[thechat] More on x10 ads. [from IP]

Joe Crawford joe at artlung.com
Sun Jun 3 11:17:02 CDT 2001


Apparently x10 really *is* getting the word out.

	- Joe <http://artlung.com/>

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: IP: RE: Appeal to IPers: X-10 Ads AND ALSO FROM ME!!!!
Date: Sun, 03 Jun 2001 12:09:00 -0400
From: David Farber <dave at farber.net>
Reply-To: farber at cis.upenn.edu
To: ip-sub-1 at majordomo.pobox.com


>From: "Tom Weber" <tweber at wsj.com>
>To: <farber at 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 at 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 at farber.net]
> > Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2001 11:46 AM
> > To: ip-sub-1 at majordomo.pobox.com
> > Subject: IP: Appeal to IPers: X-10 Ads AND ALSO FROM ME!!!!
> >
> >
> >
> > >Subject: Appeal to IPers: X-10 Ads
> > >To: farber at cis.upenn.edu
> > >X-Mailer: Lotus Notes Release 5.0.4  June 8, 2000
> > >From: "Jonathan B Spira" <jspira at 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 at basex.com
> > >Web: http://www.basex.com
> > >-----------------------------------------------------------------
> > ---------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> > For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/



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