Redmoon, Public "Made for Ads" terminals
Monday, December 04, 2006
In a number of public places including a cinema multiplex in Cambridge and Leicester shopping centre (UK) I have come across terminals touting, "Free Public Internet Access" or "Free Internet Zone", these are owned by operator Red Moon Interactive (that I do not hasten to link to). At first sight you may think "fantastic, I can check my mail amidst my hectic Christmas shopping spree" or something just as similar. Approaching the terminal you will be presented with a list of categories, "Automotive", "Computers", "Clothes" etc. and a search box. I wanted to check the release date for a couple of video games not out yet so I typed in my queries and hit go on the touch sensitive screen.
Red Moon states on its page,
"Redmoon Interactive provide free Internet access in Shopping Centres and high footfall locations across the UK through our network of interactive touch screen terminals. Using our service your customers can search the Web or check their Email free of charge without leaving the comfort of your premises."
My results soon appeared, alas I recognise this page structure, it's a "Made for Ads" or "MFA" site. All of the search results, which claim to be genuine, were irrelevant cost-per-click ads that somehow matched a keyword. Attempting to generalize my search in hopes of obtaining some form of relevance brought no luck and only the most general of terms such as "video game" brought any relevance whatsoever. Heading back to the main page I clicked the various categories, a new list of ads pertaining to a specific category appeared in a different colour. Every single link on the terminal took you to an ad, in order that you may find any content you had to click an ad. There is no address bar to confirm the page you are on or to enter a new page. This makes the terminal a potential security risk and rife for phishing scandals that attack the non-savvy Internet users likely to use this "service". Even the email links lead to ads for online email providers.
From my web sleuthing it appears the ads are provided by Overture which is now Yahoo! Search Marketing , and they state: "The move opens up the opportunity for advertisers to reach a more localised audience in the run-up to the launch of Overture's geo-targeted searches. For example, consumers may use the terminals to search for specific services in their local area while out and about. [...] Overture's sponsored links will be returned whenever a user conducts a search via the front screen on any INFO-NET terminal. (2003)"
I wonder, do Yahoo advertisers know that their ads are being used in such a way? Would they wish to be associated with such a company? Do they want people to view their sites in a public place where online purchases are risky and unlikely? Obviously ads for shops within the mall will have some relevance and may lead the shopper to their store, however the advertisers themselves will not see goals or direct purchases online and the value of such ads can never be accurately determined remotely by the advertiser. As for those ads that need web based returns, whether it be click-throughs or sales, any hope of achieving these through such a service is highly unlikely.
My experience with the access points, a rough 20 minute test exploring different avenues of search, as I waited for a film screening, concluded that this is a commercial venture (albeit a clever one) that I could and would not classify as a service. Finding what I wanted proved impossible and knowing that each click would generate a tiny profit for Red Moon with little to no return for the advertiser, as a web advertiser myself, was infuriating. If you add to the mix the non-savvy users that will ignorantly click on all links in frustrated hopes of finding something of importance you get a highly profitable business that further devalues online advertising. Indeed, the less of a service Red Moon provides the more users will return to the search index or "results" to try another site, thusly building a tidy pile of coppers through cost-per-click ads.
If you are looking to install these terminals please take note of this. The inadequacies of the Red Moon terminal to provide a service to its users will be directly proportional to its profits - the longer it takes to find information, the more ads are clicked, the more money is made. Red Moon, as an anonymous provider, has no reputation to maintain with its users; it is those that host the kiosks that will ultimately be faced with the disgruntled surfers and declining respect of its patrons. Once more, the security of this service is questionable.
Red Moon states on its page,
"Redmoon Interactive provide free Internet access in Shopping Centres and high footfall locations across the UK through our network of interactive touch screen terminals. Using our service your customers can search the Web or check their Email free of charge without leaving the comfort of your premises."
My results soon appeared, alas I recognise this page structure, it's a "Made for Ads" or "MFA" site. All of the search results, which claim to be genuine, were irrelevant cost-per-click ads that somehow matched a keyword. Attempting to generalize my search in hopes of obtaining some form of relevance brought no luck and only the most general of terms such as "video game" brought any relevance whatsoever. Heading back to the main page I clicked the various categories, a new list of ads pertaining to a specific category appeared in a different colour. Every single link on the terminal took you to an ad, in order that you may find any content you had to click an ad. There is no address bar to confirm the page you are on or to enter a new page. This makes the terminal a potential security risk and rife for phishing scandals that attack the non-savvy Internet users likely to use this "service". Even the email links lead to ads for online email providers.
From my web sleuthing it appears the ads are provided by Overture which is now Yahoo! Search Marketing , and they state: "The move opens up the opportunity for advertisers to reach a more localised audience in the run-up to the launch of Overture's geo-targeted searches. For example, consumers may use the terminals to search for specific services in their local area while out and about. [...] Overture's sponsored links will be returned whenever a user conducts a search via the front screen on any INFO-NET terminal. (2003)"
I wonder, do Yahoo advertisers know that their ads are being used in such a way? Would they wish to be associated with such a company? Do they want people to view their sites in a public place where online purchases are risky and unlikely? Obviously ads for shops within the mall will have some relevance and may lead the shopper to their store, however the advertisers themselves will not see goals or direct purchases online and the value of such ads can never be accurately determined remotely by the advertiser. As for those ads that need web based returns, whether it be click-throughs or sales, any hope of achieving these through such a service is highly unlikely.
My experience with the access points, a rough 20 minute test exploring different avenues of search, as I waited for a film screening, concluded that this is a commercial venture (albeit a clever one) that I could and would not classify as a service. Finding what I wanted proved impossible and knowing that each click would generate a tiny profit for Red Moon with little to no return for the advertiser, as a web advertiser myself, was infuriating. If you add to the mix the non-savvy users that will ignorantly click on all links in frustrated hopes of finding something of importance you get a highly profitable business that further devalues online advertising. Indeed, the less of a service Red Moon provides the more users will return to the search index or "results" to try another site, thusly building a tidy pile of coppers through cost-per-click ads.
If you are looking to install these terminals please take note of this. The inadequacies of the Red Moon terminal to provide a service to its users will be directly proportional to its profits - the longer it takes to find information, the more ads are clicked, the more money is made. Red Moon, as an anonymous provider, has no reputation to maintain with its users; it is those that host the kiosks that will ultimately be faced with the disgruntled surfers and declining respect of its patrons. Once more, the security of this service is questionable.
Posted by FofR
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1 Comments:
By 
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December 05, 2006
The users won't care ... they're used to clicking around and not finding things :-). I bet you can't even file a spam-report from those terminals and from outside it wouldn't make any sense. I guess it had to come, sooner or later. All a part of the cost of doing business for an online advertiser :-(