Let’s assume that you are
one of an advertiser’s largest publishers, and that from
2002 to 2003 you grew your revenues with them tenfold. How
would you feel if that advertiser was to modify one of their end
user products in such a way that it directly and materially
impacted your ability to do business together? Plus, how
would you feel if you had a contract with said advertiser
for several more years? To top it all off, how would you
feel if the amounts in question weren’t just $100,000 or
$500,000 or even $5,000,000 but $30,000,000? That is
situation with Yahoo and one of the best know adware makers,
they being among the biggest distribution partners for Yahoo
owned Overture. Both companies I like and respect, so this
edition of Thoughts doesn’t look to pass judgment on either
of them.
https://www.lynxtrack.com/signup.php
The change in the consumer
product mentioned above refers to the recently updated Yahoo
Toolbar that includes Anti-Spy. As the name implies,
Anti-Spy checks users’ computers for spyware using the Pest
Patrol backend. The toolbar assists users in detecting and
removing presumably unwanted programs. Pest Patrol, by the
way, was recently purchased by Computer Associates for an
undisclosed amount that is rumored to be well into the tens
of millions of dollars. What makes the Anti-Spy update so
significant, though, is the fact that it now detects adware
not just spyware. Similar to much of the early dialogue on
Service Pack 2, Anti-Spy initially turned this feature off
by default; now, the setting is on.
This example represents yet
another clash between successful marketing practices and end
user desires. Yahoo explains that user feedback led them to
turn adware detection on by default. I can only imagine the
difficult conversations that took place at Yahoo as members
of Overture learned of the update. In a sense, we see a
company setting a value on what the users want. This shows
what Yahoo doesn’t mind giving up in order to make a good
external appearance to their users.
The Yahoo decision at first
appears like a slap in the face to their partner and their
counterparts at Overture. While I can’t deny the first part,
the decision will ultimately have a greater benefit for Yahoo in the
long run, more than making up for the short term decrease in
revenue from their partner. Toolbars make money. Yahoo, by
increasing the perceived value of their toolbar will make
them money. Users will have a good feeling about Yahoo and a
percentage will enter their search query in the toolbar
rather than going to some other (almost) public company’s
web site. When those results pull up, guess what will be on
top for many of the keywords, Overture results.
Advertising is always a
trade off between what you really want and those that help
provide it. Good adware tries to achieve the same balance in
the marketing tradeoff. It offers users tools that would
otherwise cost money in exchange for viewing ads. The explicit
nature of the tradeoff makes adware companies, even
reputable, upfront ones the lower hanging fruit for programs
such as Anti-Spy. That Anti-Spy also makes money appears
less obvious to the end user and stays below the vast
majority of users.
I think of Football, whose
season starts soon. Viewers not only watch countless
commercials but must also endure an ever growing amount of
product placement and sponsorships. If this were the online
world, users would be incensed at not only having to watch
ads in between the show but tolerate various ads associated
with and interrupting the show. Marketers and the content
providers are always pushing the envelope looking to squeeze
out more money. Sometimes the content providers can seem
impartial and trying to assist, other times they can’t.
TiVo is the TV equivalent
to the pop-up blocker and product placement similar to
adware. Do we really need to see the obvious pause on the
soda can, the twisting of it as it’s being set down so that
the label stares directly at us? Unfortunately, it’s a moot
point. It works and marketers like it. Audiences won’t stop
watching TV or going to movies just yet because of
interruptions to the actual content. Ultimately, the same
will most likely be true for online. Users won’t end up
forcing allies to have conflicting interests.
In the end, I don’t see the
Yahoo toolbar being all that different from some of the
adware it detects and helps users disable. The Yahoo toolbar
is merely an example of well executed adware. If it didn’t
make money, would they put as much effort into its
development and upgrades? I think not.
