He hit his target, I hit mine, and the CEO got the revenue he needed to make a major acquisition.

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In October, Newmont revised the 2012 gold production target for its Indonesian mine to 71, 000 ounces from 114, 000 ounces guided previously.

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Their target: the Maikuben coal mine in northern Kazakhstan, owned by the American firm AES Corp.

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There will be lots more: Social media companies aim to attract more ad dollars by offering to mine profile data of their members so that marketers can target their ads.

FORBES: Fanbook

Of course, there is a difference between your friends being paid to endorse products (as in the story of the fictional vodka) and marketing campaigns that successfully target your friends (as coconut water apparently has with mine).

FORBES: Now That Everyone's A Celebrity, Can We All Get Endorsement Deals?

Indeed, it points to such laudable projects such as a low-cost, wind-powered land mine detonator -- not exactly the kind of thing one would pick up on the next Target run (even on sale).

ENGADGET: Switched On: Higher stakes, higher ground for crowdfunding, part 1