Re: [projectvrm] Google's attempt to make a safer ad medium

[Don Marti < >]

begin Jonathan Cobb quotation of Sat, Jun 13, 2015 at 12:06:50AM -0700:
> 
> You make some great points, and the linked article rang very true.
> 
> The long run definitely matters for the big guys (Team Signal). Brand trust
> is of utmost importance. But even they will sometimes bend things; see how
> much they can get away with (beacon/etc). it's good that we keep pressure on
> them to behave. And then there's Team Targeting for whom trust is of less
> (or no) concern; they collect and share in their own means that skirt the
> edge of legal, and maybe cross it.
> 
> I can't help but think there is a combination of tech solutions that become
> so easy and cheap that everyone just has them, it's considered a no-brainer.
> The mindset of the public somehow moves away from resignation to optimism
> and pride. The way the Tivo's 30-second skip fundamentally altered the TV
> landscape, but on a much broader scale. It's late, I should stop fantasizing
> and get some sleep.

Tivo skip rate is remarkably low.  

  http://digiday.com/agencies/the-ad-contrarians-digital-reality-check/

TV ads are annoying but pay their way in signaling, so
the incentive to block isn't strong enough (as was the
case for pre-"What they Know" web ads (
http://zgp.org/targeted-advertising-considered-harmful/
)

Signaling/targeting would tend to predict that TV
commercial skipping will become a thing when targeted
TV ads do.

As far as easy tech solutions go -- remember that
Team Signal companies have just as much incentive to
subsidize tracking-protected end user tools as Team
Tracking companies have to subsidize surveillance
tools.  (Big opportunities here...)

> 
>   - jonathan.
> 
> 
> On 6/12/15 11:52 PM, Don Marti wrote:
> >begin Jonathan Cobb quotation of Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 01:58:44PM -0700:
> >>On 6/12/15 10:14 AM, 'Don Marti' wrote:
> >>>We know that trustworthy ad-funded organizations
> >>>have been able to exist, because magazines funded by
> >>>advertising have been among the most reputable and
> >>>influential media organizations in the USA.
> >>Agreed, but of course a key difference -- traditional magazines (and
> >>TV/radio/etc), have a firewall of sorts between Sales and Content with a
> >>strong set of rules/ethics governing the relationship.
> >Ad/editorial separation is a great example of where
> >an ethical decision is the profit-maximizing option.
> >
> >(Imagine that the NBA had "Big Data" based referees,
> >to make sure that the winner of each game was the
> >team whose media market had the largest expected
> >ad revenue.  This might produce higher revenue for
> >a single game or series, but would lower the value
> >of future games.  An ethical referee isn't just the
> >right thing to do, but also a key part of making a
> >valuable product.)
> >>Many Internet publications mirror this model, but some don't. Most 
> >>services
> >>that are not primarily publications (Google/etc), intentionally blur (or
> >>outright erase) the line because there's a helluva lot of money to be 
> >>made.
> >>Er, I mean, a better user experience for their audience, right?
> >Two strategies: targeting and signaling.
> >
> >   http://zgp.org/~dmarti/business/team-targeting-team-signal/
> >
> >Google is an interesting case because they have the
> >technology to go either way. PageRank is an automated
> >reputation system, and the company has a lot of skill
> >in parsing and rating content.
> >
> >If the web became a more trustworthy,
> >signaling-friendly medium, Google could prosper as
> >a platform for quanitfying and putting an interface
> >on signaling activity -- they're not obliged to be a
> >member of Team Targeting, and could play both sides
> >or switch.
> >
> 
> -- 
> Jonathan Cobb
> CEO
> Cloudstead, Inc.
> http://www.cloudstead.io/
> 
> +1 415-236-COBB
> 
 
> https://twitter.com/cobbzilla
> https://github.com/cobbzilla
> https://linkedin.com/in/jonathancobb
> 

-- 
Don Marti                    
http://zgp.org/~dmarti/