Online Advertising is Out Of Control

Its a bit ironic that I am writing about this subject since I worked selling online advertising for many years, and might again in the future, but the state of advertising on the internet is completely out of control. I wont go on sites that have ads that cover the news, the ones that come in from the left of right that you need to hit the X to get rid of. Too annoying for me to waste my time. Flashing ads are distracting and should be eliminated. One of the latest trends in online advertising is digital ads will appear from websites you have visited by havent purchased something from. For instance I received a gift certificate for Brooks Brothers, so I have been on that site many times trying to see what I want to get. I bought a pair of ray bans and a few other things. Now on almost every site I go on I see ads for exactly what I have already purchased. Even worse, I was looking for sunglasses on the Oliver People’s website, I didnt like any of them, but ads for Oliver People’s appear on almost every site I visit. Very annoying. As technology gets more sophisticated and everything we do is tracked and used for marketing and advertising they are missing one vital point. Some times you didnt buy because you didnt like what you saw. I remember about a year or so ago my brother came to NYC and was staying at the Waldorf = Astoria. I did a search to get the exact address of the hotel so I could go meet him. For months after that I saw ads about the Waldorf, room rates, discounts.

Of all of life’s problems this isnt really on the radar but it is annoying. Companies need to understand how to better reach people without annoying them. Life has changed so much with the Internet; its practically put almost all news organizations out of business because it costs much less to advertise online than it does in print. We need news organizations to have enough money to cover the news in depth, so we cant get rid of online advertising. But you do have to weigh the balance of annoying potential customers with getting your message out there, for both the company and the news organization. I think their are a lot better ways to go about this; and I would gladly share them with a company that hired me.

It’s all about the ads though. Thats what tanked Facebook IPO, they didnt have a model for digital advertising, so they had no revenue stream. I see they are now putting ads right in the news feed, to me thats kinda lame. Also, when I see people on Facebook “like” MasterCard, I’m like wtf? And of course there is twitter, no one had found a way to make money off of it, again, I have many many ideas for companies to make money off of twitter; and as I said earlier I would gladly share them with a company that hired me, I have a different way of thinking about things and great instincts.

What we have now are people who are in charge of what company’s do who have no clue. They farm out the social media to the PR department who also does know what to do. You have advertising that is so intrusive that viewers wont go to their sites; you have advertisers annoying clients with products they already purchased or decided not to purchase. Time for change.

Opinions And Commentary You Should Be Reading

After a slight delay in postings I am back and ready to give my opinions in an apolitical and unbiased way. My goad, to have people get out of the ‘safe zone’ and think bigger.  I dont like GOP or DEMS that tow the party line no matter what it is. To me thats being programmed and not thinking on your own. I am not a fan of twitter groups that try to talk just to each other; open dialogue between people who maybe disagree is the best way to move things forward. Right now our Country is bogged down in bitter partisanship and hence nothing has really been done since President Obama took office. The Congress has been an utter failure in moving the people’s agenda forward; this is 90% cause by the GOP. Here are some thoughts on recent events:

• What happened to Job creation? It was talked about in the campaigns, but not since. Both DEMS and GOP have been an utter failure with this. The longterm unemployment is the single largest threat to the U.S. and yet you see no one lifting a finger to get people back to work. I am deeply disappointed in Mr. Obama for not pushing this agenda, instead he chose to push Guns and Immigration. There are an estimated 89 million Americans looking for work, and there are no jobs bills, no talk of jobs. Yes the GOP had blocked Obama many times, now that that is a given its up to Mr. Obama to spend his time pushing for those that need jobs. A decade from now the bankruptcy of the United States will come from government aid and assistance to those that never could find work. A much smaller investment now could not only put those people back to work but could also lower the long term debt with the revenue received from the 89 million people.
• Speaking of debt, taxes are an issue that must be addressed. But can they? Who owns the U.S.? You hear all about the big lobbying groups, big oil, big tobacco, big pharma. You hear about all the power they have, in other words the government is completely corrupt. We look at Afghanistan and talk about how corrupt they are, seems we are just as bad. Hearing about Apple paying a 2% rate of taxes is nauseating, or the year GE paid no taxes. This must be stopped. Corporations need to pay their fair share, that would lower the long term debt faster than anything. Yes, the U.S. has the highest business tax rates in the world, but not one of the large companies pays those taxes. Its time to hold people accountable and change the tax laws. Mitt Romney is a perfect example. Whatever he does with his money he pays extremely low taxes, this is all legal and above board. But it needs to change. There should be no loop holes for people who keep money over seas; and if you earn over $1M per year perhaps you should have no loop holes at all. Lets level the playing field. I am completely against wealth redistribution, however companies and individuals need to pay their fair share. That will go directly to the debt.
• These scandals, IRS, Benghazi, and whats the other one? The umbrella thing? First, its protocol for someone to hold an umbrella over the President of the United States of America; case closed. The IRS, its outrageous if they did target tea party groups and that should be investigated. Why isnt the Bush appointee who was heading up the IRS at the time in question being investigated. I dont see how you can say Obama is at fault when you have a GOP nominated man heading up the agency. But, this needs to be thoroughly investigated and those that did wrong should be fired or possibly tried and sent to prison. As long as its really the person involved and not some underling thats used as a scapegoat. Benghazi, why dont we know who received the requests for more security and why the security wasnt provided. This should be a non partisan investigation as it falls under national security. The talking points? Who authorized scrubbing terrorism out of them? What did Hillary and POTUS know and when did they know it. Is this a cover up? I dont think so. Obama never claimed to have completely defeated al Qaeda and all of terrorism. If the talking points said our consulate in Benghazi came under a terrorist attack and we are looking to investigate it I dont think anyone in the public would have held that against Obama. We are never going to completely eliminate terrorism, its a fact of life that we all have to get used to. My unanswered questions have more to do with who received the request for back up and what that person did with that request. Who makes those decisions? Surely Hillary and Barack cant micromanage every decision. But, the GOP has done a good job of muddling this story up so much that it makes people ponder and wonder, they are obviously doing it for political reasons.

The takeaway from all this? People trust government even less and are becoming more polarized. I would like to see more people involved in the voting process so people that grand stand and do nothing but obstruct progress are voted out. As I have said many times on here I want to expand voting and make it much easier to vote. Yes on an iPhone or android. Now it seems like our government is so sinister and corrupt that there is nothing we can do to change it. Our voting people out of office can change that.

The AndrewSGinsburg Blog is Back

Stay tuned for coverage updates analysis and more. You can only find it here!

A new life awaits!

Why Washington Saved the Economy, Then Permanently Destroyed the Labor Market

This is a must read article from the Atlantic that goes into great detail about how DC went full force to save the banking system but has done nothing about the longterm unemployment crisis. They clearly state the biggest crisis in our country now is the longterm unemployed.

Comparing Washington’s reaction to the banking crisis and the unemployment crisis shows how and why government focuses on the rich and ignores the rest.

By DEREK THOMPSON

Link: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/05/why-washington-saved-the-economy-then-permanently-destroyed-the-labor-market/275747/

Excerpt:

In the last year, there has settled, even among the Democrats, a kind of reserved defeat that shows a stunning lack of urgency toward the crisis of long-term joblessness. From abandoning the payroll tax cut in late 2012, to quietly acceding to sequester, to going silent on unemployment, nearly all of Washington — not just the right — has essentially stopped talking about the most important economic issue of our time.

High-ranking Treasury officials officials I’ve spoken with on background couldn’t name any specific proposals they have to help the long-term unemployed. Instead, they’ve argued that general economic growth stuff, such as infrastructure spending, should be enough to put these 4 million people back to work. But the economic literature objects: Fighting vast long-term unemployment with general economic growth policies is like fighting pneumonia with Vitamin C.

So, why aren’t even Democrats scrambling to fight for the long-term unemployed?

Thanks To All of My Followers @GinsburgJobs Has Over 35,000!

First I would like to personally thank each and every person that follows me, reads my tweets, interacts, comments and participates. I had no idea when I started this endeavor that I would enjoy it so much and more importantly that I would get so much positive feedback. I have had people tell me from around the globe that they love my tweets, count on them for news and look forward to them. Thats really nice to hear and I am so glad that what I am doing is making a difference, however large or however small. I have also heard from a lot of people that disagree with me; I am always up for an intelligent conversation about differing points of view. There is a difference between another bright person with a differing point of view than a troll who is just negative and not worth any time. Come to think of it I have been accused of being an anti Obama mouthpiece as well as being extremely liberal. I guess thats one of my points with twitter and this blog: forget labels. Do whats right. People tell me I have a different and distinct ‘voice’ and I take that as a fantastic compliment. I like to point out what I see as wrong in the world, in the hopes of righting it. If you are a hard core DEM that doesnt mean you have to agree with everything Obama is doing. If you are hard core GOP do you really want to see people die because they dont have the money to have health insurance? To me, there is a right thing to do and thats what I strive to do; I dont care about party affiliation. I care about whats right. Now, I must say that todays GOP is a disgrace; alienating minorities, gays, women. With such hard core non bending stances its hard to sympathize with any of their positions. That doesnt mean that if John McCain has what I think is a good idea I wouldnt stand up and say so. When Portman came out in favor of gay marriage because his son is gay, I applaud that. I do hope for the day when the GOP becomes a sane alternative to the DEMS.

I hope my tweets and this blog have opened people’s minds a bit; I try to tweet views from the left and the right. I wish that the news media wasnt so lazy and they could actually write articles that make people think. For example would Joe Biden have made a better POTUS then Obama? Would Biden’s 30 or 40 years of contacts, friendships and relationships have helped him to pass more bills, lessen the gridlock, get more people back to work? I think quite possibly yes. The same for Hillary. Everyone is looking for the next new “out of Washington” person to come along and save the day. What if, what it takes to save the day are votes, and those votes in Congress are helped by longterm relationships. To me thats a topic worth a national debate. We should discuss these kind of issues for the betterment of our Country, not to score political points or to diminish Obama. Right and Left should want the same things; the best for our Country.

I was watching a documentary the other night on Ethel Kennedy, the other Mrs. Kennedy. Each of her children spoke of how their parents showed them up close and personal how a lot of other people live in this country and around the world. The Kennedy family has vast wealth and they taught their kids that they should always look out for the under dog, always help those in need. Teddy Kennedy to me is an inspirational hero. I never paid much attention to exactly what bills he was working on or things like that. But, here you have a billionaire who could sit back and enjoy the best of everything in life; yet he spent his life fighting for healthcare for the needy, working on bills to provide for people who werent as privileged as he was. To me thats what our Country should be about; helping people in need. And, not just with financial hand outs but jobs, education, ways they can make it on their own.

This piece is very me. I have lots on my mind, lots I want to share, lots I want fixed in the world and I say them as they come to me. But, the real purpose of this post is to again thank you all for following me, I hope you have learned things from me, as I definitely have learned from all of you. So, thanks for followings me.

Lets find ways to change the world!

Keeping Up, Not Getting Ahead Not Enough Jobs

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM10:38 AM ET

The economy continues to add jobs in proportion to population growth. Nothing less, nothing more. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/keeping-up-not-getting-ahead/?hp

This is an article from todays New York Times, please follow the link to finish reading it. I was just about to sit down and write a very similar piece and then I saw this. It blows my mind; all the top news media is reporting todays jobs report like we are finally out of the woods and everything is great. We are only creating enough jobs to keep up with population growth, thats it. The overall unemployment number went up to 13.9%. We have an unemployment crisis and its being completely ignored by President Obama, Congress, and the Media for the most part.

Is this 1937 or 1929?

Its actually a great question but either one means bad news for the United States of America. Most people know about 1929 the stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression. What many people dont know is that in the period from 1929 to 1937 the stock market rebounded, the economy looked good and everyone thinking we were out of any economic danger decided to put in place major budget cuts. Thats what happened in 1937, budgets were slashed, no more stimulus, people, some people thought the economy had recovered. But, it hadn’t. The budget cuts that were initiated in 1937 kept the Great Depression going until after World Ward 2. So where are we today, cutting budgets to continue the Depression we are in or just at the beginning? Its hard to tell. I am not an economist so keep that in mind while reading this. But, from what I have read from leading economists today we are in a situation of unprecedented long term unemployment as well as an economy thats shaky. Last quarter it basically broke even; this latest quarter the growth was below economists forecasts.

And, today we see our elected politicians looking for severe budget cuts. No cancer treatment for the poor? Is the U.S.A. a country where only the rich get medical care? The so called sequester is a disaster in the making. It cuts everything, from defending and protecting our country to cutting aid for education and medical care. Thats exactly what happened in 1937 which plunged the United States back into the Depression, which we had never gotten out of. What got us out of the Great Depression was WWII; during WWII we spent as a country 3 times the GDP; which today would mean $45Trillion per year. People attack Barack Obama for his stimulus not working as well as it should have. Well, in a $15 Trillion economy one push of $800 Billion wont do that much. Many economists predicted that at the time. And they were correct.

Today our economy is in a Depression. Hiring has been so slow that it cant keep up with populations growth. Last month 500,000 people stopped looking for work. These people didn’t stop because they wanted to stay home and watch TV, or they wanted to live off the government (their benefits had long run out). They stopped looking because their are no jobs out there and people got sick of applying and rejected. You hear lots of stories about the unemployed having a lack of marketable skills; this used to be called on the job training.

Speaking from experience I know that companies are not eager to hire people; they are not eager to take a well skilled worker and utilize their skills, no matter what the salary, they are more likely to over interview people and then not hire anyone at all. Its really an extreme disaster for both sides. For the unemployed it can be worse than a spouse dying; they are more likely to suffer ailments that employed people arent. For companies, they are trying to make do with less; have fewer employes, fewer expenses and more profit. But thats not the way it works in the big picture. Those that are fortunate enough to have jobs live in fear of losing them. You dont get the best work from people when they are walking scared and afraid of being unemployed. What you do get is higher profits and CEOs with extremely high pay, because this quarter did well. No one is looking at the big picture, as to what companies and people will look like a decade from now. High riding companies will likely lose their CEOs as they move on to a better paying job. Every day employees are left with the mess senior management makes and are often blamed for it.

So, 1937 or 1929? Austerity will kill all growth in this country and push us back into a deeper recession than we are already in. And its really a depression not a recession. If its more like 1929 we are in for a horrible ride. We are just at the beginning of a horrible economic mess.  Yes the wealthy will be fine and are protected. Where ever you fall on the economic scale do you want to see your fellow Americans suffering and possibly dying because they dont have income/cash?

Its time to learn from history. What we did in 1937 caused tremendous pain. President Obama should be out there pushing for stimulus and jobs bills; like he tried to do with gun control.  The GOP has been despicable in their obstructionism but that means Mr. Obama needs to work harder. We need more jobs for the 89 million people who are unemployed or who don’t earn enough to survive.

Today is the day, we need to all come together to put every American who wants a job back to work. The cost will be minimal compared to tje alternative.