San Jose, Calif., start-up Pudding Media has unveiled a new Skype-like VoIP service which allows advertisers to deliver targeted advertising content to user’s desktops while they are chatting away on their PCs. Basically, the company is using speech analytics to monitor, or eavesdrop on, people’s VoIP calls, and then based on what words are used in the conversation, targeted, personalized advertising will be displayed on screen, corresponding with what is being said. So, for example, if I’m talking to my wife about what to have for dinner tonight, a frozen food manufacturer can have their ad pop up on my screen when I say “dinner.”
Advertisers pay based on how often users click on their ads, with prices similar to those offered through Google’s AdSense network. Pudding Media reportedly plans to add other payment models, like charging for each ad impression or by the number of calls an ad generates to the advertiser.
I don’t know about you, but there’s no way I’m going to let someone monitor my calls for the purpose of delivering personalized advertising. I mean, if I’m watching a cooking show on IPTV and a local store that sells gourmet food or cookware wants to show their ads during the commercial break, that’s fine. But monitoring my calls to find out what I’m talking about is just a little too Orwellian for me. Anyway, after AT&T and Verizon allegedly supplying call data to the NSA a couple of years ago, how do I know who’s really monitoring my calls – and for what purpose? The company claims it won’t keep the recordings or do anything unethical with the data. Yeah right.
Sure, I know everyone who uses VoIP has their privacy of their calls somewhat in doubt right now, since it is so easy to hack into someone’s session and eavesdrop away, but I’m not going to hand my right to privacy over to someone just so I can get personalized advertising. I find it hard to believe that anyone in the younger, or “MySpace” generation would want this either.
To me, this is just another grand idea that simply won’t work. You can’t make me believe that huge numbers of people will actually want this. I’d rather have someone put a billboard up on the side of my house.
Then again, I’m a traditionalist and you’ll never find me sitting at my computer with a headset on anyway. The only way I make phone calls is using fixed line VoIP and a traditional handset. To me, that’s using the phone.
Advertisers pay based on how often users click on their ads, with prices similar to those offered through Google’s AdSense network. Pudding Media reportedly plans to add other payment models, like charging for each ad impression or by the number of calls an ad generates to the advertiser.
I don’t know about you, but there’s no way I’m going to let someone monitor my calls for the purpose of delivering personalized advertising. I mean, if I’m watching a cooking show on IPTV and a local store that sells gourmet food or cookware wants to show their ads during the commercial break, that’s fine. But monitoring my calls to find out what I’m talking about is just a little too Orwellian for me. Anyway, after AT&T and Verizon allegedly supplying call data to the NSA a couple of years ago, how do I know who’s really monitoring my calls – and for what purpose? The company claims it won’t keep the recordings or do anything unethical with the data. Yeah right.
Sure, I know everyone who uses VoIP has their privacy of their calls somewhat in doubt right now, since it is so easy to hack into someone’s session and eavesdrop away, but I’m not going to hand my right to privacy over to someone just so I can get personalized advertising. I find it hard to believe that anyone in the younger, or “MySpace” generation would want this either.
To me, this is just another grand idea that simply won’t work. You can’t make me believe that huge numbers of people will actually want this. I’d rather have someone put a billboard up on the side of my house.
Then again, I’m a traditionalist and you’ll never find me sitting at my computer with a headset on anyway. The only way I make phone calls is using fixed line VoIP and a traditional handset. To me, that’s using the phone.
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