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Google Patent Proposes $2 Fee To Skip Commercials
theodp writes "A day after Google debuted its new Google TV website, the USPTO issued U.S. Patent No. 7,806,329 to the search giant for its Targeted Video Advertising invention. Among other things, the patent proposes having viewers take 5-10 minutes to 'fill out a consumer survey and perhaps to provide additional information such as a mailing address survey before starting the program' to avoid having to watch 10 minutes of commercials. 'As another alternative,' the patent continues, 'the broadcaster may offer the users an option to pay $2 (such as through a micro-payment system, such as GBuy) to exchange for skipping all commercials.' More from the patent: 'The system may allow a user to skip all of the promotions that they want to skip, but may also require the user to fully watch at least four promotions before the program will continue. Likewise, the system may require the user to follow activities that generate a certain amount of advertising revenue or advertising points (e.g., that may correspond directly or indirectly to advertising revenues) before the program will continue.'"
Right.... until they start adding commercials to books as electronic readers start becoming more mainstream. You won't be able to turn the page until you sit through this 15 second commercial that the publisher figures might interest you based on the content of the book.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
My freedom is in the form of pirated TV shows and movies, if you won't let me pay for and download them (I'm in Sweden and the choices for US TV shows are pretty much nill) legally then I'll just get them for free without commercials. I'm not waiting several months just for the privilege of commercials and subtitles made by some college student who doesn't understand what he or she is translating...
Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
This. There is no invention here, simply an idea. How on Earth did this get granted a patent?
How about Google shares their ad revenue with me if I agree to watch the commercials?
I've been told many times that the show is not the product - the viewers are the product. Fine, if I allow Google to show me the ads using MY bandwidth, why not give me a cut of the ad revenue?
-ted
Perhaps I undervalue my security and privacy, but I keep hoping for an increase in the targeted advertising I experience.
I don't want to refinance my house. I don't want to find relationships online. I don't want to find old classmates. I don't want to earn money by signing up for free trials. Even though I don't want these things, I see these ads a lot.
I like videogames and boardgames. I like anime. I like paintball. I like cooking. I already go out of my way to learn about new products and discounts in these areas.
I would love to surrender information about my interests in order to replace the ads I don't care about with ads that I do care about. I'm fine with the idea that they need to make money somehow, and I'm willing to sell them my attention if they talk to me about products that I agree to myself, 'Yeah, I might have wanted that'. Give me an internet radio style thumbs-up / thumbs-down button for the ads, including a 'Never show me an ad for this product again'.
You are awash in a sea of fiercely stated opinions. Obvious exits are: 'File->Quit', 'Reply', and 'Page Down'.
I'm over 40 and have not been to a movie theater in probably 5 years. maybe even more.
I would not even weep if all the movie 'theaters' went out of business tomorrow.
when businesses get that greedy and evil, the sooner they fade away the better.
the unpleasantness of being in the theater and being overcharged at every step turns me off so I choose not to go there.
I rent movies at home all the time. 1000% better experience. the fact that my screen is 32" wide does not bother me in the least! any movie that -needs- a big scream and jet plane level sound is too weak on its content to hold my interest for very long, anyway. being in the comfort of home trumps all 'benefits' of what the theaters give.
let this model die. it had a good run but its not needed anymore.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Wow, way to apologise for this kind of thing.
I just download TV via torrent with the commercials already cut out. If that means the shows stop being made, oh well, I'll move on to other entertainment.
At this point I feel adversarial towards the distributors and producers of TV content. They just take and take and take. Fine, I played along for years but not anymore. Now I'm going to actively subvert their revenue stream just to fuck with them.
Blar.
Evil? really? yeah, here is an option, you don't have to do it but if it adds value for you then you can opt in.
Yeah, freaking evil~
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
That is wholly untrue though. Most unfortunately so.
Your logic is sound. The problem is that you think backing "them" into a corner will cause them to act rationally since they have no choice left. The reality is the crazy bastards pull out a nuclear bomb, and with eyes twitching, their faces contorted in rage and madness, consign the rest of us to oblivion.
Big Media, as they are so fondly and often referred to as, have more in common with fundamentalist terrorists than they do with normal, rational people.
We are at serious, imminent, and direct risk of losing all of freedoms because they can't accept or adapt to the situation. Look at ACTA, the DMCA, etc. Our rights to privacy, anonymity, etc. are being literally destroyed in the name of protecting copyrights. Copyrights themselves keep expanding their rights and time limits in ways that are clearly damaging to society. Software patents, patents on DNA for fucks sake, all of it together is causing serious harm to innovation.
You are entirely correct, but in the worst way possible. They ARE trying a different model. They are changing the playing field and the rules itself. We are the ones that are going to suffer most intensely because of it.
When you no longer own your hardware, software must centrally managed and authorized by the government, every action in your digital realm (aka Cyberspace) is watched and monitored, and all of your content and communications are vetted before they can be accessed, viewed, or even commented on, are you FREE?
You may be thinking I am nuts, but is Big Media heading that direction with technology and lobbying in Congress, or are they getting ready to be rational and come to the table for good faith negotiations with the People?
Heh. The Doomsday clock is at 1 minute to Midnight for us in entertainment.