As the Internet becomes more prominent in people’s lives, they are expecting more things for free, and companies are seemingly happy to oblige. But there is always a price to pay. So does anyone care to take a guess as to who will be paying that massive bill? You will! But let’s take a step back for a moment. The idea of giving things away for free online really became Google’s sticking point. It’s a topic covered quite well in Jeff Jarvis’ What Would Google Do. And while Google surely wasn’t the first company to give away their products and services for free, they made this model work better than any other…

Part of the greatness of the traditional PVR is that you can skip through crap you don’t want to see; credits, Survivor, ads, etc. This feature is arguably the single reason to own a PVR. So what of Google TV? Apparently, no dice, said Rishi Chandra, product manager of The Goog-TV and all around swell guy. Ads will be completely unskippable. Um, what? You mean I have to sit and watch ads so Google can earn revenue to continue to provide this service for me? Oh, fates cruel! Woe! Chandra’s telling us not to sweat, though; since Google will be collecting user data, the ads will apparently be targeted enough…

Companies, both big and small, are now connecting with consumers like never before. By utilizing advancements in technology they have been able to develop more personal relationships which ultimately translate into cold hard cash. Just ask Dell, whose “DellOutlet” Twitter account has generated them an estimated 3+ million dollars. Many of these companies focus most of their technology budgets on the internet but many are starting to allocate funds to support research into using mobile platforms for their benefit. It’s hard to imagine that anything that benefits a large corporation…

In a relationship? Engaged? Married? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may think that the last thing you need in your life is a profile on an online dating site. AshleyMadison.com, however, begs to differ. For those whose relationship status on Facebook reads “It’s Complicated,” Ashley Madison steps up to the plate, delivering an unorthodox solution to a common problem. Offering free memberships to unfaithful spouses worldwide, the dating service promises to change your life. How? By providing a members only social networking platform for those looking for a little action…

Warning: Don’t click ‘More’ if you’re unable to handle images a tad on the morbid side. Seriously. This is nothing if not controversial. That aside, this is possibly the most eye-opening ‘don’t talk and drive’ anti-cellphone campaigns I’ve ever seen, and I’m sure you’ll agree. The idea of this campaign, by the Bangalore Traffic Police, is that if you dare call a friend or relative while he/she is driving, their peril is just as much your fault as it is theirs. Talk about a guilt trip. Personally, I tend to disagree with the message this campaign is sending: If I order a hamburger at McDonald’s, I’m…

While most websites these days create content and profit from display advertising, the realization that has taken center stage is that display advertising can never be as effective as it previously was. Sure, display advertising generates tons of money for publishers and is still seen as an effective medium for marketers to deliver their message, but, with time, that will come to an end. Traditional advertising deems it necessary to interrupt the viewing experience of content to spread a message — which is what display advertisements do — but people these days don’t have the time to bother…

iKnow this isn’t exactly official — as Apple’s big iPhone 4.0 event happens tomorrow — but there is word spreading around that Apple has another big announcement to make tomorrow, and it is about an advertising platform (yeah, no joke). As amazing as that will be, the name of this platform even more so: they are allegedly going to call it the “iAd” platform. iThink, however, that it is safe to say now that Steve Jobs is a little too obsessed with the letter “i” and with appending it to the front of other words, and this whole advertising platform is likely to receive the same abuse. It’s getting a little…

Hey, did you catch the latest episode of Modern Family, that totally hip sitcom that rocks? No? Yeah, me neither. And now, I probably never will. Rule of thumb is that sitcoms tend to blow chimps by the herd, and last night the ABC turd made a legendary example of itself by becoming a 30-minute shameless commercial for the iPad. I don’t even know what to say about this. I’m a big fan of well-designed advertisements, but this is embarrassing and uncomfortable, even to watch alone. It fails as both an advertisement and entertainment. “Who’s ready for the first day of the rest of their lives?”…

Surely sometimes even the most digitally-addicted of us wants to ditch the cold machination of musical convenience that is iTunes and put in a little elbow grease – y’know, work for our music. Audio engineering company GGRP Sound’s latest advertising mailer harkens back to an older time, a simpler time. A time when sound reproduction was powered by a crank….