Wednesday, November 16, 2005
At what cost privacy?
Despite my general disdain about Microsoft's "Live" software initiative, I don't think the notion of ad-supported desktop apps is all that bad, if the stuff's free. I'm not crazy about it being test-marketed through Microsoft Works (which I haven't used in years), but I'd happily run an OS that featured ads if doing so meant a reduction in cost to me.
I'm totaly in favor of using a nationwide Google WiFi network, even if doing so means I'll have to login through a proprietary PPTP connection and therefore be tracked, being streamed ads localized to my general geographic position. It's free, right?
I think people read a little too much into how intrusive this could be, and wind up being their own worst enemy. After expressing similar hesitations about getting a Gmail account, I've found the ads that display inline within e-mail messages aren't at all intrusive, and quite frankly, often help. If they're relevant to a conversation, they're more valuable.
Perhaps I'm a bit more accomodating of this type of commercialism because one of the many hats I wear professionally is Marketer. I appreciate the mechanism, if not fully buying into the message. So I say to people wanting privacy and hating ads: pay full price for the service. It'll make the game that much better for all of us if you continue to demand a paid version. We'll have choice.
I'm totaly in favor of using a nationwide Google WiFi network, even if doing so means I'll have to login through a proprietary PPTP connection and therefore be tracked, being streamed ads localized to my general geographic position. It's free, right?
I think people read a little too much into how intrusive this could be, and wind up being their own worst enemy. After expressing similar hesitations about getting a Gmail account, I've found the ads that display inline within e-mail messages aren't at all intrusive, and quite frankly, often help. If they're relevant to a conversation, they're more valuable.
Perhaps I'm a bit more accomodating of this type of commercialism because one of the many hats I wear professionally is Marketer. I appreciate the mechanism, if not fully buying into the message. So I say to people wanting privacy and hating ads: pay full price for the service. It'll make the game that much better for all of us if you continue to demand a paid version. We'll have choice.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
