Google Outlines Advertising Vision
At least there won’t be ads on your themostat…
In a letter sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission late last year to explain why it doesn’t disclose revenue generated by mobile devices, Google said that breaking out revenue by device platform is difficult because the definition of mobile devices remains in flux.
“We expect the definition of ‘mobile’ to continue to evolve as more and more ‘smart’ devices gain traction in the market,” Google said in its letter, first reported Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal. “For example, a few years from now, we and other companies could be serving ads and other content on refrigerators, car dashboards, thermostats, glasses, and watches, to name just a few possibilities.”
The mention of thermostats set off alarm bells within the technology press because in January Google acquired Nest, which makes a smart thermostat, and because Nest CEO Tony Fadell promised that his company will be transparent about changes in its privacy policy and will make any changes opt-in.