YouTube Wants You to Pay For…YouTube Content?
August 5, 2015
YouTube is free and that is one of the biggest draws for viewers. Viewers pull the plug on cable and instead watch TV and movies on the Internet or via streaming device. While YouTube might be free, video streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime offer network television for a fraction of the cable price. Google wants in on the streaming service game and it is already prepped with YouTube. Google’s only problem is that it does not have major TV networks signed up. Slash Gear explains in the article that “YouTube’s Upcoming Paid Service Hasn’t Signed Up TV Networks.” Cheaper access to network TV is one of main reasons that viewers sign up for a video streaming service, without them YouTube has a problem:
“What is most notable, however, is what is missing: TV networks. And according to sources, YouTube hasn’t at this point signed up any of those networks like NBC and Fox. Those networks would bring with them their popular shows, and those popular shows would bring in viewers. That doesn’t mean the networks will never be brought in — sources said there’s still time for them to get on board, as the rollout isn’t pegged for until later this year.”
Google is currently counting on YouTube stars to power the paid platform, which users will be able to watch ad free. Without network TV, a larger movie library, and other content, paying for YouTube probably will not have many takers. Why pay for already free videos, when all you have to do is watch a thirty-second ad?
Whitney Grace, August 5, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Online Ads Discriminate
August 3, 2015
In our modern age, discrimination is supposed to be a thing of the past. When it does appear, people take to the Internet to vent their rage and frustrations, eager to point out this illegal activity. Online ads, however, lack human intelligence and are only as smart as their programmed algorithm. Technology Review explains in “Probing The Dark Side of Google’s Ad-Targeting System” that Google’s ad service makes inaccurate decisions when it comes to gender and other personal information.
A research team at Carnegie Mellon University and the International Computer Science Institute built AdFisher, a tool to track targeted third party ads on Google. AdFisher found that ads were discriminating against female users. Google offers a transparency tool that allows users to select what types of ads appear on their browsers, but even if you use the tool it doesn’t stop some of your personal information from being used.
“What exactly caused those specific patterns is unclear, because Google’s ad-serving system is very complex. Google uses its data to target ads, but ad buyers can make some decisions about demographics of interest and can also use their own data sources on people’s online activity to do additional targeting for certain kinds of ads. Nor do the examples breach any specific privacy rules—although Google policy forbids targeting on the basis of “health conditions.” Still, says Anupam Datta, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University who helped develop AdFisher, they show the need for tools that uncover how online ad companies differentiate between people.”
The transparency tool only controls some of the ads and third parties can use their own tools to extract data. Google stands by its transparency tool and even offers users the option to opt-out of ads. Google is studying AdFisher’s results and seeing what the implications are.
The study shows that personal data spills out on the Internet every time we click a link or use a browser. It is frightening how the data can be used and even hurtful if interpreted incorrectly by ads. The bigger question is not how retailers and Google uses the data, but how do government agencies and other institutes plan to use it?
Whitney Grace, August 3, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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