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Deceptive Websites' Paths of Half-Truths & Partial Disclosures - Brokerblogger

This is a great protein product that has NO half-truths or partial disclosures, in my opinion.  But, a sales person at a GNC did not tell me the whole truth.  He disclosed (on 6/28/06 at the GNC Vista Ridge Mall retail store) that "heat can affect protein".  This is a half-truth, as the manufacturer told me that while once mixed with liquid you can not excessively heat protein, the powder form of their protein is NOT affected by heat in the shipping process as long as the container is sealed.  In fact, the manufacturer (Nature's Best) told me that they themselves don't even concern themselves with heat in shipping protein powders. 

That GNC salesperson may have been misinformed, but he was trying to justify me paying a higher price than I could buy it from Amazon.com , who also would not charge me sales tax like he would have to.  He said GNC's trucks/warehouses are climate controlled, and planted a seed of doubt/fear about buying it from Amazon.com.  He said Amazon's vendor probably wouldn't climate control ship, but he wasn't sure.  I had to research this rather than take advantage of an expiring 25% discount on that product.  The bottom line is that even with that discount (incl. tax) GNC's price was about $41.  Amazon's price (incl. shipping) was $35.74!

I was almost led down the "buy now!" and "buy delivered quality" path, however my consumer advocate gut said to "Stop, Think, Research (a little), and then Buy (or "Click").  Half-truths are very powerful, since they are the most believable.  Deceptive websites can use them by intentionally misleading, partially disclosing something, and even by burying the full disclosure deep withing a very lengthy privacy policy or terms of service.

Let's look at another analogy to a deceptive website's path of half-truths & partial disclosures.

Misleading Digital Video Advertising From Manipulative Marketers - Brokerblogger

This still photo (click on to enlarge) taken at Rainbow Springs in Florida does not show what an underwater video camera would have shown.  The fish giving me the "evil eye" was patrolling his territory very aggressively.  My point is that video is more entertaining than photos for most people.

While this blog's title sounds like I'm against all digital video advertising, I'm not!  While these videos can be put on websites that are search engine optimized (SEO'd) for better ranking, or in the PPC ads on the SERP's, they can serve an entertaining and educational purpose, as long as they don't intentionally mislead consumers in any way.  In fact, with VOD digital advertising, consumers can have the power to be more precise in picking the most relevant ( based on timely intent) digital video ads, and maybe even have the reciprocity of rating and reviewing that video ad.  These are principles of "Concurrence Marketing".

Google has recently empowered the consumer with the three (top of the page) choices of sponsored videos at Google Video.  I chose Ask the Builder - tape measure/sonic measure .  You have a choice of seeing the LowerMyBills.com video ad to begin with or it plays automatically at the end of the "Ask the Builder" video.  Of course, you can cancel the video ad at any time. 

However, the LowerMyBills.com video advertising is misleading, in my opinion, since it says:  "Mortgage rates are at 40 year lows!".  I may be wrong, but on 8/4/03 I refinanced my home at a 30 year fixed, 4.625 % interest rate, with a 1/2 % loan origination fee!  That date is within the last 40 years, and I don't think I can do better now!  So, the claim they make is very misleading!  In all fairness, though, rates are still low compared to other times within the last 40 years.

The danger also lies in the fact that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million words.  Manipulation of video images by marketers to build a brand through misleading and even deceptive creative techniques and content would come under the FTC's "Advertising and Marketing on the Internet: Rules of the Road".  In my opinion, these rules would also apply to "Web TV", "Digital TV" or "I.P. TV".  I elaborated on "The FTC on Deception, Disclosure, and Endorsements" in my 5/10/06 post.

Next, is why I got on this subject to begin with.

Classmates.com = A Deceptive & Misleading Website? - Brokerblogger

Click to enlarge photo, and see the transparency of the clear water of Rainbow Springs in Florida.  Transparency in marketing seems to be a buzz word right now.  With the advent of the Internet, more people want upfront disclosure of nothing but the whole truth.  This Thesaurus.com definition of "transparency" uses words like "clarity", "comprehensibility", "conspicuousness",
"directness", "openness","perceptibility", and "unmistakeability".

Before I left for my vacation in Florida two weeks ago, I did a post on "Sometimes Deceptive-Misleading Websites Say "FREE".  This topic is discussed in the "FTC GUIDE CONCERNING USE OF THE WORD `FREE'".  Classmates.com uses this word on their home page by saying "It's Free!", and then says at the bottom of the next paragraph below: "Reconnect with the past and build friendships for the future."  Let's see what someone who has tried their service says about this.

[Here Are Recent Classmates.com, Reunion.com, MemoryLane.com, and MyLife.com problems, complaints, and reviews:

3/15/10 UPDATE:  "Classmates Sued Over Content-Sharing Arrangement"

2/21/11 UPDATE:  "Suit Says MyLife.com is Classmates by a Different Name"

3/6/11 UPDATE:  "1995-2011 Memory Lane, Inc., d/b/a Classmates.com"  It appears that Classmates.com is now part of "Memory Lane".  Here is a link to a  Memory Lane web page to possibly cancel your membership in Classmates.com since that is what the link address denotes:  http://www.classmates.com/search/help/article?articleId=4384&keywords=delete+account

3/10/11 UPDATE:  "The suit does allege that Classmates.com was run by Tinsley and subsequently renamed as MyLife.com -- which was in fact formerly known as Reunion.com. Classmates.com has since been rebranded as Memory Lane."  See 3/2/11 "MyLife.com Accused of Running 'Spam-and-Scam' Scheme"]

3/16/11 UPDATE:  On 10/9/10 - "The Classmates.com class action settlement rip-off" and on 1/13/11 - "Victory: court rejects Classmates.com settlement"