New Ads That Watch You 238
Pandanapper writes to tell us Yahoo is reporting that if you find yourself watching an ad on a video screen in a public venue, the ad may be watching you as well. "Small cameras can now be embedded in the screen or hidden around it, tracking who looks at the screen and for how long. The makers of the tracking systems say the software can determine the viewer's gender, approximate age range and, in some cases, ethnicity -- and can change the ads accordingly. That could mean razor ads for men, cosmetics ads for women and video-game ads for teens."
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Welcom Advertising Overlords (Score:5, Insightful)
That could mean razor ads for men, cosmetics ads for women and video-game ads for teens.
ads for itch powder for people scratching their crotches
and ads for weapons for people giving the sign the finger.
Re:I can haz (Score:3, Insightful)
If this means... (Score:5, Insightful)
... less Tampon ad's, count me IN. As long as their not tying into credit card or purchasing history it doesn't bother me. I don't really want to have to start clearing out my real life "cookies" everytime I finish a shopping trip.
Re:Cool ... the possibilities (Score:5, Insightful)
Diet adds for fat people
I find your faith in advertisers disturbing.
If they see fat people, they will advertise junk food, not diets because impulse sales are so much easier and lucrative.
Personal perspective here? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is marketing gone too far, but not for the reasons you're thinking. Technology is being misused here because this is profiling in a pretty mask. This very same technology is used in airports, trying to identify people's emotions, their age, ethnicity, gender, and every other physical attribute we can categorize and has at least a minimal social meaning. And although the argument for harm here is greatly diminished (I get an advertisement not meant for me versus an unsolicited gloved finger, optional lube), it's still non-zero.
As an aside, things that were unimaginable even ten years ago for surveillance are now commonplace. Did you know that every almost Target store in the United States is being fitted (or retrofitted) with Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems? In english, they tag you to your car. And in another five years or so, likely your face, credit card number, and possibly driver's license information, all together. The technology is already installed, it just needs a software update. And I should know -- I pushed those updates and worked with the guys who managed the camera installations. And before you jump on Target for this -- thousands of businesses are doing the same thing. And some of them are sharing their data, creating black lists and more. It won't be long before no matter where you go, you're being weighed, measured, and found wanting. And you were worried about black helicopters and guys in suits with no sense of humor? At least the NSA, CIA, FBI, and other three-letter acronym'd agencies have laws, rules, procedures, and professional codes of conduct to uphold. And appeals processes. Good luck getting out of Target's system... You'll still be there, long after your body has decomposed in a hole somewhere. All you geeks dreamed of an interconnected world; Everything is part of the 'net. Well, it is. And what a hell it is.
But back to the topic at hand... Even people can't guess gender, ethnicity, or age with a high degree of accuracy. A computer, by necessity, will be far worse at this. And I have a very good idea of how that's going to go over. See, my gender is difficult to tell. At the drive-thru or on the phone, I am a "ma'am". At the post office service desk, I'm usually a "sir". On the bus, I get eyes from creepy old guys and straight girls. And both lesbians and gays, amusingly enough. My life is full of delicious ambiguity. My friend's ethnicity, because of a delicate balance of traits, is taken for whatever race the person looking at her happens to be. It has led to some VERY interesting social engagements.
But as amusing as it is most of the time, it has been dangerous and frustrating at other times. I was once refused admission to an urgent care on the grounds that my medical card had the right name on it, but the wrong gender. That made for an expensive and unnecessary trip to ER. I've called my bank before and been told that I couldn't access my account (despite giving all the requisite details) -- same reason. My friend was nearly jumped for wearing "gang colors" -- a situation that my white friends have never experienced. Getting these "little" social details wrong can have severe consequences for a person.
And to bring it all home, imagine walking by one of these machines and having it spring to life, point to you and say in a loud booming voice -- "You should try our new maxi pads, miss!" if you're a guy. Or getting a "Gilette! The best a man can get!" commercial if you're a girl. Oops. The possibilities for embarrassment are endless... and you'd better believe someone's going to sue over this. And rightfully so.
Re:Cool ... the possibilities (Score:3, Insightful)
Having those pop up on every billboard you walk past could really trash someone's already-fragile body image...
"Minority Report" strikes again (Score:5, Insightful)
While I think there were some plot holes and flaws in Spielberg's adaptation of "Minority Report", and I firmly believe he wussed out on the ending, the film has had a remarkable knack of pointing out realistic future technologies (witness how the midair-gesture-oriented UIs keep popping up). Of course, "Minority Report" had the public ads that not only recognized your gender, etc., but actually recognized you. Given advances in face and other biometric recognition systems, this part of "Minority Report" may be coming true sooner than we all think (and hope). ..bruce..
Where is the "Opt-out" button or list for this? (Score:3, Insightful)
MEMO TO ADVERTISERS: I have TIVO. I DON'T WATCH COMMERCIALS in the first place. I have AdBlock, FlashBlock, and NoScript installed in Firefox because I DO NOT WANT your damned fucking ads in my face. I ***DO NOT WANT*** your stupid fucking targeted ads in my face in PUBLIC either, so GTFO!
Re:Soviet America aka The North American Union (Score:2, Insightful)
[snip] Oh and the technology is already there too,
Apple just filed a patent that puts a camera _behind_ the screen on their
notebooks. You don't see the camera and worse you can't just tape over it
either.
[citation needed]
STOP! (Score:1, Insightful)
... hammer time.
really. carry a hammer. hit the public device til it breaks.
When are people going to WAKE THE FUCK UP and tell the ad-stuffing media to GO SOD OFF!
Re:Personal perspective here? (Score:1, Insightful)
Yeah, because busting shoplifters to keep prices low ...
[citation needed]
Perhaps you believe that. Perhaps you also believe that these systems will not be used for anything else. Of course if they are your comment suggests to me that you are the kind of person who won't care until it affects you personally.