Truth in advertising hits... advertising.

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David Sims
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Truth in advertising hits... advertising.

Truth in advertising hits... advertising.

Industry observer Dianna Dilworth is reporting that AT&T will test Internet banner ads this month "with increased transparency about what consumer data the company is tracking."
As she explains it, the ads "will include an icon that consumers can click to find out how their data is being tracked."

AT&T is working with GroupM's Mediaedge agency and Better Advertising on the ads, Dilworth says, using "a technology called Power Eye, which allows brands to include an icon that consumers can click to find out more information about the advertiser and the other companies involved in serving that ad, such as an agency, ad network and portal."

Yes, there's an opt-out button as well.

Any positive news is welcome at AT&T these days, and it's probably due to another company you may have heard of, BP, that AT&T's not Business Public Enemy #1 right now.
Read more here.
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No, we're not talking wartime France here. We're talking your business. Today.
A recent study in Baseline magazine correctly notes that "most enterprises have a collective fount of knowledge and experience that is deep, rich and varied." Great. However, it also correctly notes that "until recently, businesses haven't been able to take full advantage of this wealth of knowledge."
In fact - let us know if this sounds like where you work - most companies "operate with a responsibility-and-task orientation, filling employees' days and to-do lists with constrained, prioritized duties that strictly delineate their jobs and work philosophies."
Baseline recently conducted a study of 342 managers knowledgeable about their company's usage of knowledge management and collaboration technologies, and came away convinced that new knowledge management techniques can help with this.
It's about time - "the emergence of what we're calling knowledge sharing,' which fuses knowledge management with collaborative and social tools," is producing new opportunities and real excitement, the magazine says.
And that means collaboration.
Read more here.
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Time for true confessions: This reporter's 17th century ancestor, a certain John Sims, came from England to Virginia colony compliments of the English crown, which was trying at the time to dump its trash in Virginia.
What they would do is go through a debtor's prison and say "Hey, any of you losers want to go to Virginia?" Seeing as how you, dear reader, know more about the moon than any of them would have known about Virginia, you can see how desperate they were to get the heck out of Old Blighty to say "yes."
According to The Consumerist, people are still being thrown into prison for debt, even here in 21st century America. And as it's unlikely you'll get sprung if you agree to sail off to an unknown land, you might want to pay attention.
Debt collectors "are effectively deputizing local police forces to collect on debts," Consumerist says, buying five to six year old debts "for pennies on the dollar from companies that have already written off ever collecting the debt. Then, the firms, frequently run by attorneys, employ a system of auto-dialers and call center teams to get the cash. They aim to get double what they paid for the debts. Anything after that is just gravy."
And it's true that "in some states and counties, the collectors can seek court orders to get debtors to pay, which can result in a civil warrant for the debtor's arrest. Some precincts then apparently have the luxury and manpower to enforce them and a deputy sheriff shows up on the debtor's doorstep and arrests them. The debtor can spend 24-48 hours in jail until their court appearance."
The point of bail, Consumerist says, is obvious: In some cases, the judge will set the bail at the exact amount of the debt owed.
Read more here.
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SME businesses can't boast about being bigger or more impressive than their larger competitors, but now they have hopes of outmaneuvering them with cloud telephony call management services.
And according to industry observer Ian Roberts, the latest weapon SMEs have is one that might surprise you: The telephone network. Not exactly what you think of when you're looking for a silver bullet, is it - "Hey, we've got a... phone network! We're winning!"
But as Roberts points out, network telephony "provides businesses the ability to operate with multiple telephone numbers, and forward them to as many different locations as they wish, or to a single telephone line if the business is a start up." Can that help your business? We thought so.
Roberts is writing from Great Britain, but the principle is the same here in America: With network telephony, "from a single line operated from anywhere the new business looks like it has local sales presence in London, Birmingham and Edinburgh, as well as a national freephone - 0800 number - and a national support number" for easy rental.
Read more here.
 


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