People regret buying Amazon smart displays after being bombarded with ads
- Thread starter JournalBot
- Start date
And just what makes you think the Chinese, or anyone else, is going to end advertising and tracking?
Cockroaches will survive the nuclear holocaust. Advertising will survive the nuclear holocaust unscathed.
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That's because you're paying for a higher tier. Their lowest tier definitely includes ads.
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The comment "an Amazon spokesperson told Ars that it will continue to evolve our advertising experiences based on customer feedback.". All is well if you understand that the customer is NOT the user but the advertiser.
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an Amazon spokesperson told Ars Technica:
"Advertising is a small part of the experience, and it helps customers discover new content and products they may be interested in. If customers don’t like a suggestion, they can swipe to skip to the next screen card or directly provide feedback by tapping the Information icon or pressing the screen."
Classic spin-doctoring by a mega-corporation. Neither of those options are going to reduce the impact of excessive advertising.
"Advertising is a small part of the experience, and it helps customers discover new content and products they may be interested in. If customers don’t like a suggestion, they can swipe to skip to the next screen card or directly provide feedback by tapping the Information icon or pressing the screen."
Classic spin-doctoring by a mega-corporation. Neither of those options are going to reduce the impact of excessive advertising.
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Anton Longshot
Ars Praetorian
While I said earlier I'd skip my "true nature of ads" rant I feel I should mention the following.
I learned in school (a long time ago actually) that ads that are ignored or "unnoticed" actually work best.
This is because ads aren't aimed at the conscious mind but at the subconscious.
Yes, the people who create those things use ourselves against us.
I remember when I learned this in school I thought "wow it's literally black magic".
It's somewhat amusing that many who allow ads on their screens say they don't mind because they ignore them.
I'll stop here hehe.
I learned in school (a long time ago actually) that ads that are ignored or "unnoticed" actually work best.
This is because ads aren't aimed at the conscious mind but at the subconscious.
Yes, the people who create those things use ourselves against us.
I remember when I learned this in school I thought "wow it's literally black magic".
It's somewhat amusing that many who allow ads on their screens say they don't mind because they ignore them.
I'll stop here hehe.
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I just use my actual kitchen timer. Best $5 I ever spent. No ads either!
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AFAIK, the research shows that consciously ignored ads may still work a little bit. But then, the game of broken telephone brought some people to conclude they actually work best.
https://knowledge.insead.edu/marketing/think-youre-immune-advertising-think-again
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The smart people that visit this site should not be surprised by any of this.
The smart people that visit this site should ditch all of this junk.
The smart people that visit this site should ditch all of this junk.
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They’re all doing it. I can’t believe advertisers buy ads on this. I’m sure their dashboard tells them they’re getting sales but the honest truth is an obtrusive ad only serves to steer me away.
Roku has signaled they plan to go full hog on this too with inserting ads into your other media. I’m preparing for that and all media will suffer because we will find ways around it and those will be the ways that don’t even have subscription fees so the media creators will not get paid. It’s a net sum zero game they’re racing to the bottom on. Make it easy like my Apple Music and I pay gladly for the nice convenient access. But make it annoying and me and my band of rowdy pirates will set sail without so much as batting an eye. Arr mateys.
FYI - I currently have prime, Netflix, Disney, paramount, Hulu and hbo services. I’m not opposed to paying but better deliver the value. This is why my TVs don’t get internet access. I love my Samsungs but damn they have gone full hog on this too.
Roku has signaled they plan to go full hog on this too with inserting ads into your other media. I’m preparing for that and all media will suffer because we will find ways around it and those will be the ways that don’t even have subscription fees so the media creators will not get paid. It’s a net sum zero game they’re racing to the bottom on. Make it easy like my Apple Music and I pay gladly for the nice convenient access. But make it annoying and me and my band of rowdy pirates will set sail without so much as batting an eye. Arr mateys.
FYI - I currently have prime, Netflix, Disney, paramount, Hulu and hbo services. I’m not opposed to paying but better deliver the value. This is why my TVs don’t get internet access. I love my Samsungs but damn they have gone full hog on this too.
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I got the original first gen version around when it was initially released. The mic has always been disabled and it's just used as a photo album display. I've yet to have noticed a single ad (neither audio nor visual) this whole time and it hard to believe after hearing how the Echos have changed over time. Fingers crossed of course.
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I'm going almost a year de-Amazoned and close to being completely de-Googled, and I feel so liberated. You couldn't pay me to go back.
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Starting divesting my home of things that serve me ads. I've never subscribed to a streaming service with ads and I don't intend to. It gets too expensive, I just cancel it. Hosts file does most of the rest.
I'm not subjecting myself to that shit ever again, and I'm sure as hell not showing that stuff to my kids.
I'm not subjecting myself to that shit ever again, and I'm sure as hell not showing that stuff to my kids.
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The only way to improve the ad “experience” is to stop showing fucking ads. Full stop.
Personally, I will go to unreasonable lengths to avoid viewing ads.
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Yeah, my Alexa devices with screens have all been thrown away. The audio-only devices I’m just biding time until someone comes up with a good alternative self-hosted voice control for my smart-home devices.
I DO NOT CONSENT TO BEING ADVERTISED TO.
I DO NOT CONSENT TO BEING ADVERTISED TO.
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I find Ads on YouTube to be much worse than Ads on tv. We can at least get a good idea when Tv Ads will come on and how often. On YouTube, they seemingly come on randomly. The worst part being during a sentence or even in the middle of a word. And there are more and more Ads on YouTube all the time. Some channels have such a large percentage that they’re unwatchable.
What I do find funny though, is that if a channel has a in video Ad of their own, YouTube’s Ads will come on in the middle of it. And if you pause the video, an Ad almost always comes on when you restart it. That the channels can decide on how many Ads they will have is a problem too as it varies all over the place.
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Sounds like we're moving towards Black Mirror s7e1 - Common People.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_People_(Black_Mirror)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_People_(Black_Mirror)
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A lot of YouTubers embed their own ads within their shows, and it's common for the Amazon auto-ads to kick in and interrupt these.
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Haha, respect!Ok, touché. I guess that's a clear case of "put your money where your mouth is"...
I just subscribed.
With your new sub you should come enjoy our di*k pics in The Lounge.
Post a photo of your di*k! (Size does not matter)
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Don't want to deal with an auto renew subscription and wish there was a donate link. Alas I subscribed anyway because this site is important and I learn from it all the time.
It would be nice if sometime in the not too distant future I didn't feel even more negative about humanity after reading it along with most of the rest of the internet. Wishful thinking I know.
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Appreciate the support!
At least with our sub it comes with more than just supporting us, you get extra benefits, like better reading experiences. So might as well enjoy them.
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Given Amazon's well-deserved poor reputation, especially in regards to advertising, it seems amazing to me that people who buy their electronic billboards are surprised to be shown ads all the time.
If you're so desperate for gadgets to make your life manageable, perhaps it would be best to simplify your life instead: Unplug already! Beat your screen addiction, introduce yourself to your neighbors, and get reacquainted with your friends and family - make your own fun and interact with the natural world. You'll be happier and no longer tricked into filling the unhappiness void with the consumption of
garbage (i.e. supporting the oligarchy with genuinely needless purchases). A dry erase calendar board or pen and scratch paper make a great way to do a shopping list etc and will last longer with greater reliability - and with no ads or data mining! Don't worry about changing the world or being 100% self-sufficient, just change your own life in a few small ways and be more free.
If you're so desperate for gadgets to make your life manageable, perhaps it would be best to simplify your life instead: Unplug already! Beat your screen addiction, introduce yourself to your neighbors, and get reacquainted with your friends and family - make your own fun and interact with the natural world. You'll be happier and no longer tricked into filling the unhappiness void with the consumption of
garbage (i.e. supporting the oligarchy with genuinely needless purchases). A dry erase calendar board or pen and scratch paper make a great way to do a shopping list etc and will last longer with greater reliability - and with no ads or data mining! Don't worry about changing the world or being 100% self-sufficient, just change your own life in a few small ways and be more free.
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I’m surprised at the number of people on here that were apparently using these devices, Echos, Fire TVs, etc. in the first place. Like, yeah, no shit those things just feed you ads. That’s why they’re so cheap - they’re just a Trojan horse for ads. That’s the whole business model.
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I have an Echo Show 8 that IS plugged in and running, but which I barely use. It shows the time, and weather - and occasionally I ask it something. If it starts bombarding me with ads, it will be rapidly defenestrated.
I've been seriously considering ditching the 4K Max Fire TV stick and going to an Apple TV, too, even though I'm definitely not an Apple person. Amazon seem to have adopted an attitude of "let's be cartoonishly evil".
I've been seriously considering ditching the 4K Max Fire TV stick and going to an Apple TV, too, even though I'm definitely not an Apple person. Amazon seem to have adopted an attitude of "let's be cartoonishly evil".
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That is exactly the issue. Until a very, very large number of people do the same - a financially transformative number - then nothing at all will change.
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williamlondon
Ars Scholae Palatinae
The BBC does it too, it's called discovery, but yahoos like to complain and aren't happy if they have nothing about which to complain - just shows their level of (im)maturity.
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<pedantry>
Being in the hot oil in the frying pan would be worse, would it not? More efficient heat transfer due to the liquid medium and all that.
A fish would take 5-6 mins max to pan fry, but will take 10-15 mins to cook on a grill.
</pedantry>
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Does Amazon encrypt everything, or is it just that folks with the right stuff are...busy elsewhere?
There are no Amazon thingies in my home so this is an honest question.
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Are you talking about network traffic? I don't actually know what the traffic looks like, I haven't bothered snooping, as I have the device on a dedicated, isolated network. I just saw that, when supposedly in 'off' mode, it was sending some kind of weird TCP packets with incorrect flags set, which my firewall was complaining about.
Since IMO it shouldn't be sending packets at all when off, weird or otherwise, I started unplugging it.
But the actual traffic to Amazon? Dunno. And as far as local lockdown goes, I was able to at least sideload a custom Kodi with Dolby Vision support onto it, which was enough for me. (that may not be necessary now, DV was experimental in Kodi at the time, so I needed a custom package.)
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Quick tip. If you change language in Settings from English - United States to English - Canada, the ads will stop. I saw that posted on Reddit and it worked wonders for me.
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serves you right for buying amazons fecal products. btw, does anyone else get 'severe douche' vibes from this panay creature?
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What I learned in college, in a Psych class, is that the idea of subliminal advertising is bullshit. Ads only work if you notice them, there's no magical "my conscious didn't notice it but my subconscious did". The original "subliminal" ads, where they spliced in single frames of refreshments in a film and people went to the snack bar after the ads showed up? A follow up was later done with the same kinds of ads, but they asked the people who went to the snack bar why they did so in the middle of the film. "I saw a picture of a Coke and realized I was thirsty" was the gist of what everyone said. Only people who noticed the ads decided to get refreshments; no one said "I don't know, I suddenly had an mysterious urge to get something".
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Enshittification happens over time. I would have never bought a Nest thermostat and smoke detectors if I'd known they'd eventually be sold to Google.personally i would start with step 3.
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