There are some frustrating limitations (why can't I watch 30 Rock on my TV like I can on my TV?), but overall, I like the service and feel good about paying for it. The cost is minimal, and I feel that me paying for a subscription shows the entertainment industry that the entertainment model is changing but still profitable.
But that's a whole other post.
For this post, I'd like to talk about the advertisements I see on Hulu. Sure, being forced to watch ads with a paid subscription is lame sometimes, but I'd be willing to deal with it sans complaining if the ads were a little smarter.
About a month ago, Google revamped its privacy policy. Basically, the new policy (as I understand it) says, "We're going to use your personal data from all of the Google products to give you a more personalized experience when you use any of our products." This means that the YouTube videos you subscribe to will affect the text ads you see on Gmail.
I like this.
You see, when I watch Hulu, I'm constantly seeing ads for the following two products:
- Tampons
- Car insurance
If Hulu had more of my personal data (or made better use of the data they had), they'd know I don't care about car insurance. And as a single man with no children who lives with male roommates, there's no real good reason to show me ads for tampons. It's a waste of ad space, and a waste of money.
Hulu doesn't care--they still get ad revenue every time I see a stupid gecko or purple leg razor. But they could be worth a lot more than they are if they targeted their customers more intelligently. There are some instances when using Hulu on a PC where the user can select their ad experience. That's a step in the right direction. But it's still not as pointed--and profitable--as Google's ad experience.
Video ads are a different beast than text ads. There's simply not as many different video ads to select for a user as there are snippets of text, which means users won't see video ads targeted precisely at them. However, I know there are enough ads running on Hulu at any given time to select two or three per program that apply more closely to me than tampons.
The same complaint goes for Spotify ads. My friend Jed explained it this way: "There I am, sitting and enjoying some nice jazz, and then a stupid ad for a death metal band comes on. I actually want them to analyze my private data so I get ads that actually appeal to me."
I agree. I've given you my data willingly. Use it to make my experience better, and screw the outspoken minority of internet users who volunteer personal data to web services and then complain when those services actually use it. Give me ads that appeal to me, and spare me the ones I don't care about.
