geekosystem

The Streisand effect is a powerful, powerful thing. When you attempt to purge the Internet of some kind of media that's gone public, all you're going to do is draw even more attention to said media. Everyone should really know by now that the cat really doesn't effectively go back into the bag once it's out. It's just common sense, or so we thought. Case in point: Hyundai's been trying to cleanse YouTube of their recently pulled suicide ad.

For as much as people seem to like Mad Men, they generally dislike advertising. That's unfortunate, because it's everywhere, especially on the Internet. Sites rely on ads to keep the lights on without having to charge their users. It's not a perfect system, but it's less jarring when those ads are for things that actually interest us. To that end, Reddit is now letting users upvote and downvote its ads.

When you walk or drive by a billboard, you're probably (a) delighted by what's being advertised, (b) annoyed at what's being advertised, or (c) annoyed by the eyesore the whole thing presents. What you're probably not thinking is, "I sure could use a glass of water. How about I head over there and fill up?" But in Lima, Peru, there's a billboard for that. An ad agency and the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) have installed a billboard that produces clean water.

Sex sells, and apparently, Japan is buying. The latest advertising trend in the nation is turning women's legs into billboards, thereby finally correcting a frankly criminal waste of high value advertising space that has gone on too long. Now, if we could just start the new trend of branded masks that ensure we don't have to look at one another, but at products we might want to buy, we'd really be on our way to a brave new world.

Yesterday we wrote about the Internet's strong negative reaction to Instagram's new terms of service. If you missed it, Instagram's new policy basically said they could sell user photographs to advertisers without having to pay those users. Then the Internet went bonkers. Instagram has already called the whole thing a big misunderstanding, and announced that they're revising the language of the new policy before it goes into effect next month -- Just like we said they would.

Remember that user agreement we all clicked through without reading when we signed up for Instagram? Yesterday they announced they were changing it, and someone actually read those changes, and then the Internet lost its hivemind over the new policy. Why so upset, Internet? It's largely due to the fact that Instagram's new policy, which goes into effect January 16th, allows them to sell any user photos they want without having to pay the owner of the picture. Is that really a big deal?

Commercials being too loud is the kind of problem you tend not to realize is a problem until someone points it out to you, but once you notice it it's hard to ignore, and it's been a major complaint from consumers for decades. That's why Representative Anna G. Eshoo introduced the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) act back in 2010. The bill was signed into law December 15, 2010 and went into effect yesterday. We're glad lawmakers didn't eschew the problem any longer.

Would you say you're an impulse-buyer? Or do you tend to compare prices and research everything you buy? While it technically doesn't matter how you decide what you want purchase on a day-to-day basis, it may have a profound effect on what you buy, in addition to how you buy it.  A new study from the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that some people start liking stuff less as soon as they start learning about it, regardless of whether or not they like what they hear.

Last month a jury ruled that Samsung owes Apple over one billion dollars for infringing on a set of patents with many of their smartphone designs. The trial may be finished, but the struggle between the two companies is far from over: Samsung will undoubtedly appeal the court's decision, Apple will file injunctions against every Samsung phone they can, and the two companies will spend years and millions of dollars doing so. Showing the public that they're in this fight for the long haul (because we really thought they were just going to pay up) Samsung released a new anti-Apple ad comparing the specs of the newly-announced iPhone 5 and Samsung's flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3.

It's that time of year again. The time when the airwaves are so saturated with political advertisements that you find yourself wishing democracy would go away and leave us clawing one another's eyes out for the world's last remaining loaf of bread in peace. This year promises to be even worse, with money flooding into political action committees and newly unleashed Super PACs swollen with cash money to buy up the commercial space that should be reminding us about fast food items we might like to purchase. With a new mobile app, Super PAC App, you can at least find out who is responsible for the onslaught of presidential campaign ads you're about to be subjected to -- especially if you're one of the poor lost souls in a swing state whose vote might actually count.

A number of Facebook pages are about to get less popular. The social network is cracking down on "Likes" that come from spambots, which are not known for their discerning tastes in entertainment or products. Despite this lack of refinement, bots have proven plenty capable of espousing positive opinions about...well, pretty much anything programmers tell them to. Concerned about the effect these fraudulent recommendations may have on the accuracy of their data, Facebook is bringing down the hammer in an attempt to ensure that only actual people are liking things their pages.

After much mystery and speculation, Microsoft announced a new class of tablet computers it calls Surface. With a magnetic keyboard cover, multitouch, and a slick OS, it's a bold move from the mighty Microsoft. So, how does Redmond decide to introduce the Surface to everyone that didn't watch the product announcement yesterday? Well, do you remember on The Simpsons when Homer buys a super-arty Mr. Plow ad?

Confidence in Facebook's plan to take its company public may have taken a blow today as U.S. automaker General Motors announced that it would no longer be advertising on the social network. The world's largest automaker is reportedly questioning the value of ads on the website but, interestingly, will not be abandoning the site entirely.

The venerable comedy show Saturday Night Live turned its satiric eye to the confusing, brand name and acronym laden world of cellular phone advertising with their satire of Verizon LTE ads last night. In it, a hapless customer endures a barrage of meaningless comparisons, buzzwords, and bewildering stats before reaching a rather inevitable conclusion. Oh, and even if you think you know what all those words meant, it's far more confusing than you might think.

Adblock Plus, the sophisticated surfer's best friend, is trying something that is sure to make waves: Adblock Plus is going to start showing "Acceptable Ads" by default. Yep. There's no arguing that this flies in the face of, well, Adblock's very name, but there's actually some very strong logic behind it if you give it a little bit of thought. The assumption is, however, that most user's won't give it a little thought, which is why it's going to be enabled by default. Don't worry though, you can turn it off if you really, really want to.