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back to article NebuAd jettisons PR firm, employees

Now that Congress has put the freeze on its stateside ISP partnerships, NebuAd is slimming down. The Phorm-like behavioral ad targeter has jettisoned its PR agency, and sources tell us the company recently laid off a significant portion of its workforce. Sources also say the company is considering the adoption of an …

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  1. David Willis
    Black Helicopters

    Phorm

    So in America it is illegal for a private company to use wire tapping techniques whilst the US government can tap whoever they want.

    Interesting to view the complete oppotsite in the UK.

    Where HMG have very strict regulations on what government agencies can tap (RIPA act), whilst at the same time turning a blind eye to private company wire tapping (BT).

    Perhaps HMG should consider privatising MI5.

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Phorm and BT

    Clearly this technology of DPI for advert insertion is not wanted by the masses.

    If BT had any sense they would learn now that they may go around in a few circles trying to get this system, (which will never pass all the DPA and the RIPA rules together, ) working but they are loosing ALL trust in the meantime.

    Locally to me the local PCT sent a bit of mail which looked like a standard junk mail which said if you do not 'opt out' all your health data will be 'mined' by organisations external to UK. Two weeks later they have suspended it due to the huge outrage. PEOPLE ARE GETTING WISE TO PRIVACY ISSUES.

    BT are you listening? People will not want PHORM and every day that goes by more will be educated. You will end up being sold to someone for 5p a share if you don't get wise soon. Phorm is slowly going to destroy ALL BT';s business and reputation.

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    EU and Phorm

    From BBC website...

    The UK government has until the end of August to respond to a letter from the European Union about a controversial system which monitors web traffic.

    EU commissioner Viviane Reding has asked the UK government to clarify whether the Phorm system is in breach of European data laws.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7542810.stm

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  4. Solomon Grundy

    It's a Joke Anyway

    All this stuff is a joke anyway. People overbought high-speed - they paid too much for service because they believed they "had to have it". Unfortunately this made the execubots believe that providing a secondary service was worth more than the primary service they rode on. Now their models are failing and everyone is upset. I say screw'em. The customers, the ISP's, and the Internet. It's not that special and actually causes more problems that it solves.

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  5. Claire Rand

    advice

    so the uk guv will send a reply stating they have "taken legal advice" of course they won't say what this advice actually said.

    odd how they bend over backwards to follow EU laws when it suits them, but here they will probably ignore it

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    It will take a while ...

    ... but after the inevitable judicial review, the calls for a public enquiry will be overwhelming.

    Just around the time of the next election..

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  7. seatrotter

    Shape-up or ship-out

    "Sources also say the company is considering the adoption of an advertising model that does not require the tracking of web surfers from inside ISPs."

    Their model could have worked and still be acceptable IF:

    - Opt In, w/ separate notice just for it, in plain and simple english, and auto-expires every few months.

    - Their system should be outside the ISP and only have access to packets explicitly redirected by the ISP itself based on w/c customer opted in (and the system the ISP uses that decides on packet redirection has a fail-safe that defaults to non-redirection to Phorm's system.

    - Thorough and regular audit of system/records by independent and government groups/agencies (ofcourse, total cost should be carried by Phorm).

    Hmmm... good luck w/ that.

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  8. RW
    Heart

    "many leading behavioral scientists and other advanced technology engineers"

    <yawn>

    It's just more spin.

    I love the way they used those favorite buzzwords, "advanced", "technology", and "engineers" all in one phrase. Well done! All they left out was "stochastic" and "leading edge."

    I don't just love, I positively adore spokespeople who come up with that kind of thing.

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  9. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Sweet!

    Come on Phorm, you're next.

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  10. Ash
    Thumb Down

    Kill it.

    Kill it dead.

    Leave nothing behind.

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  11. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    the only part missing

    Is the sentence saying that the only employees left are the ones at the top with the fat paychecks and the worker bees were the first to slaughter. wankers

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  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Euphonium

    Or should that be Euphemism?

    <i>"We have made temporary adjustments in the headcount,"</i>

    We're screwed and sacking people.

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  13. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    walled garden or nothing......

    "By seatrotterPosted Wednesday

    ...

    Their model could have worked and still be acceptable IF:

    ...

    "

    sorry seatrotter, your wrong, no one sided opt-in (I.E just the end users) can ever work.

    it HAS TO BE all partys, as in the website too, and even then it HAS to be a rock solid Walled garden, were every single one of the opted in clients both end users and website owners are all inside this waled garden, at no time can they look at the caches or logs of any users that may have temp oped out and poped outside for a quick look around, and opted back in, as then these logs and cache will include any non opted in websites outside the walled garden.....

    simple walled gargen doesnt work for profit, and if it did they would not get enough victims anyway to make it viable, even if that one single model might be fully legal if they stay inside the garden and can t get out in any shape or form...

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  14. Joe K
    Thumb Up

    Fuck yeah!

    No sympathies here, i hope all trace of that company is wiped from the earth, and its founders are chased by debt hunters forever.

    Now lets make Phorm implode like its share price has!

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  16. seatrotter

    Re: walled garden or nothing......

    Like I said, "Their model COULD have worked..." so it wouldn't necessarily work, though thanks for poking more holes in their sinking ship :D

    Really, anyone/any business contemplating on Targeted Ad is really asking for it.

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  17. Fatman
    Unhappy

    NebuAd jettisons PR firm

    Now, may I suggest that NebuAd's owner jump out of a skydiving airplane at 10,000 feet wearing a "Microsoft Parachute".

    At about 3,000 feet he should pull the rip cord; only to see a message like this:

    'Microsoft Parachute' has experienced a problem and must close.

    Please re-pack 'Microsoft Parachute' and try again.

    That 'splat' you hear a few seconds later is the end of NebuAd.

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  18. ur2die4
    Alien

    Can the American Phorm survive?

    When set on a level of flour. Add a soup spoonful of puff out. Serve immediately.

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