For the past several years, I have been seeing TV and print advertisements from purveyors of so-called food supplements. These marketing pieces, usually featuring a celebrity or two, are touting herbal and not-so-herbal products. Each of these ads includes a claim or two about how these food supplements work wonders for the kidney, heart, liver, and every other internal organ.

These TV commercials also claim that these food supplements can ease and relieve a long list of aches and pains including arthritic pain, muscle pain, and headache. Some of these products, their manufacturers declare, also help improve the sexual prowess and performance of those who ingest them.

All these advertising spots, however, end with a disclaimer saying no therapeutic claims whatsoever are made.

Bull. After claiming that those food supplements can correct or prevent diseases, their manufacturers would then say they’re not claiming any therapeutic properties for their products. Why? So that the FDA would be powerless to regulate their products.

Let us try and apply this marketing and advertising ploy to an IT or telecom product or service. Hmm.

Advertisement One
(Starlet running through a sunny field)
ABC Computing Supplement is based on technologies developed by the world’s leading computer engineers and scientists. Its scientifically proven microprocessor is designed to ease your computing worries and pains. It includes onboard sound and graphics cards to give you the best multimedia experience.
ABC Computing Supplement, the best thing in computing. (Music fades…)
(The makers of ABC Computing Supplement do not make any computing claims whatsoever.)

Advertisement Two
(Action star kicking bad guys)
Are you tired and sick of your old mobile phone experience? Is your mobile phone unable to stand stress and pressure caused by the mobile world? Does your mobile phone fall short of your mobile expectations?
Then, it’s time to switch to XYZ Mobile Phone Supplement. (Techno music blares…)
XYZ Mobile Phone Supplement, a mobile phone like no other.
(No mobile phone claims.)

Bing, You’re Third

Windows, despite the raps and negative consumer feedback brought about by Vista, remains the most widely adopted and implemented operating system on Earth, providing Microsoft with a virtually unlimited money source.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, this phenomenon also holds true for Web search engines. Google, despite the raps and cries of monopolistic behavior from some Internet activists, remains the world’s most popular and most heavily used search engine.

While Microsoft’s Bing search engine is almost universally acclaimed for its innovative features, it remains a distant third to Google and Yahoo.

Facebook’s 250 Million Users

There are now 250 million people using Facebook, according to Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the online social networking service. Founded in 2004, Facebook is now the world’s most popular social networking Web site.

It is now bigger than MySpace and Friendster.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT and some other things.