ZEDO

Infobox_Company
company_name = ZEDO, Inc.
company_
company_type = Private
company_slogan = Ad Solutions for the New Internet
foundation = September 1999
location = San Francisco, California
key_people = Roy de Souza, co-founder/CEO, Joseph Jacob, VP technology and Jerome Hromiak, director of sales
industry = Internet advertising
products = ZEDO Ad Server (Publishers, Marketers, Networks), Network Optimization (Publishers), Behavioral Targeting (Networks)
num_employees = approx. 120
homepage = [http://www.zedo.com/ www.zedo.com]

ZEDO is a privately-held company founded in 1999 by Roy de Souza, which provides internet ad serving to web publishers and direct marketers. [cite news
url=http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/article139271.ece
title=Internet advertising: Top of the pops
publisher=The Independent
accessdate=2007-11-26 | date=2002-10-07] ZEDO is currently the third largest ad server, [cite press release
last = Smith
first = Nicole Flynn
title = ZEDO now industry's third largest ad server with Falk transition
publisher = ZEDO
date = April 2006 | accessdate=2008-07-05
url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200604/ai_n16121481] with clients such as CNET [cite web
url=http://www.zedo.com/press/pressrelease-11052004.htm
title=ZEDO Ad Serving : Press
publisher=www.zedo.com
accessdate=2007-11-26] and PartyPoker. ZEDO employs 120 people and is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in London, India and Russia.

History

ZEDO began in 1999 as the first company to launch a self-targeting product allowing all customers to choose what type of ads they want to see. [cite web
last = Heim
first = Sarah J.
title = ZEDO Ad Serving Technology puts consumers in control
publisher = AllBusiness.com
date = 2001-07-21 | accessdate=2008-07-05
url = http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/internet-marketing/4443401-1.html] In 2001, it expanded by offering the ad serving technology to large websites.

ZEDO has also experimented with creating its own social networking sites. In 2006, it launched ZEBO.com a social networking site where users get shopping advice from friends who own products. [cite web
last = Tedeschi
first = Bob
title = Got Roomfuls of Stuff? Now Sites Will Help Keep Track of It
publisher = New York Times
date = April 30, 2007
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/technology/30ecom.html]

In June 2008, ZEDO launched Friday Tadka, a social network service where users talk about movies released in India.

In March 2008, ZEDO began building ZAN – an ad network exclusive to ad server clients.

Products

ZEDO offers three products :
#ZEDO Ad Server, enabling a website or third-party ad reseller to target, deliver, and report on their interactive advertising campaigns.
#An ad network optimization product; For web sites that cannot sell all their ad space themselves, ZEDO will calculate which ad network will pay the most for that unsold ad impression and send that ad space to the appropriate ad network.
#ZEDO Ad Network will sell behaviorally targeted ads for websites that do not sell such ads themselves.

Criticism

ZEDO is often linked [cite web
url=http://ca.com/securityadvisor/pest/pest.aspx?id=453074269
title=Spyware Detail : Zedo
publisher=Computer Associates
accessdate=2008-02-28 |date=2004-08-16] to the controversy over spyware because ZEDO uses HTTP cookies to track users' browsing and advertisement viewing history,cite web
url=http://www.slate.com/id/2129656/
title=Cookie Monsters
publisher=Slate
author=Penenberg, Adam L.
date=2005-11-07 |accessdate=2008-07-05] cite web
last = Dixon
first = Pam
title = Opt-Out Cookie Links
publisher = World Privacy Forum
date = 2004-09-01 | accessdate=2008-07-08
url = http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/cookieoptout.html] although the company disputes being categorized as spyware. [cite web
url=http://www.zedo.com/company/anti-spyware.htm
title=Anti-Spyware
publisher=Zedo
accessdate=2008-02-28]

Though ZEDO does offer an opt-out page,cite web
url=http://www.zedo.com/company/optout.htm
title=Opt Out
publisher=ZEDO
accessdate=2008-07-08] it will only affect cookies; ZEDO continues to track users via IP addresses. Programs such as Spybot - Search & Destroy quarantines Zedo software as adware so that users can remove it from their computer.

References

External links

* [http://www.zedo.com Official website]
* [http://www.zebo.com ZEBO website]
* [http://www.fridaytadka.com Friday Tadka website]
* [http://www.zedosucks.com how to remove zedo tracking cookie]