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In “not so surprising” news, it was recently revealed that Google — in remarks to the SEC regarding mobile revenue disclosure — explained that they could see advertising on, well, everything. Billboards erect into the sky and posters are plastered onto buses, trucks, and even personal vehicles. Television programming, mobile apps, your email, and even your shirts — all have advertising.
So why not your thermostat (Nest, anyone?)? Your washing machine? Your smart glasses? Your car dashboard? Your smartwatch? Your refrigerator? That’s the future Google says is very plausible.
Now, it’s important to note that this doesn’t mean Google is certainly going to do that. This just opens the possibility that they could, and lets us know that they’ve been thinking about it.
I personally don’t get too miffed over seeing ads where they make sense, as long as they aren’t obtrusive or distracting. That said, I think I’d be really upset if I couldn’t walk around my house without seeing a big “BUY” sign being flashed at me around every corner. How would you feel about ads being put on all these things?
[via WSJ]
I would gladly pay Google to not see ads on anything they own. Ads are a complete burden to my experience.
I would as well. I do see very few now because of ad blocker and flash blocker but seeing zero would be better.
But are you willing to pay more than what the advertiser is paying them to show them to you? I believe that’s the real trick to this.
It’s called Google Apps, and it’s $50/year or $5/mo. No ads in most of their services.. Although I wouldn’t mind seeing it extended to consumers that includes Youtube, etc..
This has always been the deal with Google. You get a product for free that others would charge for, and you deal with advertising for that.
Where I would get disappointed is when Google offers the product for free and without advertising to kill off competition, and then they erect the advertising toll.
Well everybody knows you gotta pay the troll toll..The troll toll!!
Oh hell to the NO
We all know Google is ad company, I fully expect to see all Google products free in the near future with ads everywhere. I really dont care, neither will most people. More free stuff so w/e
As advertisers salivate, the new “Evil” empire continues!
The first “evil empire” is what some people call the country Google is headquartered in.
Ads only work on 2 to 3% of the population, the rest of us that use our own thoughts and likes as buying decisions are plagued by stupid useless boring junk ads.
Google, the new monopoly corporation.
I don’t know what country you live in, but the USA is full of idiots that easily fall into the pitfall of advertising.
yes, sure.. because you research extensively everything that you buy and every alternative; you also get information about new products/services by reading through all the specialized websites/magazines. Ads can be a good discovery mechanism. Secondly, why do brands exist if only 2-3% of people are susceptible to priming and having their likes/dislikes influenced by information posted on every possible media?
I guess you mean 2 to 3% of people blindly follow advertising and buy what is put in front of them but everyone is susceptible and influenced by it to some degree even only from the point of view of the brand awareness it creates.
I’m sure they would broadcast ads into our dreams if they could kind of like that futurama episode I saw years ago.
“They get into your mind the same way the liquid gets into this egg. Only it’s not liquid, but gamma radiation.”
The only scenario I would accept a refrigerator, washing machine or car dashboard is if all of those things came free. Otherwise, I simply wouldn’t buy the product. And honestly, i’d cough up more money to not see ads.
As for the car dashboard… good luck getting that one by. Just what everyone needs, another distraction on the road. I can see the headlines now”Motorist kills 25 people while trying to click on a google ad on their dashboard”
What you’re describing reminds me of how Amazon sells the Kindle and Kindle Fire. You can buy them cheaper with “special offers” (ads) or pay a little more to get them without ads. I guess it wouldn’t be the end of the world if appliances were sold like that, as long as the ad free price didn’t go up because of it.
Ads do make sense on *some* appliances, and Google better get the ball rolling before Amazon does. When I first read it I was thinking “hell no, if my fridge has ads it better be free!”, but then I thought on it a bit.
Using the fridge as an example, refrigerators already exist that can order more for you when you run out. An advertisement when you click “shop” that would show you other types of food that you may be interested in wouldn’t be a bad idea. They would have to be relevant and not obtrusive, but Google knows this. No one will buy a fridge for the same price if it showed you an ad every time you walked beside it.
Same applies to other appliances or devices. Washer & dryer? What’s wrong with it notifying you about needing to be repaired and showing ads for local repair shops?
Even a blender.. why not list what you can blend and show advertisements to have the items shipped to your house?
Just one catch: it can’t be all about the highest bidder. User reviews must be taken into account. Not sure if that applies now or not.
Edit: Worst case scenario, your router comes with a built in ad blocker that blocks ads for all devices in your home.. Problem solved.
Am I the only person in the world who hates ads? I avoid them like the plague and want to see as few as possible in my life. The thought of encountering them on my appliances and thermostat is my idea of tech hell.
I seriously can’t even remember the last time I saw an ad said ” wow I’m really interested in this! ” and clicked it.
Ads on the side of the page are different though. They’re usually irrelevant. I also don’t mean random ads that pop up or are on the side of the menu. I mean when you click “Help” or “Shop” or whatever, it shows you relevant options. Options that could include local listings for repair, or a way to have something delivered. It has to be a benefit to both the consumer and the business or of course no one will bother.
NO!
Screw you Google.
Unless you’re paying ME some of that ad revenue forget about it!
I don’t have a problem with ad’s at all if they are paying for content I then get for free. If they subsidize my fridge in exchange for showing adverts then I don’t care. Hmmm, I wonder if I could install AdBlock on my fridge?
I’d feel great if a sensor listening to my refrigerator’s compressor warned me in a Note that it was nearing failure and gave me the option of searching for repairmen before my food spoiled.
I’d feel great if my thermostat, after optimising heating/cooling appliances use over time sent me a Note listing appliances that could/should be replaced to save me money over the next three years and gave me the option of searching for appliance outlets within a 20 minute drive.
I’d put Google ads on my car if they paid for it.