With the ongoing turmoil in the advertising industry caused by the internet, a new breed of customer custodians is emerging in the form of internet giants such as Google, Yahoo, MySpace, Microsoft and AOL. As advertisers strive to make their messages more relevant, customer data becomes the key to better targeting and ad placement.

A recent study undertaken by comScore provides the clearest evidence that the internet is changing the way companies engage with their consumers. ComScore counted the number of times that data is collected on an average website visitor every month. The notion is that more data allows advertisers to better anticipate the user’s needs and wants. The numbers are telling, especially when considered against more traditional advertising mediums. Yahoo leads with 2520 data points followed by MySpace’s 1416. This compares to Disney Online’s 64 or NBC Universal’s 38. The ability to gather customer data diminishes outside of the digital space, where currently most of the ads are viewed and heard. TV advertisers, for instance, are not able to do much beyond targeting ads based on geographical area or type of audience for a given program. Radio is in a similar boat.

But it is not smooth sailing for companies amassing large quantities of data. The issue of privacy is limiting what companies can do – Facebook’s Beacon and AOL’s release of search data are prime examples of missteps. In fact, a study of California adults indicates that 85 percent disagree with the practice of tracking their online behavior to target ads. It seems that the customer custodians will have to figure out a balance between protecting their user’s rights and monetizing their ability to anticipate their needs. ComScore’s study suggests that a few may have already stepped over the line.