The Bionic Consumer

Using the mouse to unlock customers' minds

On the Internet, biometrics may mean more than retinal scans and fingerprints, such as just how fast your clicker finger is. Predictive Networks Inc. out of Cambridge, Mass. has new software that can distinguish users by the way they use their mouse and keyboard. For example, the software has shown that men use the scrolling wheel on their mouse while women stick to moving the entire mouse.

"Biometrics give us the answer to a difficult question - which user has the controls?" said Devin Hosea, Predictive Networks president and founder. "We want to use this technology to help our partners better personalize their offerings by uniquely differentiating users. This technology gives us the unique ability to help our partners personalize their offerings across numerous, casually accessible devices."

The software, which can differentiate among as many as 20 users, creates a portrait of the user, called a Digital Silhouette, based on their Internet behavior, such as their typing style, surfing style, and mouse usage patterns. According to Predictive, from the Digital Silhouette, "the company can pinpoint individuals and help advertisers, commerce, and content providers target their offerings on-the-fly." The software lets ISPs know if it's the 11-year-old son or his 40-year-old father surfing sports sites, giving the ISP an opportunity to show the boy an ad for a sports video game or the dad an ad for razors.

Subscribers to ISPs already using the software opt-in to the service in exchange for low-priced Web access. One of Predictive's main goals is to make sure the user's privacy is maintained and the company doesn't keep records of user names or addresses. Although it may seem like a logical next step for Predictive to partner with CRM vendors, to give companies an even more complete view of the customer, the company is not ready to jump into this relationship because of these privacy concerns.

"We have often considered that partnering with CRM vendors could give enterprises a very powerful set of tools to better reach, monetize, and retain their customers," said Jeanette Medlin Barlow, Predictive's vice president of marketing. "However, since we take such a strong stance on protecting individual privacy, a partnership with any CRM vendor would have to be carefully thought out."

— Jeanette Perez

In this Issue: