Microsoft's next ad targeting: Online, offline, everywhere

A new Microsoft patent application shows the future of advertising, and it has U.S. privacy advocates worried. The system would combine data from cell-phone towers to pinpoint a consumer's location (by triangulating on your cell phone); data from credit cards about transaction history; and any media the consumer is now using, such as watching TV, listening to the radio, or potentially strolling past a digital billboard.

The application says:

"If the offline behavior indicates the user was watching a college football game ... if the user goes online during or just after such activity, then an inference could be made that the user is interested in seeing more information about the game as well as being receptive to advertisements selling college-team memorabilia."

Soon advertisers may be able to move beyond ad networks to purchasing people networks. "Hey, we want to target James Smith. Let's track his every location, and serve him ads at every media outlet." Question is: if personalization becomes omnipresent and omnipotent, won't consumers get sick of it?