
hasn't Google done it already?

~~~
breck
They have. I'm pretty sure Doubleclick does this. Without the CSS hack
though(using the cookie method).

The CSS hack is only worthwhile if you don't have the kind of data sources
that the big guys have. If this technique actually made money, you would
probably want to sign up for something like Lookery or RightMedia because
they'd get you better results.

~~~
jjfarren-
If you read carefully on our website you will learn about the limitations of
cookie based methods.

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gojomo
I think someday that hack will be closed in the browser as a privacy
violation, so I would be hesitant to build a business based on it.

~~~
agentbleu
but hang on, before you get all up in arms about privacy and rights, this is a
possible google adsense / adwords killer and there is going to blood shed
before privacy gets in the way of profits.

~~~
tptacek
Yeah, because no way could Google have figured out how to do this.

~~~
jamesjyu
Google should really also integrate this hack into google analytics -- that
way they can give rough estimates of where else your traffic is surfing.

~~~
tptacek
I believe there's something in Google's S-1 filing that might technically
prohibit them from doing this.

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sadfsa
This is the second post I've seen from wozad.com where clicking on the
headline simply leads to their top-level site (where they try to sell you
their service). Smells like spam to me.

~~~
jjfarren-
Well, the first post title wasn't clear, it has been ignored. I decided to
post again because i do think that the matter is at least "interesting".

~~~
pxlpshr
Smells like spam. Tastes like spam. It is spam!

Your logic is self-serving, don't you think? You have no history of
contributing to HN discussion besides posting your company link twice. A post
title has little to do with the quality of content on the other side. I think
people ignored it for a reason. Not to mention, how is this that much
different from Schill's random hack back in 2006?

<http://www.schillmania.com/random/humour/web20awareness/>

~~~
jjfarren-
Yes you are right,i should not have linked the post to the main page, this
might look a bit rude.Anyway i do think that this application has some kind of
value to share. And as i already commented the feedback of this community is
very important for us. Finally our methodology is much more extended from the
"random hack" you talk about, that random hack is something coded in one
evening just to give a proof-of-concept.

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tptacek
Why aren't people going to chase you out of the market with pitchforks and
torches? This is a severe privacy violation.

------
auston
If you want to use the CSS History hack - here is something to get you
started: <http://pastie.org/343984>

~~~
jjfarren-
I think you did not understand that much..

~~~
tptacek
You really do have a knack for endearing yourself to this audience, don't you?

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rrhyne
I'd say find a way to get in front of more mainstream publishers, not hackers,
this is pretty obviously not your audience.

~~~
jjfarren-
well, everybody here misunderstood the meaning of this post. It wasn't get
instant userbase, but instead get the feedback of hacker news community. This
is partly achieved and i say thanks to everybody who partecipated in this
discussion.

~~~
pierrefar
Here is feedback: it's a scary privacy hole. Having a company trying to
exploit this to make money will only hasten its closure.

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zitterbewegung
Sounds like a good idea. But it doesn't work if they have css turned off.

~~~
rrhyne
Who the fark browses the web with CSS off?

~~~
jjfarren-
i think he/she meant javascript not CSS.

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jackowayed
note about your site: turn off JS and it has your logo and your footer,
nothing else.

