Rusty's Ramblings

[Rusty Edge]

As pleased as I am with last week's productivity, there is more to be done, and most of it needs doing by me. Sorting, mostly. The downside is that I am wiped out. I haven't done any work on the basement since Saturday, feeling the strain on my back, my balance, and my stamina. I'm merely keeping up with homemaking ( best all inclusive term ). The ibuprofen resulted in nosebleeds, so I had to knock it off. We had a winter relapse today.

My nightly newsfeed is normally NBC, because we feel the local affiliate has the best weather coverage. It's been a long political campaign, and I find it ironic that NBC dropped [Sleezebag]'s tv show because he called Mexicans rapists, but they don't hesitate to feature him as the lead story night after night, week after week, on the Nightly News.

Well that might mean something if [Sleezebag] were saying NEWsworthy things. But he didn't really. "The country is a disaster! It's all the Clintons/Bush's/Obama's fault! Believe me, I have all of the answers. My popularity proves I'm right!"

WHAT IF?

What if instead of leading with the same old same old, they tried to interview the candidates? What if they fact checked them? Compared experience and records? Reported on who makes up their demographic support and financial backers? Asked them their top 3 priorities?

Maybe we'd have a better-informed electorate, Maybe the news team could get back to reporting politics instead of trying to shape it. 

Boring? Maybe. But so is the same schtick from The Leader night after night. I generally don't consider Tweets to be newsworthy, but that's the top political story tonight- [Sleezebag]'s Tweet!

[Valka]

You'd hate the CBC's website, then (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Our national broadcaster has a lot of "articles" that consist of nothing but content lifted from Twitter, with a few sentences stringing them together. And of course they don't allow regular comments on those pages anymore, since many of the comments were complaints about the plagiarism from Twitter in place of real articles.

[Rusty Edge]

You'd hate the CBC's website, then (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Our national broadcaster has a lot of "articles" that consist of nothing but content lifted from Twitter, with a few sentences stringing them together. And of course they don't allow regular comments on those pages anymore, since many of the comments were complaints about the plagiarism from Twitter in place of real articles.

That is horrific!

[Unorthodox]

But so is the same schtick from The Leader night after night.

I don't know where you come up with "the Leader" name as I avoid the politics thread usually, but it reminds me of the Simpsons cult.

! No longer available

[Rusty Edge]

Well, rather than use his name on the internet, and risk getting get fed more [Sleezebag] "news", I chose to use the term "Frontrunner", and not "The Pig." He started exhibiting more and more fascist and autocratic tendencies. When he re-tweeted a Mussolini quote,( that was newsworthy, I thought ) it was too much and I made the switch to "The Leader." 

In a strange coincidence, Amazon continually suggests I buy the game "UNO" !

[Unorthodox]

Did you know they sell coffins at walmart?  I'm constantly reminded. 

[Rusty Edge]

Did you know they sell coffins at walmart?  I'm constantly reminded.

This is probably the biggest laugh of the day.

I know that the hardware in Haines Alaska sells them. In Alaska, your burial might wait until spring. There were a lot of regulations in Pennsylvania, I don't know if you could get or be buried in one that wasn't from a licensed funeral home.

TOPIC- Online Advertising

It might be my nature to protect my privacy, but somewhere along the way I decided I rather see tailored ads about computer games or whatever I recently googled, than suffer through a lifetime of erectile dysfunction and sub-prime mortgage ads.

But my opinion really hasn't changed since I first subscribed to dial-up. The most effective advertising would simply be to remind me with banners or spot ads or  whatever, about brand products I already know. A simple "Drink Ice Cold Coca Cola" "Pizza Hut Pizza to Go" "Skittles- Taste the rainbow" shown every 10 minutes would likely increase my consumption. Any number of familiar brands and slogans, just by reminding me about them, might make me think I'd like it again.

Travel destinations would probably have the same affect.

What sort of internet advertising in general do you think would be effective?
OR, What sort of internet advertising really annoys you?

[Buster's Uncle]

Video ads, for the last - they take forever to load and really bork my browsing.

[Unorthodox]

Did you know they sell coffins at walmart?  I'm constantly reminded.

This is probably the biggest laugh of the day.

I know that the hardware in Haines Alaska sells them. In Alaska, your burial might wait until spring. There were a lot of regulations in Pennsylvania, I don't know if you could get or be buried in one that wasn't from a licensed funeral home.

The really funny part is if you click on the ad.  There's a whole "Funeral" section to WalMart online.  Where they sell caskets, urns,  AND VACUUMS. 

TOPIC- Online Advertising

It might be my nature to protect my privacy, but somewhere along the way I decided I rather see tailored ads about computer games or whatever I recently googled, than suffer through a lifetime of erectile dysfunction and sub-prime mortgage ads.

But my opinion really hasn't changed since I first subscribed to dial-up. The most effective advertising would simply be to remind me with banners or spot ads or  whatever, about brand products I already know. A simple "Drink Ice Cold Coca Cola" "Pizza Hut Pizza to Go" "Skittles- Taste the rainbow" shown every 10 minutes would likely increase my consumption. Any number of familiar brands and slogans, just by reminding me about them, might make me think I'd like it again.

Travel destinations would probably have the same affect.

What sort of internet advertising in general do you think would be effective?
OR, What sort of internet advertising really annoys you?

Define effective. 

You want me to click the ad?  Give me something I didn't know about.  It happens most often on the Halloween sites, which aren't based on your browsing history. 

Oh, Frightprops is having a spring sale?  Yeah, I'm gonna click that.  (brand you know type thing)
Never heard of that store before that sells things I'm interested in?  good chance I'll go look. 
Spirit Halloween reminding me they sell Easter bunny costumes?  Move along.  (brand you know/don't care)

Video game sites can get a similar effect.  I'm looking at, say, Xcom, and they advertise another strategy game, I'm likely to click and look if it seems interesting.

I have to agree on the videos that block the page and often can't be skipped.  Decent chance I'll leave the page and find what I was looking for elsewhere.   

[Valka]

What sort of internet advertising really annoys you?

Just about anything unless I've specifically signed up to receive it. For example, I want to know what Star Trek fanzines are available on eBay.

I don't give a damn about what women's fashions are on sale at various department stores.

I want to know what special online offers are available from my favorite pizza restaurant. Amazon trying to sell me electronic gadgets? Shut up.

[Buster's Uncle]

Just NO politics, either.  Boiling anything down to a banner makes it stupid, if not outright offensive.

[Valka]

I got two identical emails from Avaaz yesterday. It's not enough that I signed the petition; now they want me to donate $$ to promote the thing? No.

[Unorthodox]

I got two identical emails from Avaaz yesterday. It's not enough that I signed the petition; now they want me to donate $$ to promote the thing? No.

I should put you on the Monarch Watch mailing list, I'm sure they need help in Canada...

[Valka]

The butterflies or the Royal Family?

[Unorthodox]

Butterflies