Ah, ads. They’ve become one of the most hated things about the Internet, and at the same time the most necessary. Ads aren’t pretty, some are of course, but they are everywhere and Google are one of the biggest provider of ads across the Internet. It’s a large part of their revenue and they control ads on YouTube, which is arguably one of the biggest destinations on the Internet. So far, there are few places you can escape ads on the Internet.
As more and more info about Google’s Glass hit the Internet, there was a worry that you might be seeing ads in the top corner of your eye. It sounds a little silly when you think about it but, this is Google, and they will try anything at least once. Thankfully, it looks like Google Glass is going to be one of the few places ads aren’t welcome. Recently, Google have been on a spree releasing content concerning Glass, designed for Explorers and Developers, including the release of documentation concerning the Mirror API. Taking a closer look at this documentation, you’ll come across this little gem:
Section 2: Advertisements
No Ads. You may not serve or include any advertisements in your API Client.
Data Usage. You may not use user data from your API Client for advertising purposes. You may not sell or transmit any user data received from your API Client(s) to a third-party ad network or service, data broker, or other advertising or marketing provider. For the avoidance of doubt, user data from the API Client(s) may not be used for Third-Party Ad Serving (“3PAS”).
The above is an excerpt from Google’s Terms of Service for the Mirror API. While this doesn’t mean that Google are blocking ads altogether, it does rule out the inclusion of them using the Mirror API. Something else in the Documentation suggests that Ads won’t be allowed, however. From Google’s “Best Practices”:
Don’t get in the way
Glass users expect the technology to be there for them when they want it and out of the way when they don’t. Make sure your application supports this by not being too frequent and loud with notifications when users don’t expect it. Provide appropriate controls for the optimum experience.
I think we can all agree that Ads would get in the way of such an experience. Ads are necessary throughout the Internet – we wouldn’t survive without them, for instance – but Glass is one place they don’t belong and it’s good to see Google making movements to stop them reaching the platform.
[Source: Google Developers]