Amsterdam is set to be the first city in the world to ban ads from fossil fuel and aviation companies in a bid to reduce the ‘excesses’ of fossil fuel advertising.
This means that fossil-fuelled vehicles, such as petrol cars and flights, will no longer be advertised in Amsterdam subway stations or the city centre.
The new law follows mass movements in and around the capital which were headed up by the Reclame Fossielvrij (Fossil Free Advertising) initiative. The group co-ordinated a letter from over 50 local organisations demanding Amsterdam to go fossil free.
“The decision to ban fossil fuel advertising from subway stations comes at a crucial moment in the fight against climate change. Adverts that portray fossil fuels as normal worsen climate disruption and have no place in a city − or a country − that has complied with Paris,” says Amsterdam Mayor Femke Sleegers, coordinator of Reclame Fossielvrij.
Read more at:
Amsterdam to become first city in the world to ban this type of advert | Euronews
Showing posts with label Advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advertising. Show all posts
5/21/21
11/27/20
EU versus US Data Giants: Europe vows to tame US data giants
EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton and the bloc's executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager have outlined plans on how Europe's individuals, businesses and governing bodies could better handle data.
The aim, Breton told a Brussels press briefing Wednesday, was a series of directives to help make Europe the world's "No 1 data continent" alongside the supremacy of the US and China.
Read more at: href="https://www.dw.com/en/europe-vows-to-tame-us-data-giants/a-55730324">Europe vows to tame US data giants | News | DW | 25.11.2020
The aim, Breton told a Brussels press briefing Wednesday, was a series of directives to help make Europe the world's "No 1 data continent" alongside the supremacy of the US and China.
Read more at: href="https://www.dw.com/en/europe-vows-to-tame-us-data-giants/a-55730324">Europe vows to tame US data giants | News | DW | 25.11.2020
11/8/20
Technology: The Dictatorship of Data
Google’s deference to data has been taken to extremes. To determine the best color of a toolbar on the website, Marissa Mayer, when she was one of Google’s top executives before going to Yahoo, once ordered staff to test 41 gradations of blue to see which ones people used more. In 2009, Google’s top designer, Douglas Bowman, quit in a huff because he couldn’t stand the constant quantification of everything. “I had a recent debate over whether a border should be 3, 4 or 5 pixels wide, and was asked to prove my case. I can’t operate in an environment like that,” he wrote on a blog announcing his resignation. “When a company is filled with engineers, it turns to engineering to solve problems. Reduce each decision to a simple logic problem. That data eventually becomes a crutch for every decision, paralyzing the company.”
This is the dictatorship of data. And it recalls the thinking that led the United States to escalate the Vietnam War partly on the basis of body counts, rather than basing decisions on more meaningful metrics. “It is true enough that not every conceivable complex human situation can be fully reduced to the lines on a graph, or to percentage points on a chart, or to figures on a balance sheet,” said McNamara in a speech in 1967, as domestic protests were growing. “But all reality can be reasoned about. And not to quantify what can be quantified is only to be content with something less than the full range of reason.” If only the right data were used in the right way, not respected for data’s sake.
Read more at: The Dictatorship of Data
This is the dictatorship of data. And it recalls the thinking that led the United States to escalate the Vietnam War partly on the basis of body counts, rather than basing decisions on more meaningful metrics. “It is true enough that not every conceivable complex human situation can be fully reduced to the lines on a graph, or to percentage points on a chart, or to figures on a balance sheet,” said McNamara in a speech in 1967, as domestic protests were growing. “But all reality can be reasoned about. And not to quantify what can be quantified is only to be content with something less than the full range of reason.” If only the right data were used in the right way, not respected for data’s sake.
Read more at: The Dictatorship of Data
3/20/19
5/30/17
Belgium: Burger King vs. Belgium: King Philippe Not Happy About Fast Food Ad Campaign - by Lucy Westcott
 |
| Who is the real king of Belgium |
As far as monarchies go, Belgium’s current royal family keeps a fairly low profile. That was until Burger King launched an interactive advertising campaign ahead of the opening of its first Belgium location, which lets people vote for the country’s “real” king.
If you visit WhoIsTheKing.be, you’re greeted with the words: "Two Kings. One crown. Who will rule? Vote now... " Burger King lets you vote for either, well, Burger King or Belgium’s King Philippe. The website then invites you to return on June 19, when the true “king” of Belgium will be coronated.
Voting for for 57-year-old Philippe isn't easy. After casting your ballot, you’re asked several times if you’re sure and reminded that Philippe “won’t cook you fries.” (Maybe he will?) The chain even has posters to download, stating: “Vote With Your Stomach;” “Belgian People, Choose A King Who Will Make You Fries;” and “Philippe, Another King Arrives in Belgium.”
Perhaps the ad campaign hit a bit too close to home: In 1950, Belgium held a referendum over whether to abolish the monarchy and let Leopold III, Philippe’s grandfather, resume royal duties after World War II.
It's safe to say that King Philippe is not amused. Representatives for the king asked Burger King about the campaign, Reuters reports.
"We told them that we were not happy with them using an image of the king in their campaign," Pierre-Emmanuel De Bauw, palace spokesman, told Reuters. De Bauw added that the Philippe’s image can’t be used for commerce. He appears in the Burger King campaign as a cartoon, and the royal family was not asked if Philippe’s image could be used.
Burger Brands Belgium spokeswoman Shanna Van den Broeck said the company is “deliberating on how to proceed” with the campaign.
Read more: Burger King vs. Belgium: King Philippe Not Happy About Fast Food Ad Campaign
4/9/16
Health Insurance:US Medical Care in Shambles - Europe and other countries have far better cost controls than US
 |
| US Health Care in shambles |
2. This applies especially to the 49% of Americans who are insured via private employer-based healthcare plans
.
3. The U.S. government does not use its demand-side/purchasing power to negotiate national prescription drug prices on behalf of consumers.
4. There is also no U.S. prohibition on TV advertising for drugs, unlike every other country in the world except New Zealand.
5. As a result, U.S. drug prices are often one-third higher, if not double and beyond, than in countries such as Canada, Germany, Turkey, The Netherlands or Australia.
6. Medicare, the U.S. single-payer public insurance system for seniors and the disabled, covering about 13% of the U.S. population, also has a largely non-negotiated pricing system that has been criticized for lack of transparency and inflated pricing.
7. Countries such as Germany manage to keep annual increases in health insurance costs limited, in contrast to the average increase of 5% registered in the United States over the past 10 years.
8. The 2010 U.S. health reform law included some (mild) new cost-control provisions. Private insurers must spend 80% of money gathered from premiums on providing actual healthcare services, rather than on overhead, marketing and executive compensation.
9. A proposal for a publicly-run health plan to provide market competition as a cost control method did not make it into the final 2010 law.
10. In 2012, the health sector spent about $270 million on Political campaign contributions and other campaign activities in the United States. The insurance sector spent tens of millions, too
11. The United States spends 16.4% of its national GDP – or $2.75 trillion – each year on healthcare costs (as of 2013).
12. Healthcare consumes a far greater share of national GDP in the United States than in any other OECD country – at least 50% more than in other comparable countries.
13. In Germany, healthcare consumed 11% of GDP in 2013. France spent 10.9% of GDP on it.
Where Are the Cost Controls? - The Globalist
2/13/15
Google in decline ? - Rob Price
The mainstream media is losing confidence in Google, which for some
time has dominated several areas of the tech industry, but is now
displaying signs of "losing touch."
Case in point: Yesterday, New York Times' Farhod Manjoo published a column titled "Google, Mighty Now, but Not Forever" in which he argues that companies "meet their end not with a bang, but a whimper, a slow imperceptible descent into irrelevancy." Manjoo draws heavily on a blog post by industry analyst Ben Thompson as evidence for Google's gradual demise.
According to Thompson: Google may very well be in a similar situation to early-eighties IBM or early-oughts Microsoft: a hugely profitable company bestride the tech industry that at the moment seems infallible, but that history will show to have peaked in dominance and relevancy.
Thompson's argument is based around the fact that Google's ad business is unprepared for shifts in the industry. Native advertising is on the rise, he argues, the key to which "is the capability of producing immersive content within which to place the ad, such as Facebook's news feed, Twitter's stream, a Pinterest board...
Google has nothing in this regard."Google enjoyed $11.3 billion in ad revenue in Q3 of 2014, the vast majority believed to have come from search advertising. (Revenue from YouTube, one of Google's biggest properties outside of search, is just $1.3 billion annually). So when the broader ad industry begins to shift, it's a big problem for the company.
As Thompsons says, "Google is dominant when it comes to the algorithm, but lacks the human touch needed for social or viral content."
It's a compelling argument. But Google's woes are not limited to changes in advertising. There are other noticeable weaknesses.
Last year, a record 1 billion Android smartphones were shipped. Theoretically, Google should be in a position of massive growth: Android phones are increasingly less expensive compared to Apple's, while its potential customer base is expanding as the next billion people get access to the internet in emerging markets.
Case in point: Yesterday, New York Times' Farhod Manjoo published a column titled "Google, Mighty Now, but Not Forever" in which he argues that companies "meet their end not with a bang, but a whimper, a slow imperceptible descent into irrelevancy." Manjoo draws heavily on a blog post by industry analyst Ben Thompson as evidence for Google's gradual demise.
According to Thompson: Google may very well be in a similar situation to early-eighties IBM or early-oughts Microsoft: a hugely profitable company bestride the tech industry that at the moment seems infallible, but that history will show to have peaked in dominance and relevancy.
Thompson's argument is based around the fact that Google's ad business is unprepared for shifts in the industry. Native advertising is on the rise, he argues, the key to which "is the capability of producing immersive content within which to place the ad, such as Facebook's news feed, Twitter's stream, a Pinterest board...
Google has nothing in this regard."Google enjoyed $11.3 billion in ad revenue in Q3 of 2014, the vast majority believed to have come from search advertising. (Revenue from YouTube, one of Google's biggest properties outside of search, is just $1.3 billion annually). So when the broader ad industry begins to shift, it's a big problem for the company.
As Thompsons says, "Google is dominant when it comes to the algorithm, but lacks the human touch needed for social or viral content."
It's a compelling argument. But Google's woes are not limited to changes in advertising. There are other noticeable weaknesses.
Last year, a record 1 billion Android smartphones were shipped. Theoretically, Google should be in a position of massive growth: Android phones are increasingly less expensive compared to Apple's, while its potential customer base is expanding as the next billion people get access to the internet in emerging markets.
2/10/15
Privacy: Is Your TV Spying On You?- by Dave Lewis
If you have a Samsung SmartTV the answer is, well, it very well could be. The news broke this week
that Samsung has a TV that can listen in to your conversations, record
them and then upload the information to servers under their control.
Then your data could be then farmed out to third party companies. I’m
guessing that these third parties are advertising and marketing outfits
but, that isn’t clearly articulated.
This gets even stranger when you consider that Samsung SmartTV’s can also do facial recognition. “You can use facial recognition instead of, or as a supplementary security measure in addition to, manually inputting your password.”
OK, so these TVs can listen to me, record my conversations and then associate these conversations with the very person in the discussion?
Nothing creepy about that at all.
Sound far fetched? I don’t believe that it is to be honest. The Internet of Things is weaving tis way into every aspect of our lives. With the rush to get products to market as fast as is possible things like security and privacy can often be sacrificed.
Read moreL Is Your TV Spying On You?
This gets even stranger when you consider that Samsung SmartTV’s can also do facial recognition. “You can use facial recognition instead of, or as a supplementary security measure in addition to, manually inputting your password.”
OK, so these TVs can listen to me, record my conversations and then associate these conversations with the very person in the discussion?
Nothing creepy about that at all.
Sound far fetched? I don’t believe that it is to be honest. The Internet of Things is weaving tis way into every aspect of our lives. With the rush to get products to market as fast as is possible things like security and privacy can often be sacrificed.
Read moreL Is Your TV Spying On You?
10/7/14
May you live in interesting times - How Global Developments Impact On Your Life - editorial
"May you live in interesting times" - While purporting to be a
blessing, this is in fact a curse. The expression is always used
ironically, with the clear implication that 'uninteresting times',
of peace and tranquility, are more life-enhancing than interesting
ones.
"May you live in interesting times" is also widely reported as being of ancient Chinese origin but is really neither Chinese nor ancient, being recent and western. It certainly seems to have been intended to sound oriental, in the faux-Chinese 'Confucius he say' style, but that's as near to China as it actually gets.
The saying probably refers back to the days before the second world war when British PM Neville Chamberlain used it to described the state of the world at that time.
Tying the state of world affairs from Chamberlain's days to the present we could probably quite appropriately use the French saying: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose - the more it changes - the more it stays the same. Or, the fact is - history repeats itself.
EU-Digest, in an effort to provide the public with a variety of different angles when looking at news reports and sometimes even "myths" coming mainly from the mainstream corporate controlled press, wants to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors who have participated in our success.
If you like what you read here and want to show your appreciation you can best do that by making a donation or by placing an advertisement in EU-Digest to support our continued and future developments.
Just click on our Paypal Advertising Link right in the top left corner of EU-Digest.
We thank you for your support which is crucial to helping us bring you a free, independent and critical voice, showing both sides of the coin of events in Europe and related issues.
EU-Digest.
"May you live in interesting times" is also widely reported as being of ancient Chinese origin but is really neither Chinese nor ancient, being recent and western. It certainly seems to have been intended to sound oriental, in the faux-Chinese 'Confucius he say' style, but that's as near to China as it actually gets.
The saying probably refers back to the days before the second world war when British PM Neville Chamberlain used it to described the state of the world at that time.
Tying the state of world affairs from Chamberlain's days to the present we could probably quite appropriately use the French saying: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose - the more it changes - the more it stays the same. Or, the fact is - history repeats itself.
EU-Digest, in an effort to provide the public with a variety of different angles when looking at news reports and sometimes even "myths" coming mainly from the mainstream corporate controlled press, wants to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors who have participated in our success.
If you like what you read here and want to show your appreciation you can best do that by making a donation or by placing an advertisement in EU-Digest to support our continued and future developments.
Just click on our Paypal Advertising Link right in the top left corner of EU-Digest.
We thank you for your support which is crucial to helping us bring you a free, independent and critical voice, showing both sides of the coin of events in Europe and related issues.
EU-Digest.
3/13/14
Global Perspective: 'Are we living in interesting times' or is it just 'plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose'
"May you live in interesting times" - While purporting to be a blessing, this is in fact a curse. The
expression is always used ironically, with the clear implication that
'uninteresting times', of peace and tranquility, are more
life-enhancing than interesting ones.
"May you live in interesting times" is also widely reported as being of ancient Chinese origin but is really neither Chinese nor ancient, being recent and western. It certainly seems to have been intended to sound oriental, in the faux-Chinese 'Confucius he say' style, but that's as near to China as it actually gets.
The saying probably refers back to the days before the second world war when British PM Neville Chamberlain used it to described the state of the world at that time.
Tying the state of world affairs from Chamberlain's days to the present we could probably quite appropriately use the French saying: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose - the more it changes - the more it stays the same. Or, the fact is - history repeats itself.
EU-Digest, in an effort to provide the public with a variety of different angles compared to news reports and "myths" coming mainly from the financial sector's corporate controlled press, wants to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors who have participated in our success.
We are committed to maintaining a free, independent and critical voice.
If you like what you have been reading in EU-Digest so far and want to show your appreciation by making a donation or by advertising in EU-Digest to support our continued and future developments, we'd really appreciate it.
"May you live in interesting times" is also widely reported as being of ancient Chinese origin but is really neither Chinese nor ancient, being recent and western. It certainly seems to have been intended to sound oriental, in the faux-Chinese 'Confucius he say' style, but that's as near to China as it actually gets.
The saying probably refers back to the days before the second world war when British PM Neville Chamberlain used it to described the state of the world at that time.
Tying the state of world affairs from Chamberlain's days to the present we could probably quite appropriately use the French saying: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose - the more it changes - the more it stays the same. Or, the fact is - history repeats itself.
EU-Digest, in an effort to provide the public with a variety of different angles compared to news reports and "myths" coming mainly from the financial sector's corporate controlled press, wants to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors who have participated in our success.
We are committed to maintaining a free, independent and critical voice.
If you like what you have been reading in EU-Digest so far and want to show your appreciation by making a donation or by advertising in EU-Digest to support our continued and future developments, we'd really appreciate it.
11/30/13
Google in the Netherlands: Privacy changes BREAK data law, says Netherlands - by Kelly Fiveash
broke data protection law in the Netherlands when the ad giant
tweaked its privacy policy in March 2012, says the country's privacy
watchdog.\
The Dutch Data Protection Authority said on Thursday that Google had breached the country's rules because it had failed to adequately inform all its users in advance about the changes it was making to its service.
"Google spins an invisible web of our personal data, without our consent. And that is forbidden by law", said Dutch DPA chairman Jacob Kohnstamm.
The regulator said it had invited the company to a hearing. It will only decide on any enforcement action after discussions have taken place with Google.
The DPA said that, during its seven-month probe, the watchdog determined that Google burrowed deeply into the personal data of Dutch netizens by knitting together services across the web for the purposes of targeted advertising.
"Some of these data are of a sensitive nature, such as payment information, location data and information on surfing behaviour across multiple websites. Data about search queries, location data and videos watched can be combined, while the different services serve entirely different purposes from the point of view of users," it said.
The watchdog concluded that Google had not sought the consent of users before cutting and shutting its privacy policies together in order to combine personal data across its massive online empire.
Read more: Google in Dutch: Privacy changes BREAK data law, says Netherlands • The Register
7/9/13
Germany - mind control: New Technology Sends Ads Directly Into Your Brain
The next time you press your head against the window of a train or bus, you might hear voices. You’re not going crazy, but you are experiencing a new kind of advertising: a message that’s transmitted via sensor into your brain, which only you can hear.
To promote Sky TV’s new TV streaming app, Sky Go, BBDO Dusseldorf affixed transmitters to train windows, which sent out high frequency vibrations. These were translated into a verbal message, which passengers could only hear when they pressed their heads to the glass. It’s called bone conduction technology and it may make you question your sanity.
While it looks a little hoax-y, according to the agency, it’s real. The campaign launched with prototypes in early this year--the tech was used it in public transport vehicles in Munich and North Rhine-Westphalia and there are plans for a rollout across Germany.
Read more: New Technology Sends Ads Directly Into Your Brain | Co.Create: Creativity \ Culture \ Commerce
To promote Sky TV’s new TV streaming app, Sky Go, BBDO Dusseldorf affixed transmitters to train windows, which sent out high frequency vibrations. These were translated into a verbal message, which passengers could only hear when they pressed their heads to the glass. It’s called bone conduction technology and it may make you question your sanity.
While it looks a little hoax-y, according to the agency, it’s real. The campaign launched with prototypes in early this year--the tech was used it in public transport vehicles in Munich and North Rhine-Westphalia and there are plans for a rollout across Germany.
Read more: New Technology Sends Ads Directly Into Your Brain | Co.Create: Creativity \ Culture \ Commerce
4/26/13
Turkey: Turkish PM vows harsh action against alcohol - by Sevim Songün Demirezen
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed today to introduce new measures in the fight against the consumption of alcoholic beverages including price increases. However, he also said this should not be considered an “obstacle” to particular lifestyles or secularism.
“If the prices are increasing, excuse us, but we have to. In the ÖTVs [the Special Consumption Tax], this [taxation on alcoholic beverages] is our most important source of income, as we don’t have any oil wells. That’s why we are working on this,” Erdoğan said, speaking at the Global Alcohol Policy Symposium held in Istanbul on April 26.
He also revealed that the government was working on increasing the penalties for those who cause death by drink driving, increasing the prices of alcoholic beverages, introducing warning signs on alcoholic beverages, and limiting alcohol advertising.
“We are working on measures to limit the advertisement of alcoholic beverages in newspapers. It will soon be accomplished,” said Erdoğan, adding that such advertisements were “misleading for the youth.” He said the 58th article of the Constitution ordered such measures to be taken, saying that the state must take the necessary measures to protect youth from alcoholism, speaking at the Haliç Congress Center.
The prime minister said the government was working on a study to implement warning signs on alcoholic beverages similar to those already implemented on tobacco products in Turkey.
Read more: POLITICS - Turkish PM vows harsh action against alcohol
“If the prices are increasing, excuse us, but we have to. In the ÖTVs [the Special Consumption Tax], this [taxation on alcoholic beverages] is our most important source of income, as we don’t have any oil wells. That’s why we are working on this,” Erdoğan said, speaking at the Global Alcohol Policy Symposium held in Istanbul on April 26.
He also revealed that the government was working on increasing the penalties for those who cause death by drink driving, increasing the prices of alcoholic beverages, introducing warning signs on alcoholic beverages, and limiting alcohol advertising.
“We are working on measures to limit the advertisement of alcoholic beverages in newspapers. It will soon be accomplished,” said Erdoğan, adding that such advertisements were “misleading for the youth.” He said the 58th article of the Constitution ordered such measures to be taken, saying that the state must take the necessary measures to protect youth from alcoholism, speaking at the Haliç Congress Center.
The prime minister said the government was working on a study to implement warning signs on alcoholic beverages similar to those already implemented on tobacco products in Turkey.
Read more: POLITICS - Turkish PM vows harsh action against alcohol
4/18/13
EU-Digest latest poll result - "what is most important to you"
 |
| O% in EU-Digest Poll |
The 0% polled for "Country" as an important factor on the human preference scale does not seem to bode well in general for nationalists, military recruiters and extreme-right politicians.
This month EU-Digest poll focuses on: " Is Royalty still relevant in today's Europe".
EU-Digest
4/13/13
Being Incognito On The Internet Doesn't Get you Anywhere
Being Incognito On The Internet Doesn't Get you Anywhere-
Get Noticed By Those Who Need To Notice you -
Get An Advertising link On EU-Digest-
EU-Digest
Get Noticed By Those Who Need To Notice you -
Get An Advertising link On EU-Digest-
EU-Digest
3/27/13
Technology: Google Glass: No longer just the stuff of science fiction - by Don Pittis
"CopSpace sheds some light on matters of course... There's the green tree of signs sprouting over the doorway of number thirty-nine, each tag naming the legal tenants" - Charles Stross in the Halting State.
Stross the writer is a supernerd, sort of an updated version of the similarly polymathic Neal Stephenson (Cryptonomicon). Although he can write accessible romantic prose (such as his Merchant Prince series), Stross is most spectacular in his dense, technologically aware science fiction, like Halting State. Anyone who wants a realistic portrayal of the near tech future should read it.
That sounds a bit like someone describing how you might use Google Glass. A real-world image of an apartment building entrance, with an overlay of virtual information about the people who live there.
Today, Matt Galloway, the host of the local CBC Radio morning show in Toronto, was enthusing about Google Glass. Produced by the world's largest search company, it’s a computer device that you wear on your face like glasses, and it’s now selling for $1,500 by lottery only. Even while lusting after them, Galloway wondered aloud about what possible use Google Glass could have.
Stross, who has a degree in computer science (and one in pharmaceutical science – did I say polymathic?), used to write about Linux for a tech magazine. But he has the imagination to take us a few steps forward into a world where the virtual and the real have merged.
"When I sat down to write Halting State (circa 2005-2006), I decided to do some clean sheet extrapolation to figure out from existing industry road maps what sort of level of technology would be available by 2017 when the novel is set," said Stross in an email today.
He says this is the world where Google Glass is leading us.
In the world of Halting State, data storage is in practical terms infinite. Data is stored geographically, according to its location in the real world. Think of a Google map, where photographs of nearby locations are available by clicking on boxes that appear as an overlay on the map.
This is a real world science called Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and it is increasingly how information is stored today. The idea is that if the city wants to know how recently the water pipes on your street were updated, for instance, they look at a map-based computer system that may also show natural gas pipes, sewage pipes and electrical conduits on your street and maybe even the billing information for your house.
“CopSpace,” as it’s called in Stross’s book, “is basically a distributed geographical information system mapped onto a police intelligence database, using the glasses to provide a heads up view of local crime-related features," Stross explains.
Note EU-Digest: Ad agencies are "literally begging to get a pair." Google got so many submissions for the Glass Explorer program, in which early adopters could pay $1,500 for the chance to test out a pair, that it ended the submission period last Friday, earlier than expected.
Obviously Google Glass as it becomes more sophisticated - and it will - could be quite helpful for criminal investigations - the danger however is that it will also impact on personal freedom and privacy, which as we all know is something many corporations do not take very seriously.
Read more: Google Glass: No longer just the stuff of science fiction - Business - CBC News
Stross the writer is a supernerd, sort of an updated version of the similarly polymathic Neal Stephenson (Cryptonomicon). Although he can write accessible romantic prose (such as his Merchant Prince series), Stross is most spectacular in his dense, technologically aware science fiction, like Halting State. Anyone who wants a realistic portrayal of the near tech future should read it.
That sounds a bit like someone describing how you might use Google Glass. A real-world image of an apartment building entrance, with an overlay of virtual information about the people who live there.
Today, Matt Galloway, the host of the local CBC Radio morning show in Toronto, was enthusing about Google Glass. Produced by the world's largest search company, it’s a computer device that you wear on your face like glasses, and it’s now selling for $1,500 by lottery only. Even while lusting after them, Galloway wondered aloud about what possible use Google Glass could have.
Stross, who has a degree in computer science (and one in pharmaceutical science – did I say polymathic?), used to write about Linux for a tech magazine. But he has the imagination to take us a few steps forward into a world where the virtual and the real have merged.
"When I sat down to write Halting State (circa 2005-2006), I decided to do some clean sheet extrapolation to figure out from existing industry road maps what sort of level of technology would be available by 2017 when the novel is set," said Stross in an email today.
He says this is the world where Google Glass is leading us.
In the world of Halting State, data storage is in practical terms infinite. Data is stored geographically, according to its location in the real world. Think of a Google map, where photographs of nearby locations are available by clicking on boxes that appear as an overlay on the map.
This is a real world science called Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and it is increasingly how information is stored today. The idea is that if the city wants to know how recently the water pipes on your street were updated, for instance, they look at a map-based computer system that may also show natural gas pipes, sewage pipes and electrical conduits on your street and maybe even the billing information for your house.
“CopSpace,” as it’s called in Stross’s book, “is basically a distributed geographical information system mapped onto a police intelligence database, using the glasses to provide a heads up view of local crime-related features," Stross explains.
Note EU-Digest: Ad agencies are "literally begging to get a pair." Google got so many submissions for the Glass Explorer program, in which early adopters could pay $1,500 for the chance to test out a pair, that it ended the submission period last Friday, earlier than expected.
Obviously Google Glass as it becomes more sophisticated - and it will - could be quite helpful for criminal investigations - the danger however is that it will also impact on personal freedom and privacy, which as we all know is something many corporations do not take very seriously.
Read more: Google Glass: No longer just the stuff of science fiction - Business - CBC News
2/12/13
Advertising and Promotion: Advertising Going Digital In A Big Way
 |
| EU-Digest Advertisng Rates |
By 2015, advertising revenue on the internet will exceed the total turnover of newspaper and magazines. The study predicts online advertising will increase its share of the total ad market from 18 percent in 2012 to 23.4 percent in 2015, while the press will continue to lose 1 percent a year.
Overall, the global ad market is forecast to accelerate from 3.3 percent growth in 2012 to 4.1 percent in 2013 and 5.6 percent in 2015. Global ad expenditure will be worth some euro 385 billion( $518 B) in 2013, with average growth of 8 percent in developing markets offset by just a 2 percent increase in mature markets, due mainly to the presently weak European market.
This trend, however, is expected to change pretty quickly once the economy gets back on track and more funds become readily available for advertising.
Internet advertising is supplying most of the growth in expenditure by medium, driven by rapid development in social media, blogs and online video. Internet advertising is forecast to grow by 14.6 percent in 2013, while traditional media grow by 1.7 percent.
You don't need to be an Einstein to figure out that it pays to advertise your products and services via the digital media.
EU-Digest
Covering a market of more than half a billion people
EU-Digest Advertising Rates Start As Low As $ .81 Cent's A Day Without A Logo
To Choose An Advertising Rate That Fits Your Budget Go To The Advertising Panel On EU-Digest
12/21/12
Facebook to Charge for Some Message Delivery
Facebook on Thursday began testing the feasibility of charging to guarantee that messages from strangers make it into inboxes of intended recipients at the social network.
Dabbling with getting people to pay to connect with Facebook members comes as the social network strives to tap the potential to make money from its membership base of more than a billion people.
The Facebook Messages test, limited to the United States, lets a sender pay a dollar to make sure an electronic missive is routed to someone's "inbox" even when the person isn't in their circle of friends.
Facebook messaging system was billed as being designed to deflect seemingly unwanted correspondence into an "other" folder that can be ignored.
Facebook said that it wanted to determine whether adding a "financial signal" improves its formula for delivering "relevant and useful" messages to members' inboxes.
Read more: Facebook to Charge for Some Message Delivery — Naharnet
12/14/12
US Gun Control: how many more innocent people need to be killed?
 |
| Promoting the sale of guns |
Advertisements promoting the sale of guns appear regularly in the US press. Maybe one of the first steps to eventually curb this madness is to put a ban on all gun and assault weapons advertising.
Promoting a NATO 30 rounds rapid loader rifle for some reason does not seem to accurately reflect what is meant in the Second Amendment of the Constitution: "to protect an individual's right to possess a firearm" ?
Write your Congressional representatives, take action on your campuses and schools - let your voice be heard.
EU-Digest
2/25/12
Movie Industry: Oscars mean big business
Even though viewership of the annual Oscar broadcast has fallen 23 per cent in the past 10 years, the audience of 37.9 million people that watched the telecast last year was above the low of 32 million that tuned in back in 2008.
Advertisers hoping to appeal to the desirable demographic the Oscars attract — largely female and higher-income — are sending the cost of advertising on the telecast higher.
A 30-second commercial spot for the Academy Awards broadcast on ABC costs an average of Euro 1.3 million ($1.7 million) this year. A commercial of the same length on this year's Super Bowl cost advertisers more than twice that — Euro 2.59 million ($3.5 million).
For more: Oscars mean big business - Business - CBC News
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)