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A Li’l ZenZui Beefin’

After my post yesterday, I was perusing the ZenZui product page a little bit and it really started to annoy me. First off, I really love that a Microsoft site gets bitten by the ol’ Microsoft copy-and-paste to web problem where all single and double quotes turn into question marks (I know it isn’t technically a microsoft bug - but you see it almost 100% from people copy and pasting from word). It is all over that site. Heh.

Ok, they show you this awesome marketing diagram. Which they follow up a bit later with this quote:

Users, Developers, Content, Brands, Distributionï¿½all in one big virtuous loop together.

Now look back at that chart. Do you see a loop? No, I see a one way arrow of content getting pushed to you through two layers of intermediaries.

And the best part is this, check it:

We donï¿½t know about you, but as everyday consumers we are terrified about the idea of spam on our mobile phones and figure you arenï¿½t thrilled with the prospect either. ZenZui now puts you in control of your Zoomspace, and the ads that support the content you see on your Tiles are only from brands related to them. By matching relevant sponsors with each Tile, the total cost of ZenZui to you, beyond your mobile data plan, is Zero dollars and Zero cents.

They are so terrified of spam that they are putting ads on your phone! Because if they didn’t put ads on your phone, somehow spam would get through their system. The ads act as technological weed blockers to the spam. Wow! And now I’m in control of my Zoomspace! I get to control whether or not I see ads? No. I get to decide what ads I see? No. I get to pick tiles that I want and ZenZui will place whatever ads they feel like placing with them. I really feel like I’m in control now! What does that have to do with spam on my phone?

So before ZenZui, no spam, no ads. After ZenZui no spam, and ads. What happened?

Sigh. I have no idea if ZenZui will turn out to be genuinely cool or just a neat little sideshow. I just wish they weren’t so full of it. If you’re going to have ads, just have them, don’t tell me that they’re stopping spam or that I’m in control. They aren’t and I’m not.