If you’re completely fed up with advertising and a constant bombardment of lame commercials and pop-up ads, it’s about to get worse. Ever notice that almost everything has changed about the telephone except the procedure? I’ll tell you what I mean; you pick up the phone, dial the number, hear the phone ring, and someone on the other end answers or you get their voicemail.
Well Google is aiming to put an end to that. They want to sell that dead space and replace it with advertising. So no longer will you have to listen to that annoying ring, you’ll be treated to wonderful product choices and irritating sales pitches. I am sure, at some point, the telephone will become like the internet; your phone calls will constantly be redirected to a number you aren’t trying to call because some advertiser paid for the space.
If the new privacy policy didn’t piss you off, this is sure to. Apparently the concept is not novel either, they have been doing this internationally since 2008. One company even offered free anytime minutes just for listening to the ads. It’s a growing trend that has now made its way to America. I don’t know that I like it.
Google commented on the idea of launching the services and holding patents for the technology:
“[We file] patent applications on a variety of ideas that our employees come up with. Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don’t. Prospective product announcements should not necessarily be inferred from our patent applications.”
So there’s no telling when this type of advertising will become a reality for American users, but I wouldn’t rule it out this year. Experts say it will be a $780 million industry by the year 2015. I’m sure corporations will want American consumers to be part of it sooner rather than later.
