Journalism Research and Random Meanderings

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

The Problem with Automatic Tools 

I'm sure neither Google nor the Globe and Mail intended this to happen (and hopefully both will take steps to ensure it won't again) and I'm quite sure the advertiser doesn't want to be placed here but it's an excellent case in point for the inherent problems with tools like Google's AdSense that "read" the site they're working on and generate ads related to the text on the page.

The following Globe and Mail story Waterslide mishap costs boy his legs had ads by Google;

"[by] TU THANH HA

MONTREAL -- A seven-year-old boy lost both his feet after he was swallowed through a submerged intake pipe at a waterslide near Montreal this week, raising questions about the self-regulated nature of the water-park industry in Quebec. A screen normally covering the intake pipe at the bottom of the slide wasn't in place, police said. Investigators believe Alexis Auclair was sucked through seven metres of pipes until he hit the pump's turbines, which crushed his feet. ..."

Unfortunately the ad was for another water park;