Okay who has Google sold out to now??

In the "my recent groups" page, listed amongst the groups I've
actually visited, is "NBCWindfall." Is this something I can expect to
happen more frequently? Will I soon be subscribed to

evwill...

Somebody actually subscribed me to that NBCWindfall group without
bothering to ask me first. I don't even watch that show. I quickly
unsubscribed.

karl...

I'm really wondering about the web-search model as a business. They keep
'beating the street' on their quarterly result but I have to wonder.

I have never bought anything through a web search. I ignore the
'sponsored links' for the shills they are.

Oh, I use it as a keyword search for general information but I can't say as
advertising it has ever influenced any buying decision.

Is it just me or are people really affected by web-search advertising/herding?

et472...

But it doesn't really matter, so long as the advertisers are happy, just
like on tv.

The advertisers aren't buying proven buyers, they are buying the number
of users of the "content", with the hope that some will pay attention.

How often do you buy things based on advertising you've seen on TV?

karl...

There are two types that have 'worked' on me. One is the new product. If I
see something I was unaware of, say a movie, book, that I hadn't been aware
of before it might be said that the advertising worked. The other is the
lifestyle ads. Most notably beer ads do this but also cologne/perfume,
clothing, etc where you aren't so much buying the physical product but the
cachet. Although less prone to it then when I was a young beer drinking
partier loyal to a certain brand of beer, it still exists. There is value in
creating a 'feel good' aura about the brand/company/product. Some people
will buy any MP3 player. Other value an Ipod because it _is_ the Ipod.

The former might work in the web-search context, but not so much the latter.
Indeed I personally have a more suspicious reaction to things like
'sponsored links'.

Yet, the model remains after all these decades.

Everett W.

"NBCAmericasGotTalent" and "NBCLeno"? Please somebody make it stop!!

The Watch Dog...

My guess is that you looked at some posts that were cross-posted to
those groups, and they wound up in your history.

David...

Nope. The group didn't exist until yesterday and only has one post.

Barry Margolin...

It looks like the owner of that group subscribed everyone who reads
rec.arts.tv. I got a subscription notice yesterday. I promptly
unsubscribed and reported him to abuse for subscribing people without
permission.

Default User...

Not me, because I set mine not to allow that. Go to My Account->My
Subscriptions and click"

Do not allow group managers to directly add me to their groups

Barry Margolin...

Yeah, I also did that. I guess web-search defaults members to allowing
that, so everyone needs to fix their preferences. Pretty obnoxious
default.

Casey McDonald's Guidance Counsellor, Ian J. Ball...

Ironically, whoever this blockhead was *didn't* add me, despite the fact
that I'm one of the few people here who has actually admitted to
*liking* "Windfall"!

However, thanks to you and Brian, I've now "fixed" it so that he can't
add me. Thanks a bunch, guys! :)

GarondoMarondo...

RATS!!! Foiled again!!

Stan Brown...

Of course if you went with a real news server you wouldn't have this

David...

I do. But google groups still has lots of uses.

Casey McDonald's Guidance Counsellor, Ian J. Ball...

What, David, have you figured out a way to get pr0n?!?!

problem.

Barry Margolin...

What does that have to do it? I don't use groups to read news,
but I still got subscribed to this mailing list.