One of the videos from pre-season lesson three is all about installing extensions for the browser of choice, Flock. Nothing wrong with any of these to be honest although it's possible that some of the extensions provide information back to the extension's author. That doesn't really help the TDC team any, so that's not scamish at all.
The last toolbar installed is the TDC Toolbar. This contains a search widget plus links to tools, information on the TDC site and some other features which aren't apparent just yet - although I'm sure it will all be explained throughout the actual challenge.
Ed goes to mention in the video that the TDC team receive "about $1.65 a day". WARNING WARNING WARNING. DANGER WILL ROBINSON! SCAM ALERT.
Oh wait! Ed goes on... "So if that offends you, feel free not to install it." Ah. That's better.
My personal view on this is that the toolbar's value is worth more to me than the idealism that they shouldn't get the $1.65 per day. In any case, if they make $1.65 a day off me and it costs me nothing and it allows them to bring me this information for free, then I have no complaints.
So far, I'm not concerned about the Thirty Day Challenge being a massive scam, and still suggest you come and join the fun.
Disclaimer: I've done my best to quote Ed from the video above. If there should be a correction please let me know.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
8 comments:
I already use the Google search box in both Firefox and Flock - I don't need the 30DC search feature! I'm quite happy to ignore it.
This is something that Ed said himself, that is he doesn't use that search feature. It's just the way the place they got the toolbar from works...
Do you have any idea what the toolbar does, what it delivers to the person paying, such that it's worth $1.65 a day?
Well Dave, I've found that it makes it easier to access all the tools for the challenge. Direct links to the lessons, which update as new lessons are released are handy. Then there are the links to the tools. I'm sure there is more that will be shown during the actual challenge as well.
I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, and since it isn't costing me money to use the toolbar, I don't see that I'm losing anything.
Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear. I wasn't asking what benefit it delivers to you as a user of the toolbar, I was asking about what what benefit it delivers to whoever is paying out $1.65 a day to the people who are asking you to use it.
You said that the TDC team receive "about $1.65 a day" in relation to the toolbar. That suggests that someone who created the toolbar is paying them for getting other people (such as yourself) to install it.
So, the obvious question arises: the people who are paying that money, what benefit do they get from having you install it?
Dave, that's what I was wondering about too. I wonder if we put that question to Ed Dale, how he would answer?
If it was stats and tracking of information, which I think it probably is, do they have a responsibility to disclose that?
I'm not going anywhere near the search function, personally.
If I were involved in this, or were thinking about being involved in it, I think it would be one of the first questions I'd ask.
And, yes, I think honesty and openness alone require that they disclose any tracking or information gathering that the toolbar might do. Chances are that some jurisdictions require it too.
If getting you to use it is worth money to someone then you've got to wonder about the benefit it's delivering to the person paying. Personally I'd want to satisfy myself that it wasn't logging information about me without my knowledge and consent.
It seems the money comes from the search feature. I guess they show ads and make revenue, so provide a small percentage of that revenue to those who help bring the traffic in.
Kinda like an affiliate, which seems fitting really...
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