Why I might never buy an Android phone...(short and sweet, comments welcome)

[redd214]

Originally Posted by JQuill

Your point is well taken, however you fail to look at Googles broader ambitions as a company, coupled with how they behave when it comes to market research. You may think you are making your own decisions, until you realize that Google figured out x amount of people travel along such and such a route every day, then they sell that data to a company like clear channel, and clear channel puts up a billboard for lil wayn'es new album based on geographic data that it bought from Google. Then they sell that data to McDonalds and McDonalds puts a restaurant in your area. Before you know it you're a fat f*ck listening to sh*tty music...aka most of america.

If you are overweight, or listen to Lil' Wayne..you are banned from this thread.

but even if thats the case its still a choice to listen to lil wayne and eat bigmacs every night. if you are weak minded enough to be coerced by such advertising than imo you deserve that fate. my office is 3.7 miles from our house and there are 6, yes 6, Mcdonalds' on my route. my kids have never once eaten fast food and i havent really listened to any music in 3 or 4 years! seriously i rarely listen to any music because personally it seems like a waste of time at this point in my life, i would rather listen to something empowering that will help me get to where i want to go and the overwhelming majority music doesnt fit the bill

you bring up a great point however and perhaps this may be moved to offtopic because its slowly straying away from android/google itself. is google really the problem or is it the society as a whole thats so weak that they can be shaped and molded like playdoh. if its the latter can you fault google for recognizing it and profiting from it?

great post, thanks given!

edit: also in regard to mcdonalds in particular, thats exactly how they determine where to open a location. they count how many people pass by a potential spot every hour of everyday. if enough people pass by, they build a mcdonalds. doesnt matter the demographics, who lives there, the avg income, etc. they know if x amount of people pass buy then they can have a profitable location

[snowplow54]

Originally Posted by JQuill

Your point is well taken, however you fail to look at Googles broader ambitions as a company, coupled with how they behave when it comes to market research. You may think you are making your own decisions, until you realize that Google figured out x amount of people travel along such and such a route every day, then they sell that data to a company like clear channel, and clear channel puts up a billboard for lil wayn'es new album based on geographic data that it bought from Google. Then they sell that data to McDonalds and McDonalds puts a restaurant in your area. Before you know it you're a fat f*ck listening to sh*tty music...aka most of america.

If you are overweight, or listen to Lil' Wayne..you are banned from this thread.

Well, thats assuming I have no freewill and do whatever Google tells me to do. I have the willpower to stay away from Mcdonalds, and the taste to not listen to Lil Wayne. I don't change, and Google makes a few bucks. But I think it is important to point out that Google didn't make you eat at Mcdonalds, or listen to Lil Wayne, they simply made you aware that Mcdonalds is there and Lil Wayne has an album coming out. If you fall into that demographic, then great you know when his album is coming out, and/or you know where to get a bite to eat. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, so if you feel like staying away from Google, then go ahead. Most other companies will do the same thing.. for instance as soon as my friend said she was engaged on Facebook, she saw a lot of ads on the side for wedding dresses.

Also I have to do this before someone else does: In 2012 Google became self aware...

[JQuill]

You guys bring up great points. And this may be pertaining to American style market research rather than google in particular, but my point is is that google is taking it to new levels.

And you both bring up good points about being strong minded. It's not US i'm worried about...it's the kids with crappy parents I worry about which seems to be more and more rampant these days who plop their kids in front of the TV and use media as a babysitter instead of telling their fat sh*t kid to get off the couch. COMPLACENCY IS THE ULTIMATE ENEMY! And I thank you two for recognizing the fact that most of us here are indeed strong minded.

___

Also bear this in mind people....you know how google has such a "clean" look....that's because they flood the internet with 90% of the ads you see on a daily basis...ALL of those pop up/sidebar/banner ads you see on every single website (including this one) that you hate so much are almost ALL Google ads.

[gTen]

Originally Posted by JQuill

You guys bring up great points. And this may be pertaining to American style market research rather than google in particular, but my point is is that google is taking it to new levels.

I was not aware that google does market research..I think all they do is internal stuff..of course that does stop people for using google's tools for market research purposes.

Above someone mentioned about checking what you do..there was a online market research campaign not too long ago that gave out these devices and paid $100 for people to carry them for 2 weeks I think..the device then transmitted data about your daily activities.

Also bear this in mind people....you know how google has such a "clean" look....that's because they flood the internet with 90% of the ads you see on a daily basis...ALL of those pop up/sidebar/banner ads you see on every single website (including this one) that you hate so much are almost ALL Google ads.

They are not the ones that flood you with ads..usually a 3rd party integrates google feed into their rotation but to maximize on their returns they include other scripts such as popups and etc.

[JQuill]

Originally Posted by gTen

I was not aware that google does market research..I think all they do is internal stuff..of course that does stop people for using google's tools for market research purposes.

Uhmm...Market research for your own company is still market research...

And if you think they don't sell their data to other companies you are...sadly...sadly ignorant.

Originally Posted by gTen

Above someone mentioned about checking what you do..there was a online market research campaign not too long ago that gave out these devices and paid $100 for people to carry them for 2 weeks I think..the device then transmitted data about your daily activities.

There was a market research campaign just like THAT ONE launched not too long ago called Android. Apparently you aren't aware of why Android gained market share so quickly...they cut wireless companies in on AD PROFITS FROM THE PHONES.

Originally Posted by gTen

They are not the ones that flood you with ads..usually a 3rd party integrates google feed into their rotation but to maximize on their returns they include other scripts such as popups and etc.

Exactly my point, and you just expanded on it a little bit...3rd party integrates a GOOGLE FEED...aka Google doesn't even have to do any work whatsoever to get their ads out their, the people that are paying them money for the ad space also do all the work to put them on the web.

PS - Google is currently worth almost $80 BILLION...

Over 90% of Googles revenue comes from...AD WORDS

If you don't know what Google Ad Words is you are banned from this thread.

Google literally gets paid to do nothing. And experiments with social behavior on a massive scale.

[gTen]

Originally Posted by JQuill

Uhmm...Market research for your own company is still market research...

And if you think they don't sell their data to other companies you are...sadly...sadly ignorant.

Every company does research for itself or outsources it.. and they do not sell the data.. everything they do release is available publicly.

There was a market research campaign just like THAT ONE launched not too long ago called Android. Apparently you aren't aware of why Android gained market share so quickly...they cut wireless companies in on AD PROFITS FROM THE PHONES.

Yes I am aware of that..I posted a thread on it a week or so back..it was a smart strategy on google's part and makes sense marketing wise..

Exactly my point, and you just expanded on it a little bit...3rd party integrates a GOOGLE FEED...aka Google doesn't even have to do any work whatsoever to get their ads out their, the people that are paying them money for the ad space also do all the work to put them on the web.

PS - Google is currently worth almost $80 BILLION...

Over 90% of Googles revenue comes from...AD WORDS

If you don't know what Google Ad Words is you are banned from this thread.

Google literally gets paid to do nothing. And experiments with social behavior on a massive scale.

The best kind of business is being the middle man..and yes EVERYTHING google does revolves around ADWORDS..this is why I said M$ will go out of business...their strategy is far too outdated and Google's strategy of focusing on 1 thing and everything you do contributes to that 1 thing is next generation marketing at hand.

[elephant007]

Look at this and read

You WILL buy Lil' Wayne on your way to McDonalds, you WILL buy a Big Mac while at McDonalds, after buying Lil Wayne you WILL return to McDonalds and buy another Big Mac
You WILL send money to Elephant007

I knew to put this here because I was smart enough to figure out that people read this thread! HA HA

No seriously, it's not Google's fault they have good market research skills. There's talk here like they're giving us nightly injections with the same syringe being brain washed by some subliminal messages they're throwing throughout the internet... I think people should be more worried about Nigerian Scams than Google :P

[sprintgirl]

i think some of these conspiracy theories are all a figment of imagination. i dont see ads that specifically pertain to me ever! maybe google is having trouble getting to know me...lol
but advertisement is everywhere and i really dont think google has that much to do with it. i google myself all the time and it never says anything bout me. regardless...how could they use my statistics for anything that doesnt benefit me. if they put all of my interests in one easy to find place, or tell me where to buy something i was already going to get...that is helpful, no? google is like your personal assistant and friend, not an evil gold-digging seductress out to brainwash and take advantage of you.

[gTen]

Originally Posted by sprintgirl

i think some of these conspiracy theories are all a figment of imagination. i dont see ads that specifically pertain to me ever! maybe google is having trouble getting to know me...lol
but advertisement is everywhere and i really dont think google has that much to do with it. i google myself all the time and it never says anything bout me. regardless...how could they use my statistics for anything that doesnt benefit me. if they put all of my interests in one easy to find place, or tell me where to buy something i was already going to get...that is helpful, no? google is like your personal assistant and friend, not an evil gold-digging seductress out to brainwash and take advantage of you.

Yes..thats what Elmo wants you to believe...

[snowplow54]

I think it's also important to note that its a price for Google offering these services for free. Theres no such thing as a free lunch. Google works hard to offer all of their services for free, they do deserve to be paid for their efforts. By using their services you are agreeing to pay them. Not in money, but in information. It's selfish to think that you deserve these services for free. And if you think Microsoft, or any other business isn't the same way, then you are mistaken. Maybe they're not doing it to the extent that Google is ( or maybe they are, I'm not doing the research to find out though). It costs more to use these free services because Google does it better. Its like paying more money for a similar plan on Verizon as opposed to Sprint. Sure Sprint is cheaper, but Verizon is a better network, so you pay a premium.