IP: RE: Appeal to IPers: X-10 Ads AND ALSO FROM ME!!!!

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> From: "Tom Weber" <tweber () wsj com>
> To: <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
>
> Dave ... I laughed as soon as I saw Jonathan's plea. Thought you my enjoy my
> own take on the X10 ads from the WSJ a few weeks back. I'm still getting
> e-mail from readers about it -- these ads are driving everyone crazy.
>
> Best,
> Tom
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Tom Weber
> E-World Columnist
> The Wall Street Journal.
> 200 Liberty St., New York, N.Y., 10281
> phone: 212-416-2207; fax:212-416-2653
> e-mail: tweber () wsj com
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> E-WORLD
> By Thomas E. Weber
>
> Can You Say `Cheese'?
> Intrusive Web Ads
> Could Drive Us Nuts
>
> 05/21/2001
> The Wall Street Journal
> Page B1 (Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
>
> I SURRENDERED last Tuesday, at 4:48 p.m. After enduring countless Web ads
> for something called an X10 wireless video camera ("Goes Almost Anywhere!"),
> I finally gave in and ordered one. Now that I've admitted this publicly, my
> humiliation is complete.
>
> I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with a wireless video camera, but
> if the folks at X10 will stop bothering me with their ads, I'll be
> satisfied. If you've spent much time on the Web lately, you probably know
> what I'm talking about. These ads are everywhere, and they're obnoxious.
>
> Why all the vitriol? Because the ads usually come in the form of
> "pop-ups" -- that is, come-ons that suddenly spawn their own, separate
> window on your computer screen instead of simply appearing on a Web page
> you're already looking at. They swarm the screen like whining mosquitoes,
> leaving us hapless Web-surfers to swat them with mouse clicks.
>
> It isn't just X10 . Lately many Web ads have been getting downright
> annoying. It's partly a reflection of the economic slowdown. Advertising
> hasn't done a great job of paying the bills for Web sites, so Web sites are
> trying to deliver better value to their advertisers with bigger, brassier
> promos.
>
> BUT THERE'S a broader shift under way in Web ads, and it has been brewing
> for a long time. The Net is an interactive medium, which means
> direct-marketing efforts -- where consumers view an ad, then buy -- make the
> most sense. And so the Web looks a lot more like late-night TV these days,
> laden with infomercials and cheesy merchandise. X10 's wireless video camera
> may simply be the Ginsu knife of cyberspace.
>
> "This is cheap media," says Michael Kubin, co-CEO of Evaliant Media
> Resources, which tracks online advertising. There aren't enough paying
> advertisers to fill all of the unsold slots on Web sites -- especially now
> that so many spendthrift dot-coms have gone bust. As a result, Mr. Kubin
> says, companies like X10 can easily blanket the Web with ads.
>
> So much for those endless promises that Web advertising would be so smart
> and targeted that you'd never see an ad for something that didn't appeal to
> you. Just as with any kind of direct marketing, Web advertisers seem
> increasingly willing to risk annoying a large audience in hopes of reaching
> a few truly interested customers.
>
> "A very small percentage of people who view the ads complain," says Alex
> Peder, president of Seattle-based X10 Wireless Technology. He also points
> out that X10 uses an approach called "pop-under," which places an ad window
> behind the window you're viewing so you'll stumble across it later. X10
> considers this less disruptive.
>
> Nonetheless, the company's Web site devotes a lengthy page to answering
> common questions about the ads, including "Is this form of advertising
> illegal?" ("Absolutely NOT!!"); and "Is this a virus?" ("This form of
> advertising is 100% safe"). The site even tackles the query, "Can you turn
> your ads off so I never see them again?" As an answer, the site offers a
> link that will prevent the pop-ups from appearing, but only for 30 days. In
> other words, the answer is no.
>
> Then there's the message of X10 's ads. Mr. Kubin's researchers at Evaliant
> were able to dig up more than 150 X10 banner ads for me. Most are variations
> on a single theme: a photo of an attractive young woman juxtaposed with a
> shot of the wireless camera, accompanied by such slogans as "What Do YOU
> Want to See?" and "Naughty or Nice?"
>
> Is it just me, or do these ads contemplate uses not entirely wholesome? "It
> basically implies it would make a great spy camera to stick up in a girls'
> locker room," says Bill Fulks, an X10 customer in Gulfport, Miss. For the
> record, Mr. Fulks purchased his cameras for an office security system and
> says they work pretty well.
>
> THE PITCH is working, at least by some measures. Last week, when Jupiter
> Media Metrix reported the most popular Web destinations for U.S. surfers in
> April, X10 .com was ranked 14. That put it just three slots below eBay and
> above such well-known sites as Napster and Google, which is pretty much like
> a commercial for spray-on hair beating out "Friends" in the Nielsens.
>
> Doug McFarland, president of Jupiter Media Metrix's online ratings division,
> says X10 's stunning performance is due mostly to its pop-up ads, which get
> counted as a visit to the company's site in the ratings. But don't discount
> those involuntary visits, Mr. McFarland says. "They are clearly getting
> exposure for their product," he says.
>
> The ads sure seemed like a good deal, offering the wireless camera for
> $79.99. But when I placed my order, I found out the device wouldn't connect
> to my PC without an accessory kit. Total damage: $129.99. Then, to get
> overnight shipping, I had to log off and call a toll-free number. The man
> who took my order wasn't certain when it would ship. "We've been trying to
> catch up from our last promotion," he explained.
>
> Can annoying ads be stopped? You could install ad-blocking software on your
> computer. Popular packages include Guidescope, AdSubtract and WebWasher. Or
> you could patronize sites like Salon.com, which recently began offering
> pop-up-free access to its site in exchange for a subscription fee.
>
> Or you could just get used to it. As I put the finishing touches on this
> column, I'm still waiting for my X10 camera to show up. And guess what just
> popped up on my screen? Yes, it's another X10 ad.
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
> > Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2001 11:46 AM
> > To: ip-sub-1 () majordomo pobox com
> > Subject: IP: Appeal to IPers: X-10 Ads AND ALSO FROM ME!!!!
> >
> >
> >
> > > Subject: Appeal to IPers: X-10 Ads
> > > To: farber () cis upenn edu
> > > X-Mailer: Lotus Notes Release 5.0.4  June 8, 2000
> > > From: "Jonathan B Spira" <jspira () basex com>
> > > Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2001 11:15:25 -0400
> > >
> > >
> > > An appeal to IPers:  can someone write a utility that prevents X-10 ads
> > > from opening on a computer?
> > >
> > > /s/ Jonathan
> > >
> > > Jonathan B. Spira
> > > Chairman and Chief Analyst
> > > Basex. What's in IT for you (tm).
> > > Phone: +1 212 760-1555 x113
> > > E-mail: jspira () basex com
> > > Web: http://www.basex.com
> > > -----------------------------------------------------------------
> > ---------------------------
> >
> >
> >
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