Lookery.com - An Ad Network for All Social Networks

Lookery, which you may know as an ad network for Facebook app publishers, is actually available as of now, for the entire web. Launched by the same guy who did MyBlogLog, Lookery seeks the anonymized (which means age, sex, and location, thus only demographic data, are taken into account) profile information from social network users. The networks will get paid when Lookery uses that info for applying real time, targeted ads. What differentiates this from Facebook's own ad network, besides not being Facebook? According to Rafer, Lookery's founder, Lookery does not collect more than your most basic data—personal info is off limits—and it's for all social networks of courses. A few more differences: Lookery operates on Amazon, and it uses an third party cookie system; they also seem to be big on users privacy. While they may mimic Facebook's SocialAds, they have significantly different ways of going about adverts.

"Lookery provides demographic marketing services in and around social networks. We're working to fix the the basic economic problem that social networks face: great user profiling but unpredictable ad inventory. We make it safe and easy for social networks to distribute their data as targeting information outside their web sites, in order to make money in partnership with web sites that have great inventory but little or no user targeting information."

Users may appreciate Lookery for its upholding of their privacy rights. Facebook should feel flattered that Lookery is taking their cue from their SocialAds. All in all, it sounds like it has potential. They're offering what Facebook offers but to all social networks.

Will this demographic data approach work? If Lookery doesn't delve into personal information, will their ads be as effective? Will viewers even glance at these mildly targeted ads?