Add some subdomains, e.g. 192.168.2o7.net, and it looks a bit like a local (safe), “non-internet” IP address. This is exactly what they do.

Why would you choose those exact subdomains, out of 1000′s of other possibilities?

Welcome to Deception 101 a.k.a. internet advertising “analytics”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omniture

Does anyone really care? I think not.

Not to be pessimistic, but I wouldn’t count on any big changes. People complained about Netscape’s original text cookies when they first came to the public’s attention as they were used by advertisers, but cookies didn’t disappear. In fact now sites tell users to enable them. And users comply. What choice do they have? If methods become controversial, i.e. there are complaints, then developers just find other ways to get the user data they’re after. This game has been going on a long time. The original companies have been sued before but it has not stopped them. It is far too profitable. By the time people figure out what’s being collected by the methods these comanies focus on, it’s too late. The only way to avoid these insidious methods is to understand how they work. And investing the time and effort to do that is something the public and legislators will probabaly never do. There are developers out there who make their living working for companies like “Commission Junction”, etc. who spend 24/7 coming up with ways to get various user data; it is their “job” and they take pride in it. Users may not wish to understand what these developers are up to, but they’ll use the technology anyway. Therein lies the problem.

“…advertising is the lifeblood of domaining”

According to the “domaining” pundits, “development” and “content” are where domainers should direct their attention. Not to sound cynical, but I think that’s a red herring.

Advertising is not merely the lifeblood of domaining, it is the lifeblood of *the network*.

It made a certain search engine (Google) the giant that it is, and it keeps her there (98+% of her revenue). And arguably, at this stage, Google is “controlling the network”. Does any other company have more influence over the web? Wait and see. If you think social networking is going to overtake Google, it’s still the same principle: advertising is what funds the business. That’s what enables the company to grow.

In the beginning, decades ago, the money to build out the network, as well as much of the influence, came from other sources. There was no massive ad revenue fueling companies that could do what Google can do today.

These days, funding may still derive from various non-advertiser origins in order to build network infrastructure, but how signifcant is that overall? Think of the end result of building it. Why build the network further? The “real” driving reason localities want to build and access the network is to get at this massive ad revenue, via local businesses who either will purchase ads on the network, create them or sell space for them. The businesses that want access to this medium want it for its ad potential. And it’s advertisers that will drive consumers to the web. They’ll demand access.

Though things were different in the early days, I think it’s clear that *advertising* is the driving force behind the network now. “It’s where the money comes from.”

Tracking visitors is very widespread, and the objection is minimal.

Sorry we do not exchange links

If you cannot handle this kind of spying, go live in the caves with Osama.