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Adware peddler offers advice on how to (not) ruin customer experience
News Corp/NBC today unveiled plans to launch a Youtube rival, and the Zango adware pushers are jumping in to offer their expertise on how to milk your users at all costs.
The television and movie conglomerate has figured out that it can make more money by offering online video itself, than if it allows random users to post their content on Youtube.
It all goes to Youtube's walled garden model that requires users to upload content to their servers, and only allows them to search within the Youtube property. After Viacom's flat-out refusal to give in to Google/Youtube's market dominance, News Corp/NBC's move will only further increase the need for a genuine video search engine.
But why would that have anything to do with Zango's shady adware empire? (Shady enough for the FTC to fine the company $3m.) Zango is all about luring consumers into downloading its adware software by offering video content and games. The firm isn't a content provider, it pushes adware and hopes that its customers don't notice its true intensions. In the process, the company is a major enabler of botnet operations (a practice that is continuing despite the FTC settlement, security experts confirm).
Whether you love or hate the company, it has successfully been installed on millions of computers and is allegedly making millions of dollars.
Zango's PR firm is now pitching the firm's expertise in this field as free advice to NBCTube.
"You do not want to negatively impact the consumer experience," its PR firm Martin Levy PR pitched to media. "In a briefing, [Zango founder Daniel] Todd can provide insight and clarity on effective models marketers and advertisers can implement that will connect with consumers downloading digital media entertainment – without pissing them off."
This PR firm must have been watching the movie "Thank you for smoking" too much. The movie offers a great, cynical look at the art of public relation spinning. It teaches that you don't have to be right if you're doing horrible things, you just have to proof that your opponent is wrong.
In fact, Zango is just like the cigarette makers, or the gun lobby. It may occasionally cross the line and get wrist slapped, it generally leaves the truly horrible things that it enables to anonymous outsiders.
They should introduce as new tagline: "Thank you for installing our badware."
PS: needless to say that we turned down the offered interview with this pundit.
March 22, 2007 at 07:24 PM | Permalink
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