Cookie lifespans
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aQuantive emailed yesterday to restate some findings that formed the basis for a MarketingVOX story last week that indicated fears of cookie deletion were overblown. In fact, the aQuantive data does show that self-reported data on cookie deletion is indeed overblown, but not quite as much as had been previously suspected. The new interpretation only throws more mud into the muddle of a recent debate (summarized here) on the continuing usefulness of cookies as an online ad measurement tool.

aQuantive decided that using the average cookie lifespan as an indicator was a poor way to compare user behaviors. When the firm looked at the numbers anew (results here), it found that people who indicated they deleted cookies every week did actually have short-lived cookies. Specifically, 60 percent of them had cookie lives shorter than two weeks. This means that aQuantive's findings aren't quite contradictory to Jupiter Research's earlier findings.

Jupiter's lead analyst Eric Peterson published a review of the new aQuantive data, complete with nifty charts. He finds that plenty of people are deleting cookies, no matter how you slice it, with aQuantive's own data showing that only 43 percent of cookies last more than eight weeks. He completely discounts a recent Insight Express report that also indicated cookie deletion was greatly exaggerated, writing that the research firm's data doesn't support its conclusions.

Industry pundit and buy-side executive Tom Hespos wrote last night on his blog that "for right now, the jury is still out as far as I'm concerned."

Recent Coverage: The Cookie Imbroglio
- Safecount Launched to Save Cookies, Back Safe Measurement
- Study: 27 Percent Weekly Clearing Cookies
- InsightExpress: Rumors of Cookie Demise Still Greatly Exaggerated
- Cookie Death Small Potatoes, More Product of Spyware Measures
- Atlas: Cookie Deletion Figures Exaggerated Wildly by Self-Reported Data
- Macromedia CTO: Yeah, Flash Makes for Good Cookie Replacements
- Cookie Death Causes Search for Successor
- Cookie Death Partly Due to 'Anti-Spyware' Tools
- Tacoda Tech Replaces Deleted Cookies
- Many Delete Cookies, Invalidate Ad Measurements
- House Removes Threat to Cookies in Spyware Bill