Adsense
While teaching a group of marketing students today, we got talking about Google’s Adsense system, which, I have to say, I think is brilliant. It really is a genial system, and it is no wonder that Google makes a bomb from it. I have to admit to clicking on Adsense text ads from time to time, not on my own sites, I hasten to add (Although, I was sorely tempted the other evening, and it was very difficult to resist the temptation! But resist I did.). The ads are so darned well targeted and linked to content that they provide a type of information service, and sometimes the ads are for services that are potentially very interesting.
Not that I want to encourage people to hop over to my sites and go on a clicking frenzy, because that would get me into trouble, and I would risk no longer being able to use the system. And this would not make me happy.
I do not, as a general rule, like advertising, but Adsense is different. It is not invasive and it often complements websites. Yes, I know ads are meant to encourage us to buy things, but sometimes we do need to, and some things can actually help us to live and work better. And if you do buy things, you are helping a company make money, and keeping someone in a job.
I suppose the ads that bug me the most are the TV ads, which are not, for the moment, targeted, and so seem to be an invasive nuisance. I rarely see ads for things that interest me on the TV, whereas I do quite often see ads that catch my attention on the www. For this reason, it is no wonder that on-line advertising is a fast growing industry, and if you can come to terms with the mind manipulation aspects, you have got to admire how clever these systems are.
More to Chew On
Lawyers
I’m running a course for a law firm at the moment, and the experience has led me to reminisce. I used to work with lawyers, or solicitors as some are known in the UK, and legal executives, and I remember these people fondly. There was this rather Dickensian chap called Robert Earl, who was quite a character, a nice chap and very expert at what he did. Then there were two legal execs I remember well, Sara Butler and Sunnita. They were good people too. I wonder what they are up to now and if they remember me. Maybe they will come across this blog entry and say hi. I would be good to hear from them.
More to Chew On
Microsoft’s steathy update
Last night I switched off my computer, only I would not switch off. At the XP shutting down screen a message told me that four updates were being installed and that the system would shut itself down once the installation was complete. I found this process a little bit worrying, as it is the first time the system has been updated in this fashion. I do not recall having seen the usual message indicating that updates were available, so I could not see what was about to be updated and select which updates I wanted to install, which was odd. Luckily, I had read somewhere that Microsoft had released several critical updates, so at least I had an idea as to what was going on. Lo and behold, after 5 minutes, my trusty PC shut itself down once the new stuff had been integrated into my system.
But the story does not end there. This evening I attempted to put my hot and bothered PC into standby, only Windows would not let me. There was a message saying that an update to the .NET framework would not let my PC have a rest. I found the .NET service and shut it down, after putting it into manual mode. I know how to do this, but I wonder how many people do not. I suspect quite a few forums have been buzzing today, with people asking what is going on, and what the solution is.
Possibly Microsoft should have told me what was about to happen.
More to Chew On
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