One person's junk mail is another person's discount offer. Boston-based Compete this week launched software that allows consumers to give permission to marketers to target them in exchange for special offers and other information.
Compete is marketing to advertisers the Voicebox desktop application that tracks a user's online behavior and feeds up surveys, offers and targeted ads. The ads are optional. Upromise, a provider of low-cost college savings accounts, is offering Voicebox to its members to allow them to save money for college tuition while shopping at specified online merchants.