The top MySpace user complaint about advertising is that the ads are irrelevant, according to Michael Barrett, executive vice president and chief revenue officer for Fox Interactive Media and MySpace: "Why can"t I see more personal ads that appeal to me?" he said. Ad personalization, however, requires the collection of user data, which prompts privacy concerns, Barrett said. "It"s an education process" to explain that data collection is anonymous and not invasive, he said. "It"s nuanced [but] something we"re very, very concerned with."
"It"s a permission-based system [so] giving the option to opt out is critical," Barrett said. "It"s going to have to be part and parcel of all this." YouTube"s Suzie Reider, head of advertising sales for YouTube, suggested that users "have to stop thinking of ads as ads, but ads as content."