Google will replace their current Adsense advertising with Phorm-style interest-based advertising with effect from 1st April 2009.  They’re advising website owners to update their privacy policy becuase of this, but I don’t think that doing that is sufficient.

Their current Adsense ads show advertisements that are based on the content of the site on which the ads are shown.  For example, on this site the ads might include F1 race tickets or karting companies.  Google’s new Interest-based ads will show ads based on websites that the person has previously visited.  So, when someone visits a site that contains Google ads, Google assumes that the person is interested in the content of that site and records that person’s interest in it.  When that person visits another site with Google ads, Google will show ads based on the database of what Google considers interesting to that person.

This sounds like the Phorm (AKA Webwise) privacy scandal that BT and other ISPs got into before.  Basically, they installed equipment an advertising company’s equipment that monitored websites their customers visited, and served adverts related to those previous websites.  The Information Commissioner (Data Protection Act) and the EU law enforcers were concerned that privacy was being breached.  It seems that BT (and maybe Virgin and TalkTalk) are going to introduce this spyware-like technology at some point in the future.

Getting back to Google, they sent an email to website owners saying “your privacy policy will need to reflect the use of interest-based advertising”.  Well, I don’t have a privacy policy because I don’t collect personal data.  I’m certainly not going to spend time and money getting one drawn up so Google can earn more money by placing interest-based ads on my site; ads that might have nothing to do with the content of my site.

And having a privacy policy for a website is not sufficient legally, in my opinion.  In order to view the privacy policy, someone has to visit my website.  By visiting my website, their visit is logged by Google before the person has a chance to decide whether they want that data recorded or not.  So, in effect, data about their visit is collected without their consent, and that’s illegal in the UK.

Quite simply, this whole thing worries me.  It sounds like spyware.  After all, people’s browsing habits are being tracked without their express permission, and that to me is spyware.  So, come 1st April, my site will no longer be showing Google ads.  That leaves more space for me to add things that my visitors actually want to see.

Comments welcome, for or against.

BBC News reported on a Which? report today which shows that most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are using premium rate numbers for their tech support.

Why would anyone want to pay premium rates for a call to India and have to wait (while paying) for their call to be answered? Why not contact me? My time is cheaper than some premium rate tech support calls, and I’ll help you in person. Most of the calls I get are from people who have called their ISP, spent around an hour on the phone, and still haven’t got a solution. Most of the time, it’s not a problem the ISP can fix directly anyway.

Take a recent case as an example. A couple, both computer novices, had been on the phone to BT for ages because they couldn’t get their PC connected to their internet service. BT tech support had asked them to do lots of stuff on the PC to try to fix the problem, but as novice’s this was slow and frustrating. They even told them to buy an unusual type of USB cable to connect the modem/router to the PC. They did, but that didn’t work either.

I went round and started my diagnostics. I found that my laptop easily connected to their internet service, so it wasn’t a problem with the BT end of things. Their PC couldn’t ‘see’ the modem using the USB cable; the reason is that the USB socket on their BT modem is for attaching an external hard disk, not a computer, so that was never going to work. This just illustrates that the BT helpline doesn’t even know how its own equipment works.

The solution was easy. I fitted an Ethernet card to the PC (having cleaned out the dust from the inside of the PC first) and we got a connection immediately. They’ll have a good, reliable internet connection now. It’s something a novice couldn’t do on his own, and a helpdesk can’t do over the phone.

It took 90 minutes from start to finish, including cleaning out the PC, explaining everything in terms they understood, and a good chat (I know them personally). 90 minutes of personal service, compared to long phone calls, trips to PC World for unnecessary purchases, and still no solution.

I offer:

• In-you-home PC and IT services for residential clients in Essex, UK
• In-your-office PC and IT services for business clients nationally (if it’s cost effective for you and me)
• Online tech support at www.crossloop.com/ColinBowen (requires broadband connection)
• Payment by cash, cheque, credit card, or PayPal
• Work us guaranteed for 48 hours

Whatever you need, if it involves computers or IT then please contact me by:

• Click here to email me
• By leaving a comment on this website (see immediately below). Requests for IT support will not show up on this website, so leave some contact information please.
• By sending me a Direct Message on twitter (www.twitter.com/ColinBowen)
• By by online chat (if I’m available) at www.crossloop.com/ColinBowen. Just click ‘Chat With Me’ (free Crossloop registration required; takes about 60 seconds to register with your name, email, a password and ‘Accept Terms & Conditions’).

Okay, if you don’t want to read a rant, then skip this post.

Sorry to offload some negative energy like this, but I’ve got to get it off my chest.

Some local kids had been climbing trees in my street, and had accidentally broken off a fairly large branch.

I was out this morning, and not far from home I saw a contractor pruning trees and putting them through a chipper to take them away.  I checked that I could lift the branch before walking over.  They were taking a break in their van.  Here’s the conversation:

Me: Hello mate.  Some kids have broken a branch off a tree, if I bring it over would you mind running it through your machine and getting rid of it please?”

Mr Helpful (shaking his head):  No, can’t do it.

Me: Why not?

Mr Helpful:  It’s not my job.

Me:  Oh, your country needs people like you, mate.

I started to walk away, but he was saying something so I went back.

Mr Helpful:  I don’t get paid to do it.  Why don’t you do it?

Me: That’s what I’m doing.

Mr Helpful:  I’m a contractor for the Council, not the Council.

Well, I wasn’t going to waste any more time on this type of person.  Why couldn’t he just say “Yeah, alright, bring it over”?  It would have taken 30 seconds, and he would have helped someone.  But no, what I’ve got to do now is call the Council, use up their time, they’ve got to get a contractor out (maybe him, but I hope not), and that costs money.  My money, his money, and everyone who pays Council Tax.

It’s exactly this attitude that is contributing to the state of the economy and the general bad attitude of British people at the moment.  “I’m looking out for myself, and I don’t want to help anyone else”.  I think there are two types of people in this country, the ‘Can do’ people, and the ‘Can’t do’ people.  He’s one of the ‘Can’t do’ people that don’t offer anything positive to their fellow Brits.

A 'Can't do' company

So, it’s time to name and shame.  Well done Mr Helpful from W Wood & Son, Tree Specialist from Rayleigh, Essex.  Your ‘Can’t do’ attitude just won you a mention on my blog.

Maybe he thinks that his company might get the call from the Council to remove the branch, and earn a little more cash from the Council.  If the Council has to deal with this, they’ll use up their budget more quickly, and his firm might not get any work near the end of the year.  Next year, the Council will be trying to save money again, so he (or his employer) will have to cut costs, and maybe jobs. 

But, his company won’t get a call about this branch.  I’m going to take time out from being with my family at the weekend, I’m going to get my hand-saw, and I’m going to cut up the branch and put it in a composting sack for the regular waste collection.  Sure, it’s going to take me an hour maybe, when it could have taken him 30 seconds, but I’m a ‘Can do’ type of person.  I can do it.  I can can do it for no personal gain.  I can do it for my neighbours.

In the interests if balance, I’ll be making two more off-topic posts about the next two people or companies who put themselves out to help me, make me happy, or who provide a good service.  If you would like to comment about such ‘Can do’ people, please do so (but no self-promotion please).