A friend of mine online pointed me at this article at sfgate.com:
High-tech billboards tune in to drivers' tastesRoadside signs coming to Bay Area listen to car radios, then adjust pitch
The billboard is listening.
In an advertising ploy right out of Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report," electronic billboards in the Bay Area and Sacramento are being equipped to profile commuters as they whiz by -- and then instantly personalize freeway ads based on the wealth and habits of those drivers.
For example, if the freeway were packed with country music listeners, the billboards might make a pitch for casinos. If National Public Radio were on, the billboards could change to ads for a high-quality car or a gourmet grocery.
The billboards -- in Palo Alto, Daly City and Fremont -- will pick up which radio stations are being played and then instantly access a vast databank of information about the people who typically listen to those stations. The electronic ads will then change to fit listener profiles.
Yikes. It is one thing when you have ads online target you. It's another when you happen to be just going down the street and streetsigns can tell what you are listening to. It looks like this system keeps everything anonymous, but it is still kinda creepy.
