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Death to Bullshit

deathtobullshit.com

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131–140 of 217 posts

Re: Death to Bullshit

#131

Post by munin »

Killswitch wrote: post #81
interesting_att wrote: post #79

I was just thinking yesterday how inundated we are by ads these days. You see ads on television, the radio, the internet, billboards, public transportation, sports stadium/jerseys, magazines, guerrilla marketing, product-placements and celebrity endorsements, and not to mention PR (which is just advertising by other means). Talk about mental pollution!

So I got my start in ad based websites. If it wasn't for ads, I would have never really gotten into what we do. I'd have done something away from the internet because I never grew up with a computer and wasn't fascinated by them as a young child. So because of that, I had always been in favor of ads. Not as in I'd plaster my site with ads, but if a site displayed ads, I would endure them because if I wanted the conte…

> So I got my start in ad based websites. If it wasn't for ads, I would have never really gotten into what we do.

I got my start in computer crime (chasing the crimes that others committed) and if it wasn't for others committing computer crime, I would never have gotten into what we do.

Should I be in favor of other people committing computer crime?

Re: Death to Bullshit

#132

Post by jazzyk »

XorNot wrote: post #83
spacehome wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The savings rate being low is insufficient to justify your claim that advertising does not create net demand. It's also possible that people choose to work more to afford more goods. I see Americans working very hard when I feel they would get more life satisfaction out of cutting expenses, primarily the big three: transportation, housing, and food.

You mean the 3 expenses that are entirely non-optional?

A 5000 sq foot house IS optional. Nothing wrong with a 2000 sq foot place - the rest of the world has to "do" with sub-1000 sq foot apartments.

Re: Death to Bullshit

#133

Post by TeMPOraL »

MichaelGG wrote: post #128
TeMPOraL wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

QR code can store the entire vCard, thus enabling you to read it off-line.

Is this a real concern? Someone might be on a flight without WiFi and need a digital version of your contact info because the card isn't enough?

It's very real. People nowadays increasingly use their smartphones as rolodexes. QR code is a quick way to enter contact details into one's address book. On the other hand, you can't expect everyone to have a mobile connection. Some people don't have a data plan at all, others may be saving their batteries at the moment. Often there may be no reception at the place where cards are exchanged (think of conferences that are in underground venues).

Not to mention that giving someone a business card with a link to download contact data is just wrong on many different levels. It's using a very wrong tool for the job. To put a contact file on-line you have to host it somewhere. Then the person you gave the card to has to retype the URL. URL that, like with most of the Internet, will probably be dead in six months.

Generally, the solution to the problem of digitizing the data you have physically in your hand should not involve sending packets around half of the globe.

Re: Death to Bullshit

#134

Post by andyidsinga »

GFK_of_xmaspast wrote: post #90
andyidsinga wrote: post #36

see also, the book, "On Bullshit" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Bullshit ) This book should have a spot on everyone's desk in hard copy. Use it as a coaster, walk around with it in the hallways, take it to meetings. No need to preach from it though - its very presence will be enough of a sign to others re: your tolerance levels of the amount of bullshit stinking up the current situation. EDIT: BTW, I do indeed h…

I tend to agree with Geoff Pullum: http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/2549... when it comes to Elements of Style.

I once* wrote a whitepaper that was horrible. My boss at the time urged me to get a copy of elements of style, skim it, then try to fix the paper.

Section II (looking at my copy in front of me), which discusses composition, was most useful as my paper was chock-full of techno babble, needless words and lacked consistent design from section to section and paragraph to paragraph.

* (this is an exaggeration on the extreme low end :) )

Re: Death to Bullshit

#135

Post by nkurz »

As a couple other posters mentioned, be sure to try out the understated "Turn bullshit on?" link on the upper right of the page. It really sells the point.

I sort of hoped that after clicking "I am a racist" to dismiss the "Like us on Facebook" page, that the popup chiding my brazen admission would have hijacked the OK button to post my admission to all logged in social media sites.

But unfortunately Brad seems to be to honorable for that, even after people doubly-confirm that they want the bullshit. And counter-to-reality, the pulsing read "Turn this bullshit off" link works as advertised.

Re: Death to Bullshit

#136

Post by cm2012 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #76
edanm wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Advertising? Yes, there is. I'm sure you can find numerous reports on its effectiveness.

Personally I do suspect it's a multi-level, recursive scam. After all, convincing you that advertising works is itself advertising from the point of view of companies that you'll pay to advertise you (note: unless you are personally going door-to-door and telling people about your product, you're always paying someone; printshops that make your leaflets and posters are a big part of advertising industry). And since s…

A high percentage of ad spend is direct, meaning there is measurable sales associated with every dollar spent on ads.

Re: Death to Bullshit

#137

Post by viraptor »

mindcrime wrote: post #116
rayiner wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that bullshit is a negative externality. It's cognitive pollution. Those who clutter the world with bullshit reap the rewards of nabbing the suckers who respond to it, but don't pay the costs of imposing those cognitive loads on everyone else. That leads to more bullshit than would be economically efficient. Take a simple example like billboards. If billboard advertisers had to pay every person whose l…

If billboard advertisers had to pay every person whose life experience is degraded by seeing a billboard for a product they'd never buy I've never found my life "degraded" by a billboard, even if it was for a product I'd never buy. In fact, some of them are still useful, especially when driving long distances on the Interstate. They're something to break the monotony and give you something to think about, if only for…

There are billboards and billboards. It depends on the country, city, culture, etc. how many of them you get. If there are no limits, this is your view on a normal road: http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/ae/8b/d5/z13994926Q,ponad_300tablic_r...

They're not funny / amusing / thought provoking anymore. They're not even readable or recognisable because there's too many of them. The photo title from the link is "300 billboards on a 20km road". And it's a fairly standard thing in Poland for example.

Re: Death to Bullshit

#138

Post by mikerichards »

x5n1 wrote: post #126
killface wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There's no "pent-up demand" waiting to be unlocked by advertising. This is why any economic recovery plans that don't focus on growing the income of middle- and lower-class americans is doomed to fail. The rich can already buy anything they want, and they're saving like crazy. Until we unleash more demand from the lower- and middle-class, all efforts are futile. It's also why we should be focusing on, and supportin…

Wallerstein said that Capitalism has failed for the Capitalist class, what he means is that it's costing more and more to make a dollar. The reason that income is falling is because the Capitalist class expects to continue making billions against a market which is efficient. They just squeeze that profit out of the worker's paychecks. Ultimately, that's the problem. The Capitalist project has reached its end, but the…

And let me guess, since "The Capitalist project" has failed we're going to go back to those successes of the 20th century that caused so much human misery.

Re: Death to Bullshit

#139

Post by mikerichards »

rayiner wrote: post #13
shostack wrote: post #10

As much as I dislike some of the current trends (and I do digital media for a living mind you), I do have to point out that this stuff wouldn't be done if it didn't work. Ultimately this implies that there are enough people out there who engage with or...dare I say...want...the bullshit, that their collective voice outweighs those that do not simply by the fact that those are often the users who click ads, share thin…

The problem is that bullshit is a negative externality. It's cognitive pollution. Those who clutter the world with bullshit reap the rewards of nabbing the suckers who respond to it, but don't pay the costs of imposing those cognitive loads on everyone else. That leads to more bullshit than would be economically efficient. Take a simple example like billboards. If billboard advertisers had to pay every person whose l…

"negative externality".. "It's cognitive pollution".. "imposing those cognitive loads on everyone else", "life experience is degraded by seeing a billboard"

I'm seeing some BS here..a lot of hyperbolic, pseudo-psychology BS.

Re: Death to Bullshit

#140

Post by davidaa »

mojuba wrote: post #8

Can't say how effective this campaign can be, but I'm glad QR codes are now officially included in the list of bullshit. Can't agree more.

Eh, I don't mind them. They serve a purpose, even if they tend to be misused.
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