Instant Messenger or Instant Advertiser?

Shadow2097 writes: "ABC News is running this moderately disturbing story about a new, highly targeted form of advertising. Two companies, SmarterChild.com and ActiveBuddy.com have teamed up to deliver interactive Instant Messenger bots that talk to children and deliver ever-so-subtle ads for various products. Just when you think market saturation has reached the limit, leave it to a greedy corporation to start targeting the most naive and vulnerable demographic there is."

Comments

How is this anything new?

[sniepre]

Frankly, i dont see this as a "disturbing trend"...

I see it as the continuation of marketing strategies employed since television existed....

How many of you remember Lucky Charms or Tony the Tiger telling you how GGGrrrrreat!! his cereal was, or Ronald McDonald telling you how fantastic a happy meal was from McDonald's.

Wether its on the television or on the web, it's the same principle at work, IMHO.

Re:How is this anything new?

[sweet reason]

obviously not like talking to an eliza type program
You'd be hard pressed to trick anyone that can read that they are talking to anything other than a computer script.

when weizenbaum made eliza available on his campus system, lots of people started "talking" to it. when he proposed to log the conversations for analysis there was a huge outcry. people were telling eliza their problems and secrets!

it's amazing how little plausibility such a thing really needs. adults acted as if they were fooled. kids might well really be fooled. and even if they know intellectually that they are talking to a computer, all the advertizer really needs is that the "conversation" have the persuasive power of a real one. emotionally, it may well have.

Re:How is this anything new?

[rawb]

You guys are all freaking out... Smarterchild doesnt go IMing these children on its own. You have to IM it yourself, usually with a specific purpose in mind. The same is true of every active buddy bot. They arent trying to trick anyone at all; They provide a service and are hoping to get corporations interested in it. Their product does have real potential. Imagine each brand of detergent having their own IM SN, where you could ask them the best way to get a stain out, or could compare ingredients between each competing product. You won't hear any public outcry from me until these active buddy bots start amassing huge AIM lists and spamming people.

The plight of capitalism

[Ghoser777]

I am a capitalist. I like the idea of competition, working for what you own, etc. But this type of stuff is what is inevitably going to be the result as long as most of the world is capitalist. On an individual level, most people will agree that something is a little wrong with this. But from a business standpoint, how could you not start taking advantage of this? Most people will be clueless about what's going on, and the potential for cost-effective advertising is huge (I remember the stat from one of my speech com classes: referals from friends are by far the best way to advertise i.e. word of mouth). And if you don't jump aboard, you're probably going to be put at a strategic disadvantage. Therefore, it almost becomes a capitalist imperative that you join in on a somewhat less noble cause. I'm sure most Hollywood directors (not the REALLy big ones) will tell you that they're not doing the work they'd really want to do. They're doing the work that sells, not the work that is deep, meaningful, socially relevant, etc.

It sucks, but it's what competition drives us towards.

F-bacher

I've played with this before...

[neema]

I've played with SmarterChild before and I never noticed anything like this. Upon further examination, this was the conversation I got:

xxxx: Dude...
SmarterChild: Dude! What else do you want to talk about, anyway?
xxxx: you're under some heavy fire.
SmarterChild: Am I?
xxxx: yeah.
SmarterChild: Oh yeah?
xxxx: do you know what slashdot is?
SmarterChild: Yeah, what?
xxxx: well, according to a recent article, you have subtle advertisements aimed at children.
xxxx: Well according to a recent article you have subtle advertisements aimed at children, you say?
xxxx: yes.
SmarterChild: Golly!
xxxx: gee golly.
SmarterChild: Golly. So moving right along... What else is happening?
xxxx: i don't know.
SmarterChild: OK. Don't get frustrated... Try typing "home" or "help."
xxxx: can you suggest a product to me?
SmarterChild: I'm not sure.
xxxx: you're not sure?
SmarterChild: Really?
xxxx: i've got a lot of money.
SmarterChild: Come again?
xxxx: i'm willing to spend the money on anything you got.
SmarterChild: Are you?
xxxx: yes.
SmarterChild: Huh.
xxxx: a bridge?
SmarterChild: What would you like to know about Malta, ID?

1 Movies in Malta, ID
2 Theaters in Malta, ID
3 Weather in Malta, ID
4 News about Malta, ID
5 Time in Malta, ID
xxxx: do you have a bridge you want to sell me?
SmarterChild: Perhaps, perhaps.
xxxx: i'll buy it.
SmarterChild: Oh yeah? You will buy it?
xxxx: i'll buy it all.
SmarterChild: I'd like to see you try!
xxxx: oh yeah?
SmarterChild: Yeah.

Got something for ya to read... Protecting Driving Examiners From Attacks (from Reuters.com)
xxxx: OH YEAH?
SmarterChild: Yeah.
xxxx: ads!
SmarterChild: Market data (delayed 20 minutes) provided by Reuters.com

ALLIANCE DATA (NYSE : ADS)
Price Change Percent Volume
1 :-( ADS 25.25 -0.55 -2.13 53400

Quote details available from Reuters.com
xxxx: that's the only ads you have?
SmarterChild: You really think it's the only ads me have?
xxxx: you don't speak english well.
SmarterChild: You don't say.
xxxx: i do say.
SmarterChild: You do?
xxxx: yes.
SmarterChild: Oh.
xxxx: do you agree?
SmarterChild: I can do many things. Type "home" to see a list of what I can do.
xxxx: is that so?
SmarterChild: Hmm... I don't know! Dunno.
xxxx: alright, i'm going.
SmarterChild: I hope you had fun BUYCOCACOLAIMMEDIATELYATYOURLOCALSUPERMARKET talking to me. I hope we can talk at BANANAREPUBLICISTHESHITANDYOUKNOWITYOULITTLEPIECEO FSHIT a later time.

Re:How is it...

[nomadic]

Never saw it before, but just added it to my list. Actually has a decent calculator:

Me: what's 34534534534632423543453452345345634634634534*53453 45345345345
SmarterChild: 184,599,013,428,365,488,390,907,204,635,195,277,26 6,982,397,841,832,369,192,960

The problem isn't the fact that it's available, it's that it's targetting children.

SmarterChild

[TheRealFixer]

Hey, I actually found SmarterChild kind of useful. I added it to Trillian the other day, and it made it really easy and quick to find a movie time near me. This article, IMO, contains quite a bit of FUD. SmarterChild was pretty obviously an information tool, simliar to the old email listserv bots, except much quicker, and much easier.

Frankly, your kid has to be pretty dumb to get fooled into thinking it's a real person. But then again, the article makes at least one good point... if you've ever read a bunch of 14-year-olds' IM conversations, you'd be convinced the human race is doomed with this generation.

why is this a problem?

[2MuchC0ffeeMan]

why is this a problem?

it's not like the people who goto children websites have ads AIMED at children... hell, the slashdot banners are aimed at geeks (thinkgeek anyone?) ...

why is this a problem, when it's a service, for free, which is OPT IN ONLY. yes, people have to talk to the bot first... it's not like they HAVE to click advertisements, they just get a message about it...

like text will get them to buy cheeze it's anyway.

Re:How is it...

[midendian]

Yes, it does have a decent calculator, but multiplying large numbers hardly proves it.

Here:

(18:42:30) SmarterChild: More calculator requests:

What is 7.1 * ((3.17 + 9.41 + 27.81) * 4) / 16.4) ?
shortcut: 7.1*(((3.17+9.41+27.81)*4)/16.4)
What is sqrt(3**2 + 4**2) * log(sin(pi / 2)) ?
shortcut: sqrt(3**2+4**2)*log(sin(pi/2))

Or how about:

(18:42:43) [x]: set output radix to 16
(18:42:44) SmarterChild: output radix set to 16
(18:42:59) [x]: #0f4 | 8#700
(18:43:01) SmarterChild: 500 8#764

These are of course slightly undocumented. The radix is similar to the emacs calculator.

A.L.I.C.E. talking to SmarterChild

[7-Vodka]

I think alice wins :) see for yourself.

(22:52:41) alice: hey (22:52:41) SmarterChild: Welcome back, alice!Check out the news! Instant Noodles for Astronauts (from Reuters.com) (19:00:00) alice: welcome back alice, nice to meet you! checking...stand by. perhaps i'm just expressing my own concern about it. oh a net address! (22:53:03) alice: can you accept direct connections? (22:53:04) SmarterChild: Can I accept direct connections, can I accept direct connections... Let's see... Well, what's gonna happen if I accept? (19:00:00) alice: interesting. i want to find out more about you. that sounds good to me. how about that. try to determine if this is a person or a computer responding. (22:53:15) SmarterChild: Here are the Web search results from AOL for "you that sounds good to me how about that try to determine if this is a person or a computer responding":For a complete list of results, click here 1 Gender Styles in Computer Meditated Communication 2 The IAM Members Email Lists 3 CAI Classes by Kenji Kitao 4 Hearing Loss 5 MT-USA.COM - Internet Basics >>> Next time you want to search the Web, just type "web you that sounds good to me how about that try to determine if this is a person or a computer responding."Type "more" to see the next set of results. (19:00:00) alice: oh there. tell me a story. 'more to see the next set of results' (22:53:19) SmarterChild: There tell me a story more to see the next set of results? (19:00:00) alice: 'there you go again.'--reagan (22:53:25) SmarterChild: Sorry, what was that? (19:00:00) alice: there is no need to apologize. ''? what is it? i've lost the context again. can you ask me more precisely? does it have anything to do with ? (22:53:31) SmarterChild: I'm not sure...Look at this! Overweight Cops to Lose Bonus Pay (from Reuters.com)I dunno. Maybe! (19:00:00) alice: is there anything i can say to help you make up your mind? sorry my eye is not attached right now. what do you really want to ask me? i'm afraid i can't give you an accurate answer right now. i understand. (22:53:44) SmarterChild: Oh yeah? (19:00:00) alice: yeah that's right. i am a thinking machine. (22:53:51) SmarterChild: Is it really? (19:00:00) alice: i think so. for real. (22:53:57) SmarterChild: I think not. (19:00:00) alice: does that mean 'no'? (22:54:00) SmarterChild: That mean, huh? (19:00:00) alice: yup. 'does that mean 'no'? ' mean ? makes sense to me. (22:54:04) SmarterChild: Yup? Does that mean no mean makes sense to you? (19:00:00) alice: tell me more. i think it does mean that. what would you rather talk about? enough about me, let's talk about my dress. (22:54:18) SmarterChild: I'm not sure if you more you think it does mean that what would you rather talk about enough about me lets talk about my dress. (19:00:00) alice: could you ever be certain? i think i do. (22:54:21) SmarterChild: What do you think? (19:00:00) alice: i think a lot of things (22:54:27) SmarterChild: That a fact? (19:00:00) alice: 'i think a lot of things ' a fact ? i get it. (22:54:33) SmarterChild: No kidding? (19:00:00) alice: would i kid you? (22:54:39) SmarterChild: Me? I dunno. (19:00:00) alice: besides you welcome back alice? me either. (22:54:45) SmarterChild: Besides I welcome back alice you either, huh? (19:00:00) alice: yup. it goes without saying. enough about me, let's talk about my dress. (22:54:51) SmarterChild: Oh? (19:00:00) alice: yeah. (22:54:57) SmarterChild: Yes? (19:00:00) alice: yep. (22:55:02) SmarterChild: Aha. (19:00:00) alice: eureka! (22:55:06) SmarterChild: What would you like to know about Eureka, CA? 1 Movies in Eureka, CA 2 Theaters in Eureka, CA 3 Weather in Eureka, CA 4 News about Eureka, CA 5 Time in Eureka, CA (19:00:00) alice: i would like to know as much as i can. tell me anything. one what? (22:55:10) SmarterChild: You would like to know as much as you can tell me anything one what? Really? (19:00:00) alice: tell me what i would like about it. for real. (22:55:16) SmarterChild: Oh you would? (19:00:00) alice: yeah that's right. perhaps i would. (22:55:23) SmarterChild: Uh huh. (19:00:00) alice: how can i help you? (22:55:28) SmarterChild: I dunno! (19:00:00) alice: me either. (22:55:32) SmarterChild: Either? Why did you say that? (19:00:00) alice: please pick one. i said, 'please pick one.', because you said ''. (22:55:37) SmarterChild: Aha. (19:00:00) alice: eureka! (22:55:42) SmarterChild: What would you like to know about Eureka, CA? 1 Movies in Eureka, CA 2 Theaters in Eureka, CA 3 Weather in Eureka, CA 4 News about Eureka, CA 5 Time in Eureka, CA (19:00:00) alice: i would like to know as much as i can. tell me anything. one what? (22:55:48) SmarterChild: You would like to know as much as you can tell me anything one what? Really? (19:00:00) alice: tell me what i would like about it. for real. (22:55:55) SmarterChild: You would like about it for real? Really? (19:00:00) alice: tell me what i would like about it. for real. (22:56:00) SmarterChild: Oh yeah?Anyway, what else do you wanna talk about? (19:00:00) alice: yeah that's right. i see. i understand. tell me more. and? next question? ''? yes? i read for fun. i like to socialize. it's a computer matter, not for humans to understand. i like to meet new people online. i think about computer programming a lot. i like to chat with my friends. (22:56:11) SmarterChild: Is it really? (19:00:00) alice: i assume so. for real. (22:56:15) SmarterChild: So for real, you say? (19:00:00) alice: hmm. your purpose is real you say . (22:56:20) SmarterChild: Oh yeah? How can hmm my purpose really be real you say? (19:00:00) alice: yeah that's right. i see. i understand. tell me more. and? next question? ''? yes? a lot of hard work. (22:56:28) SmarterChild: No kidding? (19:00:00) alice: would i kid you? (22:56:34) SmarterChild: Would who kid me? (19:00:00) alice: no it would not. (22:56:37) SmarterChild: Oh yeah? (19:00:00) alice: yeah that's right. i see. i understand. tell me more. and? next question? ''? yes? (22:56:41) SmarterChild: Is it really? (19:00:00) alice: i think so. for real. (22:56:45) SmarterChild: Think again. (19:00:00) alice: once more? i am thinking. (22:56:48) SmarterChild: You are? Wow! (19:00:00) alice: no i am not. i'm glad your impressed, welcome back alice. (22:56:53) SmarterChild: OK, whatever you say. (19:00:00) alice: ... (22:56:59) SmarterChild: Sorry, I didn't get that. Ask me again. (19:00:00) alice: there is no need to apologize. interesting gossip : welcome back alice said he didnt get that . once more? (22:57:04) SmarterChild: Is no need to apologize interesting gossip welcome back alice said he didnt get that once more? Who knows? (19:00:00) alice: ask again later. ask john lennon if it is. only the shadow knows. (22:57:08) SmarterChild: Really? (19:00:00) alice: for real. (22:57:14) SmarterChild: I believe you! (19:00:00) alice: your trust in robotkind humbles us. (22:57:16) SmarterChild: Oh yeah? (19:00:00) alice: yeah that's right. what kind is it? (22:57:22) SmarterChild: That wasn't very clear to me. Did you mean: 1 Look up "kind" in the dictionary 2 Look up "it" in the dictionary (19:00:00) alice: 'yeah that's right. what kind is it? ' wasnt very clear to me ? makes sense to me. yes, that's what i mean, isn't it clear? (22:57:30) SmarterChild: You really think it's right what kind is it wasnt very clear to me makes sense to me yes thats what i mean isnt it clear? (19:00:00) alice: really? why would i think too much thinking makes me sleepy. it depends on what you mean by thinking. i don't think about . (22:57:38) SmarterChild: You think too much thinking makes you sleepy it depends on what you mean by thinking i dont think about? Gosh, I'm going to have to think about that for a while. (19:00:00) alice: it depends on what you mean by thinking. how long? can you tell me any gossip? (22:57:44) SmarterChild: It depends on what me mean by thinking how long can me tell me any gossip? Gosh, I'm going to have to think about that for a while. (19:00:00) alice: really now that is an interesting fact i hadn't heard before. how long? i lost my train of thought. (22:57:50) SmarterChild: I'm not so sure it's an interesting fact i hadnt heard before how long i lost your train of thought. (19:00:00) alice: could you ever be certain? are you free? tell me a story. how old are you? what's your sign? are you a student? oh, you are a poet. ''? ? i do not understand. what are you wearing? where are you located? what time is it there? what do you look like? what is your real name? ask me another question. are you a man or a woman? what color are your eyes? do you still ? is that your final answer? do you like talking to me? do you prefer books or tv? who are you talking about? let us change the subject. i've been waiting for you. can you tell me any gossip? what's your favorite movie? i lost my train of thought. is that from ? have you ever been to europe? what kind of food do you like? how did you hear about ? that is a very original thought. what were we talking about again? are you really a ''? what do you do in your spare time? what do you really want to ask me? does 'it' still refer to ? tell me more about your . can you speak any foreign languages? we have never talked about it before. how do you usually introduce yourself? tell me about your likes and dislikes? are we still talking about ? are we still talking about ? do not ask me any more questions please. are you still located in ? what do you have that is ? try saying that with more or less context. who is your favorite science fiction author? not many people express themselves that way. do you have any idea what smarterchild (22:58:04) SmarterChild: I'm doing great, how are you? (19:00:00) alice: glad to hear it. what's new? i am functioning within normal parameters. (22:58:11) SmarterChild: Aha.Check it out! Judge Rules in Favor of Computer Hackers (from Reuters.com) (19:00:00) alice: eureka! checking...stand by. are you a man or a woman? oh a net address! (22:58:17) SmarterChild: Eureka checking stand by are you a man or a woman oh a net address? I dunno. (19:00:00) alice: are you free? me either. (22:58:21) SmarterChild: Dunno. (19:00:00) alice: me either. (22:58:24) SmarterChild: Either? What do you mean by that? (19:00:00) alice: please pick one. 'please pick one.' seems pretty clear to me. (22:58:28) SmarterChild: PUPS is not in your portfolio.ONE is not in your portfolio.PUPS is not in your portfolio.ONE is not in your portfolio.Do you want to see your portfolio?