Mobile Internet Advertising: Coming To A Cell Phone Near You?

A number of sources have reported the results of a study performed by the Online Publishers' Association (whatever that is). It seems that with the appearance of such things as mobile internet devices, there will be more and better ways to clutter your life with stuff you don't need and information you don't want to hear about.

What you see here is what's on my desk. It works well, it's fifty years old, and is unobtrusive (except for its color). It does what I want it to do and no more. It stays out of my face and out of my space. Efforts to market things to me via this device have been so far unavailing, and that's just how I like it.

The phone is a tool to help me do my job, and no more.

When I was dragged kicking and screaming into the cell phone era about three years ago, that's about what I wanted from a cell phone-a device that was unobtrusive, convenient, reliable, and uncluttered-and that's what I got from the folks from U.S. Cellular.

But it seems that if we have mobile internet, we're going to have advertisements and unwanted content. The article suggests that folks in more advanced places such as (of course) Europe are a lot more receptive to the idea of getting ads for TrimSpa and Viagra stuffed in your ears and all over your screen.

Not me. Life's tough enough as it is.