Cable Forum - View Single Post - Virgin Media Phorm Webwise Adverts [Updated: See Post No. 1, 77, 102 & 797]

dav · 31-07-2008, 10:19

feesch, welcome to the debate.

One point that I think the advertisers are overlooking is that, yes, people do want more relevant ads, it is just that the system Phorm are proposing does not sit well with the human psyche. If I was to follow you around a shopping mall, just inside your peripheral vision, taking notes about everything you looked at and picked up, it wouldn't take long for you to become uneasy about it and wonder exactly what I was inferring from my notes and who I was going to give this info to.

Personally, I do recognise that advertising is a necessity and I get hacked off seeing a screenful of ads that mean nothing to me. Here's the thing though, I would happily TELL advertisers what ads I want served to my browser. All they have to do is ASK and leave me in control.

Control is the important factor to me. I've said this before...If a web ad agency can set up some system that gives me ads I'm interested in, I'll probably use it. It has to be on my terms though. Let me register with them, have my own personal preferences page where I tell them as much or as little as I'm comfortable with so they can match these against their current campaigns to send me ads on their partner sites. As my interests change, I'll change my preferences myself and see the effects immediately in the ads I'm served with. There's no need to track me. I'll tell you what ads I want. How much more targetted do you want?

31-07-2008, 10:19	#12989
dav Inactive Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 399	Re: Virgin Media Phorm Webwise Adverts [Updated: See Post No. 1, 77, 102 & 797] feesch, welcome to the debate. One point that I think the advertisers are overlooking is that, yes, people do want more relevant ads, it is just that the system Phorm are proposing does not sit well with the human psyche. If I was to follow you around a shopping mall, just inside your peripheral vision, taking notes about everything you looked at and picked up, it wouldn't take long for you to become uneasy about it and wonder exactly what I was inferring from my notes and who I was going to give this info to. Personally, I do recognise that advertising is a necessity and I get hacked off seeing a screenful of ads that mean nothing to me. Here's the thing though, I would happily TELL advertisers what ads I want served to my browser. All they have to do is ASK and leave me in control. Control is the important factor to me. I've said this before...If a web ad agency can set up some system that gives me ads I'm interested in, I'll probably use it. It has to be on my terms though. Let me register with them, have my own personal preferences page where I tell them as much or as little as I'm comfortable with so they can match these against their current campaigns to send me ads on their partner sites. As my interests change, I'll change my preferences myself and see the effects immediately in the ads I'm served with. There's no need to track me. I'll tell you what ads I want. How much more targetted do you want?