Measurement becomes Mainstream?

One of the promises of an integrated digital media offer, powered by the Internet, has been tons and tons of useful measurement that can be used to make content relevant and advertising efficient.

Most companies don't actually use this data. They make users fill out registration forms, collecting information about gender and age and postal code, with an implicit undertaking to provide a more customised experience, but in reality this data is rarely used.

There have been notable exceptions. You probably don't want to know the level of detail about your habits resides in the Google databases. Bolt.com, one of the early Social Networks employed a team of statisticians to analyse teenage behaviour that was then sold to blue chip marketing brands.

Now the big-boys are waking up, perhaps. NBC have announced that they will use next month's broadcast of the Olympics to research how their audience consume media across several platforms including mobile (cell phones).

The 'billion dollar research lab' may go towards producing what NBC calls a "TAMI" -- Total Audience Measurement Index, which takes into account TV, online, video on demand and mobile phone usage. It may eventually be used to negotiate deals with advertisers across several platforms at once.

2008. The technology is available. The knowledge is available. And yet, words like 'eventually' and 'may be' are still used. Perhaps content providers don't want to know that nobody is watching or that the advertising is not relevant.