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Your Car May Soon Start Serving You Ads (siliconbeat.com)
An anonymous reader quotes SiliconBeat:
Santa Clara auto-tech firm Telenav has just announced an "in-car advertising platform" for cars that connect to the internet. Telenav wants to sell the system to major auto manufacturers. And although it's probably the last thing many consumers want, vehicle owners will pay more for connected-car services if they decline the ads. "This approach helps car makers offset costs related to connected services, such as wireless data, content, software and cloud services," a spokeswoman for Telenav said Jan. 5. "In return for accepting ads in vehicles, drivers benefit from access to connected services without subscription fees, as well as new driving experiences that come from the highly-targeted and relevant offers delivered based on information coming from the vehicle."
Auto makers including Toyota, Lexus, Ford, GM and Cadillac already use the company's connected-car products, the spokeswoman said. Telenav CEO H.P. Jin in a press release called the ad platform "an exciting new opportunity" for vehicle manufacturers to "monetize connectivity to cover service costs and even drive healthy profits while enriching the consumer experience with safely delivered, engaging and relevant offers"...
To prevent driver distraction, "ads only appear when the vehicle is stopped, such as at car startup, traffic lights and upon arrival," Telenav said... Of course, driver distraction won't be an issue in self-driving cars, and this technology suggests the captive audiences in those vehicles will likely be subjected to an ad barrage in robotic ride-sharing vehicles and automated cars whose owners decline to pay more to avoid in-car advertising.
Auto makers including Toyota, Lexus, Ford, GM and Cadillac already use the company's connected-car products, the spokeswoman said. Telenav CEO H.P. Jin in a press release called the ad platform "an exciting new opportunity" for vehicle manufacturers to "monetize connectivity to cover service costs and even drive healthy profits while enriching the consumer experience with safely delivered, engaging and relevant offers"...
To prevent driver distraction, "ads only appear when the vehicle is stopped, such as at car startup, traffic lights and upon arrival," Telenav said... Of course, driver distraction won't be an issue in self-driving cars, and this technology suggests the captive audiences in those vehicles will likely be subjected to an ad barrage in robotic ride-sharing vehicles and automated cars whose owners decline to pay more to avoid in-car advertising.
I recently just paid Amazon to stop serving me ads on my two kindle devices. I can now open my Kindle Paperwhite and NOT have to swipe to start reading. My Kindle Fire feels like it loads faster too without having to display ads, especially the animated variety. The entire time I had them not once had a relevant ad ever been posted, and selling my soul for $20 off just didn't seem worth it any more.
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." [Thomas Jefferson]
Automakers have been lobbying for years for a maximum age of cars on the road, with all the recent driver assistance "safety" features added, it wouldn't surprise me if they finally get their way. How dare you drive a car without all of that stuff? Think of the children!
There is a reason Google is one of the corporations throwing a fuck load of money at self-driving cars; namely a captive audience.