[LINK] Google Ads on Mobile Phones
Tom Worthington
Tom.Worthington at tomw.net.au
Sat Oct 13 10:44:07 AEST 2007
At 09:09 AM 27/09/2007, Roger Clarke wrote:
>At 8:30 +1000 27/9/07, Tom Worthington wrote:
>> Title: Google Ads on Mobile Phones: accessibility, standards
>> and implementation ... linkers are invited to a free seminar in
>> Canberra ... Notes:
>> http://www.tomw.net.au/technology/it/google_mobile_ads.php ...
>
>Looks good; but doesn't it warrant a short 'context' or
>'implications' segment, at least at the end? ...
I was concentrating on the technical implementation, rather than the
legal or social issues, which were comprehensively covered in your
previous seminar. But I will put a bit in.
>Is it legal? ...
In July 2007 the ACCC alleged misleading and deceptive conduct in
relation to sponsored links that appeared on the Google website
<http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/792088/fromItemId/142>.
There seemed to be two issues with this:
* Sponsored links which are not to the advertiser they appear to be, and
* Advertisements not clearly distinguished from search results.
With the sponsored links, I noticed that when I attempted to place a
Google ad for a model of the Thalys European high speed train
<http://www.tomw.net.au/2004/europe/br.shtml>, the Google system
rejected it. The system said "Thalys" was a trademark, so I could
not use the word in an ad unless I proved I had the rights to it. So
it would seem the system has some level of checking built it.
With advertisements, there would seem to be several ways to determine
if they are distinguished from search results:
* BY ANALOGY WITH PRINT ADS: Web ads can be compared with the way
newspaper advertisements are made distinguishable from editorial.
Text only web ads are probably more easy to recognize as ads, than
the average newspaper "advertorial", but then that is not a very high
standard to meet.
* USER TEST: It would not be difficult to test if people can tell ads
from search results in a human computer interaction (HCI) laboratory.
This would involve sitting people down in front of search screens and
asking them to pick out the ads. These test facilities are equipped
with cameras to record where people are looking and staff trained to
interpret the results. Paul Thomas (ANU) and David Hawking (CSIRO)
have developed a method of testing web search page designs online
which might be adapted to this
<http://cs.anu.edu.au/~Paul.Thomas/seminar-20061023.pdf>.
> Does consent matter?
With normal web page browsing you could not give informed consent to
the content of a web page you had not yet seen. But it would be
possible to add options to your web browser so it could negotiate on
your behalf. The browser would check if the site's privacy and other
policies were acceptable to you, before taking you to the page.
>Do the protocols provide users with the technical capacity to say
>'no, thanks'?
Your web browser could block web pages which featured ads. There
could then be a service where you could pay an amount to see pages
which would otherwise have ads. In that case you would bidding
against the advertisers for the advertising space: pay enough and you
don't have to look at the ads.
Of course it is not hard to block ads and just see the content. This
would break the publishers revenue model and presumably put them out
of business to the viewer would no longer be able to see that content
(much as is now happening with FTA TV). But there are those, such as
Stephen Mayne (Crikey founder), who argue that web advertising is not
a good way to support quality content anyway.
> Has anyone asked the disabled if they want Google Ads?
Assuming that ads provide a service, it could be argued that the
disabled are entitled to the ads under Australian law. If Google do
not provide the ads, a complaint could be made against them for
unlawful discrimination.
It may seem bizarre to think anyone would complain about not getting
ads, but those who are blind are also entitled to know what is on
special at the supermarket this week. 1RPH (Radio for the Print
Handicapped Canberra) <http://www.radio1rph.org.au/>, read out
supermarket specials on air from ads in the newspapers, as a service
to its listeners.
ps: By the way, Google did a recruitment campaign at ANU a few months
ago and I understand as a result several of the students now work
there part time
<http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2007/03/google-came-to-canberra.html>.
Tom Worthington FACS HLM tom.worthington at tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150
Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd ABN: 17 088 714 309
PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617 http://www.tomw.net.au/
Visiting Fellow, ANU Blog: http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/atom.xml
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