Two years ago,
Gmail
launched with the idea of showing ads contextually based on your email. Soon
after, the shit hit the fan, with one California state senator even backing a
special anti-Gmail
law that
failed to pass. Fast forward to last week, with Microsoft rolling out Active
Search within Windows Live Mail. Just like Gmail, it will deliver ads based on
what you’re reading. Unlike Gmail, there’s been no privacy freakout that I’ve
seen.
Microsoft’s blog post on
the new service highlights privacy protections meant to make you feel better.
Heck, I was never that worried about Gmail. We’ll see if places like EPIC feel
they need to maintain a new FAQ about the Microsoft service similar to what they
started (but don’t seem
to still maintain) for Gmail.
Microsoft Adds
Contextual Ads Alongside Desktop E-mail from ClickZ has more on the new
service.