The argument from advertisers and those making a fat living from the last paradigm of advertising models (PPC, pageviews, etc.) for invasive advertising practices is that data mining is essential for personalization.

This recent Mashable and TechCrunch post outlines some of that thinking in action.

But are these approaches really inevitable? Can we not think of better ways to exchange information about value relative to us (the Real Advertising 2.0) than invasive measures? Of course we can.

BlueOrganizer, Pownce, StumbleUpon and more are living testaments to that.

The question here is not about what are the facts, but rather whose AGENDA do they serve? No one in power ever ceded it, it was either forcefully taken away, the environment changed or a disruptor introduced a new meme to change the game completely.

I know I have some ideas about utilizing the power of recommendations based on shared contexts to redefine advertising, and I’m sure some of you have powerful game changing ideas of your own. The question is, will you introduce those ideas in time to undo the damage the repetition=awareness=relevance thinkers have already done and are planning to do?

A little “Evil” is not OK. No matter how cute it may seem at first.