Company brings offline data to Web ads

COMPANY BRINGS OFFLINE DATA TO WEB SITES
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Anick Jesdanun]
Information about your online and offline activities, formerly kept separate for marketing purposes, is starting to blend, perhaps without you even realizing it. Marketing data provider Acxiom Corp. is bringing to the Internet the consumer profiles for which it and other data providers are known among direct-mail companies and telemarketers — who prize knowing where to find "early parents," "penny pinchers" and other types of households for credit-card promotions and other offers. Privacy advocates are taking notice. "It violates average users' expectations," said Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology. "It's such a sea change in the way users use information online."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071209/ap_on_hi_te/targeting_offline_meets_...