ShoutingInDigital
Retail, E-Commerce, E-tail and Digital News
23rd
JUN
FTC upsets Bloggers and Affiliates
Posted by James | Filed under affililates, social media
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is planning a ‘crack down’ on spammy websites – “as well as the companies that compensate them – for any false claims or failure to disclose conflicts of interest”.
Sounds okay so far – perhaps a bigger undertaking than the FTC can manage – but all in all a noble claim. What has upset many bloggers, affiliates and those with affiliate programs is this:
“The rules could be quite strict, even extending to the practice of affiliate links–for example, a music blogger who links to a song on Amazon MP3 or iTunes that earns an affiliate commission in the process.”
The updated guidelines – possibly with modifications – are expected to pass this summer. If passed, the FTC could actively go after affiliate bloggers who are paid in any way for their words.
Cracking down on those who make false claims as well as the companies who compensate them is, obviously, a great thing. Enforcing laws relating to false advertising and punishing companies who make false claims is important to ensuring consumers are adequately protected from charlatans and con artists.
Going after bloggers on the other hand, is not only an immensely time consuming process it’s also completely backward. Bloggers who create sites exclusively to promote products (which may be of poor quality) do it only for the sole purpose of earning money, even the FTC understands this.
So if there are 1000 sites all promoting a poor quality product, e.g. a banned weight loss pill, which makes more sense – to go after the 1000 sites promoting the product or to go after the company who creates the product, shut them down and give the bloggers no reason to promote the product and consumers no way of purchasing the product?
The logic here is questionable but it seems we will have to wait until later in the summer to find out what’s going to happen.
19th
NOV
Greater technology called for in fight against piracy
Posted by James | Filed under tech
Not since the success of Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley at the box office has there been such an interest in piracy, but the buccaneering crews based in the waters round Somalia have brought attention to the modern day Jack Sparrows.
Today saw two more pirate hijackings (a super tanker from Saudi Arabia and an Iranian ship) but the start of a fight back was observed with the a sinking of a pirate mothership by an Indian Navy vessel. Nonetheless, ship owners in the region are worried about what they can do to protect themselves without resorting to armed guards.
Some ships are attaching metal plates to their sides to increase the height difference between the water and their hull, while others are using barbed wire or electric fences to dissuade uninvited seafarers from coming aboard.
Two sound devices – the Long-Range Audio Device (L-RAD) and Magnetic Acoustic Device (MAD) – are becoming used more widely on ships. These can both project sound further than normal loud speakers, letting captains inform pirates that they know they are approaching meaning that any element of surprise they thought they had would be eradicated. If this deterrent wasn’t enough, the speakers are capable of producing tones at such volumes that can irritate, disorientate or nauseate anyone in its line of fire. There are also theories that on full power these devices would be capable of knocking a man of his feet.
Vahan Simidian, CEO of the company who developed MAD, said: “For now, the speakers on a merchant vessel aren’t capable of hurting a person. Is our technology capable of hurting someone? Absolutely.”
23rd
OCT
118 got your money!
Posted by James | Filed under branding, news
Every week our newspapers, radio shows and consumer watchdogs warn us of the latest scams to be aware of. Combined with the looming credit crunch, consumers are becoming even more cautious with their cash and it seems 89 of us definitely don’t believe there’s any such a thing as a free lunch.
This is a finding that nearly a third of all those who were unknowingly entered into the 118 directory enquiries prize draw rejected the £118 prize for fear that it was a scam. In a desperate effort to actually give people their winnings, 118 have posted the winners on their website and ‘warned’ people that they will be giving away more money next month.
The story follows the revelation that we Britons are being constantly harassed by scamsters and prank callers all looking to take our money and waste our time. Research group MORI recently revealed that a staggering 70% of British residents have been subject to a phone scam at least once in their life. These figures do not take into account the 1.5 million malicious calls and 1.5 billion silent calls that occur in these isles every year. It is statistics like these that have spurred ex-telemarketers Steve Smith and John Price to develop the scam-resistant Truecall device.
The Truecall device interprets phone calls, only allowing phone numbers from pre-saved ’safe’ numbers to ring through. Unknown phone numbers or numbers which have been blacklisted are directed to an answering service, meaning the phone never rings and the owner won’t need to be harassed by unwanted phone calls.
Users can add ’safe’ numbers to the true call device at any time ensuring relatives or friends can still get through. Inventors Price and Smith also have plans to link the device onto a national network via the internet which will create a central hub where the device can update itself with all of the latest blacklisted numbers.
Although the 118 prize draw was a genuine competition, the statistics suggest there are far more scams than genuine competitions. While a phone-barring device may not be necessary for everyone, a little discretion goes a long way. In any situation simply remember the old adage; “if something is too good to be true, it probably is”.
Tags: ethics
28th
FEB
Net Neutrality: Will the Web last forever?
Posted by James | Filed under tech
The internet has brought a new era of freedom to the world, or at least to those nations who have unrestricted access (China, we’re looking at you). It has been a great leveller, giving power to the people and allowing the smallest “mom and pop” business to get a slice of the global commerce pie.
But will this freedom last forever? Today we take it for granted that we can access any website, anytime, anywhere. But there are fears that if some of America’s largest telecommunications companies get their way – the internet landscape could be changed forever. Will we look back at the late 90s and early 00s and reminisce about a golden internet era, when all websites were equal?
You see, companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast want to become the internet gatekeepers, by dictating which web sites will load quickly, which will load slowly and which won’t load at all. Their plan is to charge website owners to guarantee speedy delivery of their content. This means we’d go from a web where quality content is rewarded, to a web completely controlled by money. Large companies will be able to buy themselves onto our screens; those who can’t afford the superhighway tolls will become invisible.
Net Neutrality is being championed by SaveTheInternet.com and their cause has been taken up by thousands of people. However, not everyone agrees that Net Neutrality is necessarily a good thing, arguing that the new model might “allow people the option of subscribing to cheaper internet with more limited access”.
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James and the team who run Shouting in Digital work for a digital marketing agency.
Sometimes we'll end up blogging about clients. When that happens it's because the client has done something worthy of a e-tail blog's attention. All the posts here are our opinion, insight and stuff we'd like to share for you please don't consider this meaningful advice.