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Guy Talmi is a Senior Marketing Director at Pontis, an Israel-based company that works with wireless and cable operators to help determine the most relevant marketing approaches based on a user's profile, preferences and behavior. Talmi has compiled a list of the top 10 most common marketing mistakes he sees made by the operator.

1.  Operators fail to target the right products to the right customers
2.  Free trial offers fail because of poor follow-up
3.  Introductory offers for new customers alienate existing customers
4.  Non-targeted offers look like spam
5.  Operators address churn too late
6.  Marketing campaigns may fail if not tested before launch
7.  Operators use the wrong medium to market to users
8.  Value the customer
9.  Operators miss marketing opportunities
10.  Success breeds success - if you can recognize it

Two consumer groups asked the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday to create a "do not track list" that would allow computer users to bar advertisers from collecting information about them.

The Consumer Federation of America and the Consumers Union also urged the FTC to bar collection of health information and other sensitive data by companies that do business on the Internet unless a consumer consents.

The call echoed those of other privacy advocates who filed statements with the FTC on Internet companies' use of "behavioral advertising." That is the practice of tracking a computer user's activities online, including Web searches and sites visited, to target advertisements to the individual consumer.

AOL's Platform-A advertising unit will be handling all of Verizon's online advertising.  If ever there was something to catapult Platform-A to another level, this is it.  It should be noted that we're talking about Verizon Communications, Inc, not Verizon Wireless.  This means that all of Verizon's online advertising, for any of their services, will be managed by Platform-A.  Seeing as Verizon offers internet services, which would compete with that same department within AOL, this announcement would lend weight to the rumors that AOL will be spinning off or selling its United States ISP operations (which they've already done in Germany and the U.K.).

Platform-A is AOL's revamped advertising unit.

Details on the deal at Reuters.

The essence of the proposal is to identify sensitive subjects that advertising companies should not keep track of. Here is the list:

1) Certain medical/health conditions-

• HIV/ AIDS status
• Sexually-related conditions (e.g., sexually transmitted diseases, erectile
• dysfunction)
• Psychiatric conditions
• Cancer status
• Abortion-related

2) Certain personal life information-

• Sexual behavior/orientation/identity (i.e., Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender)
• Criminal victim status (e.g., rape victim status)

The association also published a list of other topics that advertising companies may choose to consider sensitive, but then again they may not. This is the list of those topics the group suggests require "independent business judgment about what consumers could find particularly objectionable, but often do not."

Age, addictions (e.g., drugs, alcohol, gambling), alienage or nationality, criminal history, death, disability, ethnic affiliation, marital status, philosophical beliefs, political affiliation or opinions, pregnancy, race identification, religious affiliation (or lack thereof), trade union membership