[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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