Data Mining, Down Under

Tim O’Reilly points to the news that Experian has made a significant move to improve the quality of their online and demographic data with the acqusition of Hitwise for US$240 Million. Hitwise collects user traffic from ISPs in several countries including Australia and uses that information to provide companies with insight into their online marketshare. Although not mentioned in the press release, the Hitwise data will likely be a huge boon for Experian’s marketing services, and will probably allow them to develop more accurate geo-demographic profiles.