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.