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How Tivo Will Force You To Watch Commercials
from the creative-solutions dept
This one makes me happy. I'm always complaining about companies who react to new technologies by suing them into submission. Instead, I believe, companies should look at new technologies for creative ways to deal with issues like changing revenue streams. For instance, digital recorders like Tivo and Replay may threaten traditional television advertisers, but I thought it was particularly silly that the networks sued Replay instead of looking for creative solutions. Now, it appears they are working on creative solutions with Tivo. Earlier this evening, Dennis (Techdirt's code junky) was showing me the new Tivo promotion with Lexus. It's a sweepstakes to win a new Lexus, but which forces you to watch a number of Lexus commercials (which the Tivo will conveniently record for you) to answer the questions to win the sweepstakes. Actually, to make it a little trickier, the Tivo records some of the commercials as is, but then tells you a bunch of shows that you will need to record in their entirety to find the other necessary commercials. Obviously, Tivo can try to sell the networks on paying up to be included in these "forced" recordings. Who knows whether or not a promotion like this will work, but I sat through a bunch of Lexus commercials willingly this evening...
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Why
Why the hell should I be forced to watch commercials? I don't watch them when they are shown live so why should I be forced to record them? I really hate television advertising (and almost never watch commercial TV)
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You aren't forced
Forced is a bad description. If you want to win the prize then you will need to watch the commercials. If you don't care then you can ignore the whole thing.
No one is forced to watch or record anything.
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Get a clue
What a STUPID idea. Only the reddest of the rednecks would bother. The same idiots that used to surf iwon.com. But then again, they wouldnt own Tivo in the first place.
The whole point of Tivo is for people who dont have time to watch TV, and must record shows, to work around their schedule. These are EXACTLY the LAST people who would sit around playing "virtual lottery" by watching commercials. What a total joke.
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Re: Get a clue
I think it's a great idea.. it allows TiVo to non-intrusively make some more revenue and explore the power of what they've created. Personally, I enjoy watching GOOD commercials -- I fell off my chair laughing at the Celica commercial (the one where the dog runs into the parked car). Thankfully, it was on TiVo and I could watch it over and over and over again. Now, if TiVo automatically recorded commercials for me that it thought I might enjoy, then that's fine -- I don't have to watch them if I don't want to.. I could even go as far as demanding to see certain commercials -- why do you think AdCritic is so popular??
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Re: Get a clue
Dear Dummy,
No one (except you) sits around *waiting* to good commercials to come on. AdCritic is popular b/c people can selectively watch good commercials they've already been told about, or have already seen.
Again, I predict Tivo won't make squat from this foolish idea. It totally defeats the purpose of buying the god damn system in the first place....
Just another stupid ad project their marketing/advertising people, who will soon be laid off anyways, can do to justify themselves.
The best moneymaker for Tivo would be to fire their idiot marketing staff. A penny saved is a penny earned.
PS: Reading my above rants, I am reminded of the spirit of the Techdirt of yesteryear,. IMHO, Techdirt has lost it's biting edge. It is a mere shadow of it's former self. Few sites make it to my daily bookmarks folder.
Another sad recession reality. I hope the economics allow for techdirt to continue, even in it's watered down, profit attempting state. I wish I could help, but this is a labor of love. Keep up the decent work !
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Re: Get a clue
Wow. We were so close to being called a sellout. Come on spongeboy, call us a sellout! Please? Pretty please? You can do it. I know you can.
Then, I'll finally know we've done something right.
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No Subject Given
I really enjoy the techdirt commentary and news aggreagation. I have only thanks and gratitude to you for providing me with entertaining albiet useful content for over a year now.
Yes, maybe one can interpret what I was saying as selling out. I have no issue with that. In fact, I fully support it. You owe no one anything!
It is totally understandable if you are trying to package this site to sell to corporations....I am just noting that when you first started this site, that wasnt the intention, Back then, it was just a platform for you to voice your commentary of the oft idiotic nature of the tech landscape. And your madness and insight was great.
However, we all need to pay our bills. I like your site, and would hate to see you have to shut down, and get a job doing shit coding for some insurance firm.
In fact, I fully support the "sellout", if that indeed is what has happened. (That may be way off base, you may simply be mellowing out in your old age,,,or frankly, im sure ranting maniacally for a few years gets mentally tiring! Impossioble to keep the intensity !! I can do it b/c I post once a month, not 12x a day !!)
Bottom Line: I'd rather have a watered down, less offensive techdirt, that caters to paying clients, than no techdirt at all. Thanks for the decent work!
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Re: No Subject Given
I only started this topic, b/c it occured to me that the Mike of last year would have RIPPPED that stupid insipid Tivo ploy to shreds. Instead he now advocates it, like a newbie AOL user would. Thats when it hit me, that either techdirt, or Mike had lost the edge that initially lured me to the site daily.
and that is fine, life evolves,,people evolve...thats the cycle. Its all cool. If techdirt went away today, it still would have been one of my top 10 favorite site to date.
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Re: No Subject Given
Point taken.
A few things: Techdirt and Techdirt corporate are separate from each other. I am not doing Techdirt corporate in order to keep Techdirt.com's public site going. I am doing Techdirt corporate because it's a fun way to make a living and it builds off of the work I did with Techdirt.
Should Techdirt corporate go away (not likely) that doesn't mean Techdirt.com's public site would go away.
Don't confuse the two.
Second, I don't think I've mellowed very much at all in my "old age". There are things I like and there are things I don't like. The thing is, I can explain why I like them or why I don't - which is what I always have done, and always will do.
The funny thing is that I received a number of emails from people who pointed out that they liked the fact that Techdirt still seemed "edgy" even though we are doing the corporate stuff as well.
Just because I *like* something, doesn't mean we've changed at all. I still think the Tivo sweepstakes idea is a smart and creative move, and I would have thought so two years ago or even 4 years ago when I Techdirt was started. Whether or not you like it, is your issue.
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I am still not watching commericals. I don't have to and they can't make me.
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