Have you ever heard the phrase geotargeting? Ever wondered what it was and if it really affects you? Well read on for an explanation.
It's not the most advanced technological concepts on the internet today but geotargeting is probably one of the most used. In fact you'd be unlikely to use the internet for very long without being the subject of some sort of geo targeting.
Very simply geotargeting is the principle of targeting what you see or can do on the internet depending on your location. As soon as you use a search engine or an advanced web site, you'll be the subject of geotargeting. When you fire up a search engine and search for something, the location you are in will be taken into account. Which is all perfectly sensible, after all if I'm in the UK and search for window cleaners, I don't want to see a firm listed from downtown Chicago !
The search engine will tailor my search results depending on where I am, so if all works well I should get results which are more applicable to my area. It's not the best system but it definitely has it's uses.
Perhaps the more annoying use of geotargeting is when the technology is used to modify or block what you see. For instance if you want to play online roulette, you'll be blocked from many casino sites if you are in the US due to American legislation on online gambling.
Also when you try and access certain media content from different locations you could get blocked. For instance if I try and access Hulu or ABC.com from a non-US computer I won't be able to view their shows. Similarly I won't be able to access UK BBC programmes if I'm outside the UK or at least my computer is.
To be honest the technology is rather dated and is often unreliable. The problem is that when you access a web site all these geolocating scripts do, is look up your IP address in a huge datbase which lists which countries have which ranges. Unfortunately there are many different databases of IP addresses and many are out of date or just plain wrong.
If you'd like to read a little more, you'll find more here
geotargeting information. Or visit this site if you're intrested in how you can watch
Iplayer France
