Advertising

Article: The Balance Btw Online Privacy and Targeted Ads

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There’s a reason I don’t actively use Facebook or MySpace (I have blank accounts to spy on my little brother) and this is it.  Within the walls of work I have no problem using my real identity because I have no fear of the company advertising third party junk to me — ok, except for that Phillips spam that has been littering my mailbox since Thanksgiving.  Anyhow … I think Facebook missed something fundamental about American values (and maybe almost everyone else on the planet).  We don’t like to advertise about the stuff we buy.  Just like talking about salary it’s rude and just not something done (although, that could be an American thing, so I’ve recently heard).  Another thing is that if we are going to recommend a product to a friend, we will on our own time and with our own words.  It’s called “authenticity.”  I think a real heart felt targeted recommendation directly out the mouth or fingers of a friend is MUCH better advertising than some computer generated spam or posting that says your friend bought this and so should you.   Oh, and then the kicker … Facebook and the advertisers don’t even recognize the social faux-paux, rather they say they were too radical in their approach and the if they increase their rudeness gradually, then people won’t notice.  What happen to common decency?

Anyhow, read the article and be amazed …

Who Owns You? Finding a Balance between Online Privacy and Targeted Advertising

Published: December 12, 2007 in Knowledge@Wharton


Gadgets

Article: Why Nobody Likes a Smart machine

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Here is a great little article about a cognitive scientist’s gripes with feature filled gadgets that take no account of the human consumer.  I found myself laughing at this because despite paying money to have this guy consult, the design of the digital picture frame still went awry.  Not to be bitter, or anything like that (no not me), but design rarely seems to start from how someone is actually going to use the product, but, rather, a set of features are settled upon and the engineers must cobble something together that contains the feature set.  If you design something the way you would design a Frankenstein monster, then a Frankenstein monster is typically what you end up with.

Personally, I have forgone unneccessary features, for a clean design and ease of operation regardless of cost.  I like to thoroughly play with gadgets before I buy them and if Ican’t figure it out within the first couple of tries, then I’m instantly turned off and move on.  This would be the primary reason I hate trying to use an AIO beyond printing.  I could never get one of those to scan to a file properly.  Sigh …

December 18, 2007
Findings

Why Nobody Likes a Smart Machine

By JOHN TIERNEY
Gadgets

Article: Cell Phone Cameras for Web Searches

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I saw lots of people taking pictures of products with their cellphones to aid their remote conversations while Christmas shopping when I did demo Days at the Bestbuy.  This seems to be a very natural and useful way to aid remote communication and to find out more information about a product than what’s written on the store shelf label.  It would be nice if there was a service that allowed you to look up peer reviews of products and to do price comparisons and inventory count of the stores within a close radius of your location. I expect as GPS gets into more cellphones and digital cameras, these kinds of services will be popping up.

One Shot Says It All

Cell phone cameras are getting in on the web search action.
By Heather Clancy
Entrepreneur.com
updated 11:00 a.m. PT, Mon., Dec. 17, 2007

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It’s time to think about putting those digital cameras in cell phones to work. Improvements in image resolution and the emergence of broadband wireless networks are inspiring entrepreneurs to experiment with mobile classified advertising and product information searches. Over the next year, the camera phone you use to snap personal photos on the run could become another way to broadcast promotional information, post ads or let customers gather more information about your products.

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For full article — URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22299298/

Advertising

Article: Advertising Widgets

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Online advertisers are now using widgets in an effort to improve customer engagement.  These widgets are packed with tracking functionality and the advertisers hope these fun little applications will become viral to spread their words widely and to collect lots of information about you.

In some ways I like this idea, especially if I want a fun and engaging way to be advertised to, that is, of course, it I choose to be advertised to.  The tracking aspect worries me, as does the potential to spread malicious programs.  I’m also worried that these “games” may be used to hook children.  Anyhow, give the article a read.  The possibility, in general, to use widgets as a way to teach consumers about a product in an engaging way is interesting.

Widgets are the new ad kid on the block

By Elinor Mills
http://www.news.com/Widgets-are-the-new-ad-kid-on-the-block/2100-1024_3-6223229.html

Story last modified Wed Dec 19 04:00:02 PST 2007

Forget static banners. Online ads are evolving into mini-applications with video, games, and dynamic content that people like enough to embed in their own Web pages and share with others.

About Nothing in Particular