Items tagged with Ads
It looks as though Take-Two isn’t fazed by negative commentary from gamers, and is in fact intent on doubling down on its most incendiary tendencies. The latest controversy involves NBA 2K21, which started gearing up last month on current generation consoles and the PC platform. NBA 2K21 players are now discovering that ads are being inserted into the game; specifically during the loading screens. Gamers unfortunately aren’t being given the option to skip the ads. And even more egregious is the fact that these ads are often longer than the actual loading screen, which means that you’re sitting there waiting for these ads to end before you can get into the action...
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When it comes to smartphone plans, many of us have simply become resigned to the fact that prices in general have been on an upward swing (with the exception of T-Mobile in some cases). The arrival of 5G is sending monthly bills even higher, which means that many customers are likely looking for relief. AT&T CEO John Stankey has an idea on how customers could potentially lower their bills, and it might be a controversial one for some. The executive is suggesting that AT&T could adopt a strategy in which a portion of a customer’s monthly bill would be subsidized with advertising. “I believe there’s a segment of our customer base where given a choice, they would...
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It's becoming harder and harder to find TVs these days that aren’t "smart" straight from the factory. Smart TVs with their integrated internet connectivity and media platforms make it easier for hardware OEMs to track your viewing habits (by default) and make additional revenue from advertising. Roku is looking to take its ad-related business to the next level with new pop-ups that are delivered to customers when commercials are playing on their Roku TVs. The folks over at Cord Cutter News noticed that Roku has recently started placing pop-up ads during commercial breaks during both cable TV and over-the-air programming on Roku TVs. (Image courtesy Cord Cutter News)...
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Hey, good news everyone, Google is going to be serving up more ads through YouTube in between music videos! Isn't that awesome? Wait, you're not stoked? Well then, that is unfortunate, because apparently the video streaming site will forge ahead with showing a greater number of ads to some users. It's part of an effort to get more people to subscribe to YouTube's music service. Lyor Cohen, YouTube's head of music, told Bloomberg that the ad campaign will primarily target people who mostly use YouTube as a music service. These are people who passively listen to music on YouTube for long periods of time, as opposed to those who fire up the streaming service to watch other types of content. "You're...
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We've all been there, you look at a product that catches your eye and add it your cart to see what shipping would be. You decide the product isn't for you and move on with your day. The problem is that the reminder ads that pop up on every website you visit for the foreseeable future trying to lure you back to buy the product you know you don’t want get really annoying. Google feels our pain and has rolled out some new Ads Settings features to help us break up with these ads once and for all. Google has new additions to "Ads Settings" and "Mute This Ad" tools that give more control over the ads we see on Google, on websites, and in apps. If you don’t want to see those reminder ads...
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Becoming a YouTube star is not just good for your ego, it can be financially rewarding. In some cases, that is an understatement—look at megastars such as Felix Kjellberg (better known as PewDiePie) and famed prankster Roman Atwood, both of which have earned millions through YouTube. If you have an interesting shtick, you can also make money on YouTube, though your videos will need to amass at least 10,000 hits before Google's video service will pay out. YouTube's change in policy regarding channel views and payouts is a direct result of its massive growth. According to YouTube, it is seeing cases where people are re-uploading original content that belongs to someone else in an effort to earn...
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When Microsoft announced that it would provide Windows 10 as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8.x users during the first year of availability, you knew that there had to be some strings attached. As we’ve seen over the past year and a half, Microsoft has come under fire for its privacy policies, allegations of “spying” on users and its penchant for placing advertising within Windows 10. It’s that last point that is once again rearing its ugly head for Windows 10 users. A redditor has noticed that Microsoft is now placing ads within the oft-used Windows File Explorer interface. It’s one thing to see ads pop into view when you’re browsing the internet with Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome,...
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It was a pretty big deal when Facebook amassed 1 billion active monthly users a little over four years ago. Of the achievement, company co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said it was "humbling and by the far the thing I am most proud of in my life." Now just a few short years later, Facebook is on the cusp of doubling the number of people who connect with others through the world's largest social playground, the company revealed in an earnings report. Facebook capped off 2016 with 1.86 billion monthly active users, an increase of 17 percent year-over-year. Most of the people using Facebook are now connecting through mobile devices. By Facebook's tally, on average there were 1.15 billion mobile users...
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When it comes to Windows 10, Microsoft is that like that annoying friend that's seen a movie you haven't and keeps asking when you're going to watch it (by the way, check out Deadpool if you haven't already). The journey from Windows 8/8.1 to Windows 10 has been filled with aggressive attempts to get users to upgrade, and even after you do, you might still receive popup ads. For what, you ask? Microsoft's Edge browser. Tech journalist Brad Chacos posted to Twitter a screen grab of a popup ad imploring him to earn free movies and games with Edge. It was basically pointing Brad in the direction of Bing Rewards, an incentive program that rewards users for searching the web with Bing. What is this...
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Do you like advertisements every where you turn? If you own an iPhone, Apple is now opening up one of its more used apps to advertising. Apple will start including ads in its App Store searches in the United States. The addition of ads in the App Store is not entirely a new concept. Users who tested the beta version of iOS 10 have seen these ads for months. The corporation first announced App store adds this past June before the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The ads will pop up on top of the search results on iOS 10 devices and will only be related to a user’s search queries. For example, if a customer looked up Pokémon Go, other Pokémon apps would be suggested. Apple also claims that...
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One of the first things many people do when buying and activating a new smartphone is see which of the pre-installed apps can be uninstalled. Some are useful, of course, and those end up staying, but wireless carriers are notorious for shoving a bunch of unwanted third-party applications onto smartphones. That's not likely to change, and if Verizon gets its way, Android device owners will see even more bloatware. Verizon's courting potential clients with an offer to install branded apps on its customers' Android homescreens. The cost for doing so would be somewhere between $1 and $2 per affected handset, according to unnamed agency executives who collectively made AdvertistingAge privy to Verizon's...
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For nearly a decade, Verizon ran a series of ads featuring actor Paul Marcarelli delivering the tagline, "Can you hear me now?" It's still a phrase that's familiar to many people, but in case you haven't heard, it's 2016 and apparently "every network is great," or so says the former Verizon pitchman who's made the switch to Sprint, the fourth largest carrier in the U.S. High profile defections in advertising sometimes happen, though it's not an everyday thing. For one, it requires a successful initial ad campaign, which Verizon certainly had. It also requires that the initial company that used a recurring pitch person maintain relevance long after the ad campaign has run its course, and again...
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It's been said time and again that if you're not paying for something, then you're the product. That's an oversimplification of how things work, but there's also some truth to the statement, especially in the social media world where services like Twitter and Facebook are free to use. Be that as it may, Facebook insists that it hasn't crossed the line by tapping into people's microphones to deliver targeted ads. "Facebook does not use your phone’s microphone to inform ads or to change what you see in News Feed. Some recent articles have suggested that we must be listening to people’s conversations in order to show them relevant ads. This is not true. We show ads based on people’s interests and...
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Two years ago Mark Zuckerberg and the gang introduced an advertising platform called Facebook Audience Network. It was designed to help publishers and developers support their services through targeted ads, which are ads that are determined to be relevant and of interest to the person viewing them. Up until now the Facebook Audience Network was used only to show ads to people with Facebook accounts who visit specific websites and apps, but now they'll follow you across the web. The Facebook Audience Network is also expanding to include those who don't use or aren't connected to Facebook. Through the use of browser cookies, integrated Like buttons, and various plug-ins on non-Facebook portals,...
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Like it or not, the web and advertising go together like peanut butter and jelly. It's the reason Google is worth billions of dollars. That's the way it is, though it doesn't mean ads have be intrusive or automatically skipped. Case in point, Google is experimenting with different types of ads for local businesses in Maps that might appeal to both consumers and business owners. "For example, Maps users may start to see promoted pins for nearby coffee shops, gas stations or lunch spots along their driving route. Local business pages are also getting a brand new look -- to encourage consumers to explore your store before they even arrive, we’re adding new features like special offers and the ability...
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We've all seen shady pitches to sell software and services that purport to fix our PCs, restore system performance, recover lost passwords, and so forth. The problem is many of them are outright scams. Rather than try to wade through them all and let only the good ones through, Microsoft has decided to ban all online technical support services from advertising on Bing. Microsoft's concern is over the "serious quality issues that can impact user safety," which is a polite way of calling scam services out on their shenanigans. There is no magic software elixir to turn a dilapidated PC into a smoking fast hotrod, and unfortunately there are many third-party tech support services that outright lie...
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Can I get an “Amen” from the congregation? The planets are aligning and it appears that more heavy-hitters are throwing support behind taking down one the Internet’s greatest villains: Adobe Flash. Back in June, we brought you news that Google would be introducing a new “Intelligent Pause” function to Chrome that would disable all Flash content by default (or give Chrome the option to choose what Flash content is deemed worthy). If for some reason you actually need to access a blocked Flash element on a site, you will have the option to click on the element to re-enable it. Google favors HTML5 over Flash Google today confirmed that Chrome will block Flash elements by default starting on September...
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Could you imagine an Internet without videos? We'd miss out on Batdad's hilarious antics, Kimbo Slice would have never gotten a shot to fight professionally, and Justin Bieber wouldn't be a mega star. Come to think it, maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all, though that's getting off topic. Videos are a major part of the Internet experience, though us mere mortals are easily distracted, much to the chagrin of advertisers. Disney is looking to change that. Through Disney's Accelerator program, the company along with a couple of venture capital firms are investing in a startup called FEM Inc. You've probably never heard of FEM, though one day you might -- it consists of former Google employees and...
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If you've never watched a 360-degree video on YouTube, you should check one out, they're pretty nifty. They're so neat that Google is extending the functionality to advertisers so they can deliver more immersive ads on Chrome and the mobile YouTube app for Android and iOS devices, the company announced in a blog post today. For advertisers wondering why they'd want to go through the bother of making a 360-degree video, Google is quick to point out that existing campaigns that have been testing the feature have been "impressive" so far. Providing some empirical data to the claim, Google says that Coca-Cola's 360-degree video celebrating the 100th anniversary of its iconic bottle design outperformed...
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HTC holds a place in history in helping to pioneer the Android platform. Back in those days, HTC was kicking tail and taking names, and more importantly, making some serious bank. Things have changed since Android was a newborn on the smartphone scene, and now HTC finds itself slashing sales forecasts and putting up with takeover rumors. Though HTC contends it isn't for sale, the company is looking for ways to turn around it fortunes, and one of those ways is through ads. In what seems like a bad move to us, HTC this week began rolling out an update to its BlinkFeed app that will beam "a limited number of promotions" to its handsets. HTC says the pilot program...
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The mobile ad space is expected to grown to nearly $69 billion this year, which would be triple the amount that advertisers spent just two years ago. With all that money up for grabs, there's a war brewing between mobile operators and companies like Google and Yahoo that benefit from ads. Mobile operators want a piece of the piece, so several of them are reportedly planning to block mobile ads on their networks. Apparently the grand plan is to force Google into sharing the revenue it generates from mobile ads. Google currently enjoys the lion's share of mobile ad dollars, collecting $60 billion a year from search, YouTube, and and its various services like DoubleClick, according to a report in...
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Take a look around and you'll see we're living in a mobile world -- at every turn is someone paying more attention to their smartphone than their surroundings. What you don't see are the dollars floating through the air from users clicking on or viewing ads. It's a lucrative business, and Amazon intends on cashing in through a new advertising platform for mobile app developers. Developers who participate in the program will be allowed to promote their apps on Android smartphones and tablets, and also Amazon-brand tablets that run custom versions of Android (Fire OS). Campaigns start at $100, and each time a user clicks on an add, Amazon would be paid. As it stands, the mobile ad industry in the...
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