Category: Media Bob

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Media Bob Techno Bob

Four Square fatigue

When Internet advertising talk turns to targeting, people start to twitch. Just consider the maelstrom Facebook walked into with its Beacon blunder. The concerns about online privacy are quite valid. It’s important to be vigilant about how your personal data are being used. The snarky PleaseRobMe.com drove this point home beautifully. But I  think it’s important to seek a middle ground, a place where the use of your data provides value to you while you retain control of who sees that information and under what circumstances.

Venture capital blogger David Hornik does a great job finding that middle ground in his post: Four Square Fatigue and the Evolution of Privacy. He’s not flapping his arms yelling the sky is falling. Not by a long shot. His post is more a meditation on how our notion of privacy is evolving, and how online companies need to understand that as they devise ways to leverage this data.

Hornick writes:

“The coming generations of consumers may not abandon the idea of privacy in its entirety, but they will certainly have very different views of the appropriate balance between privacy and utility. That balance has already clearly shifted in the direction of utility and I believe the trend will continue.

“To some this will be viewed as a warning — a cry of the coming privacy apocalypse. I don’t see it that way. As technologies and standards evolve, doors open to new products and services. We are on the verge of an explosion of new ideas.”

I think he’s right on target here. It will be interesting to see how this progresses …

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Media Bob Techno Bob

Google’s take on the future of online display ads

Google has begun a series of blog posts laying out their “vision for online display advertising in the years ahead.” The first post, by Vice President of Product Management Susan Wojcicki, looks back at the foundation Google has built for online display ads, including the “hundreds of thousands of engineering hours” they’ve invested in the problem. It cites the acquisition and subsequent enhancements to DoubleClick. And Wojcicki says Google has put “hundreds of thousands” of engineering hours into display ad technology, including enhancements to DoubleClick and the creation of the Ad Exchange.

It all sounds great, but overall, the post is little more than a hagiography of Google’s efforts to date. No mention is made of how ad exchanges have encouraged a race to the bottom on rate. There’s a lot of bullish talk about “the incredible creative units that we see today.” Not so much talk about consumer tendency to ignore ads, the rock-bottom rates most display ads command and the anemic clickthrough rates they generate. I’d also like to know where Google sees the “branding” function of online display ads going. Clicks aren’t the only way to measure value. Impressions do matter. How is Google planning to help advertisers understand the value that impressions can create?

I hope that as the series progresses, Google will address some of the specific problems publishers are seeing as they try to build business models that rely on display ads. What I’d really love to see are some case studies of how things are working (or failing to work) now and how Google’s vision of the future would alter these case studies …

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On moonshine and serpents …

Rev. Morrow talks to a critic during the opening of the Vanishing America exhibit
Rev. Jimmy Morrow, right, debates a critic while my buddy Mike looks on in amusement during the opening of the Vanishing America exhibit at the Museum of East Tennessee History.

I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this.

The Rev. Jimmy Morrow was approachable. Kind. Sincere. A small group gathered around him at the opening of the Vanishing Appalachia exhibit today while Morrow talked about everything from local history to, well, snake handling. Or more correctly, serpent handling.

I guess what I really was expecting was someone borderline crazy. Frothing at the mouth a bit. Shouting Bible verses at me the way the morons on Market Square yell at everyone who passes by in a lame attempt to herd the crowds toward a twisted, hollering version of a fire and damnation god.

Rev. Morrow was none of that. He could quote the Bible. Sure enough. And he told several stories about rattlesnakes, noting that he’s been bitten twice. His voice had a musical, twangy Appalachian cadence. And I liked the guy almost immediately. So much so that when a self-righteous woman came up and started aggressively challenging him, I wanted to protect him.

“Why aren’t you in Haiti helping people instead of messing around with snakes?” she asked.

She pressed the attack. He handled it quietly, trying to explain something that few people possibly could understand. I know I don’t. But after having met him, I have a certain respect for the strength — and sincerity — of his convictions.

Vanishing Appalachia features the amazing photography of Don Dudenbostel and the field recordings of Tom Jester. Tom’s a good friend, a mentor of sorts who is a walking encyclopedia on topics ranging from boating to moon phases to Appalachian culture. He and Don have spent decades traveling the back roads of Appalachia, talking to people and recording a way of life that’s fast disappearing.

I’ve posted several samples of their work here, including an interview with a mule skinner and a conversation with the late, great moonshiner, Popcorn Sutton. Their exhibit features these photos and many more. At the opening, I even had a chance to meet Popcorn’s widow, Pam. She was delightful, describing her courtship with Popcorn and fondly telling stories about him.

The one thing that stopped me dead in my tracks was a KKK robe and several photos of the hateful bastards. Talk about a buzz kill. It made my skin crawl looking at it, and I’m glad Tom and Don were there to record it. Cockroaches need to be dragged out into the light of day, where we can see them squirming and scheming. While Vanishing Appalachia is a celebration of Appalachia, it’s not afraid to look at things many people would prefer to ignore.

The exhibit runs at the Museum of East Tennessee History in downtown Knoxville through June 20. If you’re in the area, definitely make sure you stop by to check it out. It’s amazing. And after it closes here, it’s going to travel to other museums, so keep an eye out for it. Tom has given me permission to post a few more samples of the field recordings, which I hope to do over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.