Ian & Stuart's Australian Mac: Not for Sale/Another.not.for.sale (Australia).iso/hold me in your arms/ES Cyberama/Ads and Telephones

Text File | 1994-07-12 | 4KB | 76 lines

from the _Austin Daily Texan_


I'M DREAMING OF AN AD-FREE PHONE LINE

But the idea of substituting ads for rings and busy signals isn't just
a question of money.


Jennifer DeLay
TEXAN COLUMNIST


Think the much-heralded "information superhighway" will provide you
with a fast, easy and pleasant way to communicate with friends, family
and business associates? Think again. Quantum Systems Inc., a New
Jersey telecommunications company, has come up with an idea that is
less than user-friendly. As if this country wasn't already gorged with
the dross of the advertising industry, Quantum has patented a plan to
replace telephone rings and busy signals with -- yep, you guessed it
-- commercials.

The company blandly dismisses this offensive project as a mere funding
operation, saying that the money needed to get America on line will be
hard to find if telecommunications companies can't attract advertising
revenue. But the idea of substituting ads for rings and busy signals
isn't just a question of money. It's a question of privacy. The
problem with the plan is that it would leave consumers using Quantum's
services without a viable way to escape the advertising that threatens
to clog the arteries of daily life.

Most Americans have found some means of shutting out (at least
partially) the flash and racket that is advertising. They mute the TV
set or channel-surf when commercials appear; they flip through
magazines without bothering to glance at the glossy cigarette ads. Or
perhaps they drive down freeways with glazed eyes, ignoring the
ubiquitous billboards. But under the Quantum system, things would be
quite different. Consumers could not possibly ignore the advertisers.
If a caller dials a number that isn't busy, the company would begin
playing a 15-second advertisement after the first ring. The caller
would then have no choice but to sit through the spiel until the other
party -- or an answering machine -- answered. The caller couldn't very
well hang up in disgust because cutting off the commercial would mean
cutting off the call.

And if a customer dials a number that's busy, things would get worse.
The company would come on the line and offer to redial the number
until it's free. But the price for this friendly service is staying on
the line and sitting through a barrage of advertisements until a
connection is made. Again, if you cut off the commercials, you cut off
your call. And that's what makes the Quantum plan so egregiously
offensive. People can mute or ignore magazine, newspaper, broadcast
and billboard ads without affecting their ability to read, watch
television or drive. But they couldn't shut out Quantum's product
pitches.

Quantum's plans to finance the information superhighway through
advertising are creative, certainly, but they are also sadistic.
People do not often pick up the phone because they want to hear
commercials, and the company should not inflict product pitches on
consumers who just want to talk to someone.

True, advertising of the Quantum type might bring in big bucks for
telecommunications companies. But it would also invade the privacy of
consumers, who have money of their own to contribute. Quantum would do
better if it aimed to attract revenue through customer-pleasing
products rather than add another layer of advertising to this
commercial-saturated society.

And consumers should reject the company's bid to replace rings and
busy signals with advertisements, lest we see some future entrepreneur
offer to replace ambulance sirens with pitches for Pepsi.


DeLay is a UT graduate in Russian and government.