oh the irony

 This is from Private Eye No. 1663 28 Nov - 11 Dec 2025.

to come into our museum you must tell us where you're from

 I'm not going to name this museum - but my experience is that it is a very good example of this type of institution, and so is useful for this kind-of case study. Suffice to say that it is an old engineering building and contents which is open only two days a week, seven months per year. I have given advice [some might call it consultancy] to a large number of similar organizations. This post includes some of the issues I would raise with the relevant folk [one of the problems is that museums is that they are run by well-meaning volunteers who form a committee]. 

My issue is with this message on the website ...

Yep ... to access the website I have to agree to accept the organization's cookies onto my device. 

The website is mainly informative rather than commercial, although the museum's grounds are rented out for weddings, so there is limited business content.

The website's privacy policy is pretty much standard legalese, and includes the following: [my questions follow each point]

'If you do not agree to the following policy you may wish to cease viewing / using this website'

Would you have someone at the museums door insisting on information about every visitor before you let them in? [see the title of this post]. 

'We also use cookies to log your IP address location. (A rough geographic location to help us establish where our website audience is located)'

If you knew which part of the UK - or even which country - website visitors are from how can you use that information in your marketing efforts? NB a common answer to this is that 'we can do marketing in that area' ... errr, people in that area already know about you [they've visited your website], shouldn't you be advertising in areas from where no one visits the website? Oh, and how much advertising do you actually do?  And do you know where visitors to the actual museum come from? Do you ask them?  Although I find the content of the museum interesting, would I travel the 120-ish miles from my home to visit it? [probably not]. Might I drop in if I'm in the area? Yes, I'm in the area quite often - but not on the two days of the week it  is open [it's another issue, but I would be interested to know why those two days of the week have been chosen, I assume there are logistical reasons]. And all this is without considering the technical issues such as the online visitor using a VPN - meaning that many geographical locations are either inaccurate or missing. 

'We also use cookies to see which pages of our website are viewed the most and at what time of the day. This helps us establish which of our pages are the most popular'

What might you do with this information? Serious question. What - other than general interest? OK, so the wedding page might have some value, but it would have to be analysed with other - offline - data; eg page visits vs bookings ... but what if the majority of the page visits are from invited guests of a future wedding checking on the venue?

'We also use cookies to log how long a user spends on specific pages of our website'

Why? There might be some value, but does anyone analyse this? For example; a long time on the wedding information page might indicate interest by the visitor - or it could mean the content isn't clear, so it is being re-read to find relevant details. Does it really matter if the page on engineering data is the one visited longest? [let's not even ask about folk leaving their browser open on the page while they make a cup of tea]. 

'The cookies used are considered ‘essential cookies’ and are required for our website to work correctly'

Really? What are they? [it's a fairly basic website]. A catchall sentence [from designers/lawyers] to cover all eventualities that they might happen? 

However, there is some relevant stuff in the policy about data that might be entered on one of the contact form on the site ... but there could be a 'privacy policy' link on each form's page. 

Oh, and by the way - as a footnote - on the day I'm writing this post, all the 'events' listed on the site are for dates in 2025, that is, they're in the past. Given that the website is obviously[?] not regularly maintained ... I wonder if anyone ever looks at the data that is gathered. If this is the case, why insist that every visitor has to agree to have their data collected? 

Note that I've used this post as an exercise on my book's website, see chapter 11.

unusual ... but good practice

 I just made an online purchase which required personalization [a picture on a mug]. One of the questions I was asked subsequently was 'is there a specific date you want the product by?'  I answered 'no' because, well, I'm in no rush for it. 

So why ask? I guessing, but it could be that the company will be busy in the next couple of weeks meeting Christmas present orders, so perhaps mine won't be a priority. They will still need to meet 'normal' delivery dates [which are usually very quick] but at the same satisfy customers who - let's face it - have left their order late in the month.

the most annoying thing on the internet?

Yes, Microsoft, I know it's an old password I've used before - it's the password you just told me wasn't my password and told me to reset it 😠

 

help or insult?

 Maybe it's just me, but just because the post on X was quite long and there were some long words ... I can read it myself.

 More seriously, could I trust Grok to summarize the content accurately and in the spirit of its writer?

Just a reminder - digital is not the only option.

I have no idea what this thing is. There is a new housing estate being built down the road - so it's something to help with that. 

So ... someone makes these things - and someone markets them. Yes, digital might have a part to play ... but please don't tell me the potential buyers will be looking to TikTok, Instagram or influencers in their purchase decision making.

i'm not advertising

 I've included this advert - which appeared in an email - simply to show that the US retailer has become a major player in online advertising.

hello; do i know you?

 I got this in my email inbox.

The thing is, I've not used Google ads for about 20 years and then it was for a week or so to demonstrate their use to students.

Furthermore, according to the home page of the website on the domain name used as the sender email address, the company offers: 'The modern payroll, scheduling, & hiring platform built for restaurants.' Needless to say, I'm not - nor ever have been - in the restaurant business.

Of course, that was a phoney email address - and clicking on the link in the ad took me to a different website [on a different domain name].  

So, it's a scam ... but quite a good one. Not sure what the end game is though - probably my bank details. I can't see Google being happy at their name being taken in vain either.

really?

 I came across this artificial intelligence company [it's been hi-lighted in a number of media outlets]. 

1    Take a look at the service offered as featured on the website's home page.

2    See if you can come up with a legitimate [some might say 'legal'] use of this product. 

 In case the image is too small for you to read the text, I've typed it out below.

'The doublespeed TERMINAL allows you to orchestrate actions on thousands of social accounts through bulk content creation and deployment.'

'Our deployment layer mimic natural interaction on physical devices to get our content to appear human to the algorithims*'.

Our system analyzes what works to make the content smarter over time. The best performing content becomes the training data for what comes next.

*Yes, they did spell this wrong ...  given the organization is all about the use of algorithms and content development, that's a pretty telling mistake.

who gains?

This morning I accidentally 'clicked' on an ad whilst scrolling down X on my ipad. It's something I do quite often on my iphone as well. Made me wonder just how many ad clicks are not deliberate - and what that does to any data gleaned from those ads. And who pays whom?

does this add up

 I was reading an article on a website I would normally recommend, but one section carried the header: 

'TikTok’s audience is overwhelmingly young: 1 in 4 TikTok users are under 25.'

Can just 25% of any group be described as 'overwhelming' - particularly as the overall population concerned probably peaks at 75 years of age, making the age group that represents 75% of total users [ie 25-75] significantly more than the overwhelming group of 25-year olds.

now you see it, now you don't

Going back nearly 30 years, when talking about website development I have always preached 'make the words easy to read'. It seems the message still falls on some deaf ears for the home page of this website ... 

To be fair, I should add that this is a one-off for the site. The white text is normally shown over a dark background, but in this instance the top of the background image wasn't, well ... dark.

it's funny 'cos it's true

 

it's funny because it's true

 I came across this on twitter ... if I find out who came up with it I'll add a credit to the source.

Calling long distance

 I can't remember what I'd just bought here, but I'm guessing it was software of some kind? Whatever it was, I hope it worked - the phone number cannot be reached from outside the USA.

cookies - as good as it gets?

 a

cookies ... as bad as it gets?

 This site offers you no choice. As the message-footer stays on every page I'm going to assume that your computer is getting cookies from this site whether you agree or not. 

Of course there is a choice ... the back button taking visitors [and potential customers] off the site.

a bit late ... deliberate, bad timing or just thoughtless? Part II ... the small print version

 

the internet is not working [again]

 Couple of things on this:

I)  In the UK, there's talk of mandatory digital ID ... tricky when digital is down,

and, 

II) Forbes posted this on X which, for a time, was one of the sites that was down - and when you clicked on the link to their website ... it was down too. You couldn't make this kind of thing up 😐

D-to-someone-else-to-C

 I just read another article about a oh-so-successful 'direct-to-consumer' brand. Fair enough, it does manufacture the product [toothpaste], but it sells via - amongst other sites - Amazon. Errr ... if you sell through a third party [ie not direct from manufacturer to the customer] you are not a direct-to-consumer organization. Of course D2C is trendy and attracts investors - far more so than a retailer might. Hmmmmm😏

the kind of email you can't really complain about

 I'm a member of Adidas's 'adiclub' and I've not bought anything for a while, so I got this ... 

Any guesses?

 This ad seems to appear on my twitter feed every time I open the app ... and I still have no idea what product is being promoted.

A 600 mile round trip?

 

skinned?

In the UK, a July 2025 Which? investigation found that 67 per cent of skincare items purchased on Amazon, Tik Tok Shop, eBay and Vinted were counterfeit. Hmmmm ... two things: [i] buyers beware, bargain prices are rarely bargains, and [ii] the websites don't seem too bothered.

Perhaps these folk can afford to waste ad money?

I wish I was in the correct demographic for this one ... 

What, subscribe again?

 This seems to be a common occurrence that should [I would have thought] be easy to address. I clicked on a link from a subscribed email to reach this web page - so why the subscribe box?

a bit late ... deliberate, bad timing or just thoughtless?

 So yesterday I booked a room with Premier Inn ... and this morning I received this in my email.😒

someone paid for this ...

 A driving test theory app - for someone who's had a driving licence for more than 50 years 🤔

some choice ...

 On this site you have the choice of accepting cookies ... or continue on the site, and accept the cookies. I expected better from Harvard Business School.

mixed message

 This cookies warning looks good - until you read that you can reject all cookies  ... which would be good if only there was a 'reject' button.

They should all be like this

 An excellent example of a cookie notice ...

[from eastridingcoastandcountryside.co.uk]

someone paid for this/these

 The search was for "Kingsway Hotel Cleethorpes" and the first two listings were ads.

 [1] There is an argument that no organization should pay for an ad when the search is for its brand name, but then in the days of more ads and  zero clicks maybe that argument has weakened? 

[2] The second advertiser has paid for an ad to appear on the SERP for "Kingsway Hotel Cleethorpes" ... when they don't even have a hotel anywhere in Cleethorpes. Hmmmmmm.

someone paid for this ...

 I was thinking I could use a small flask, so I searched on Google for "250 ml flask" ... and none of the sponsored  returns [adverts] featured a 250 ml flask. In other words, those [dim] folks had paid for the key word "flask" thinking - I assume - that I would see a 500 ml flask think 'that will do'.  Sometimes I despair.

PC, tablet and phone use

 This image is part of an article on B2B sales to schools - but the reason I've included it is that  [according to this] '... 90% of K12 students use computers or tablets in school and nearly half at home'. 

What? Only half of students use computers or tablets at home? Does this mean they use phones? I hope so or they're missing out in their education. 

Doh!

 When the web designer can't get the page spacing right [it's not rocket science]

web page of no return

 We've all been there, you click on a link but the website requires you to pay or see adverts - but this is what I got on my ipad for inews.co.uk. Yep, this is the whole screen .. leaving no way to get off the page without closing the window. 

Snap up one of these bargains before they're gone

Someone paid for this ...

This came up as an ad on Google for a search on "SWB motorhome for sale". Well, you might say - that's what you asked for. Except that  SWB stands for short wheel base [a commonly used phrase for anything to do with vans, campervans and motorhomes] and the featured van [to which the link took you] is perhaps one of the longest of long wheel base motorhomes. 

So a waste of my time and a waste of the advertisers money. 

OK, so it's a joke, but ...

 This is a post on twitter by mediocreJoker85 in September 2025, but I think it reflects a lot of online textual content:

Real life: “I changed a lightbulb."

LinkedIn: “I single-handedly managed the successful upgrade and deployment of a new environmental illumination system with zero cost overruns and no safety incidents.”

TickTok ... really?

At a social do over weekend I met guy who worked in procurement for a manufacturer that supplied components to the auto industry. His team bought the stuff – from manufacturing machinery to steel to nuts and bolts – to make those component. A few beers in, I asked if he used TikTok to find new suppliers.

He just glared at me for a while ... then burst out laughing and said ‘you nearly had me going there’. He then retired to the bar shaking his head muttering something like ‘feckin Tik-feckin-Tok’.

email 101: check your links

 This isn't a bad 404 page - the problem is that when I clicked on the link on a promotional email I was taken to this page.

 

brand association?

It's hard to avoid being political at the moment - and I'n not being so here. I'm simply asking the question about you wanting your brand advertised on this person's social media platform.

Source: Private Eye, September 2025

D'OH - THIS HAS COST THE ADVERTISER MONEY

If you go back through this blog you'll examples of stupid ad targeting ... well it seems nothing changes - this one's from twitter.