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Yesterday, while reading an article on USA Today, my eyes gazed over to prominently displayed “News Stories” on the right side of the page. Clicking through seems to reach respectable site, apparently presenting TV affiliated news site, complete with anchor photos, videos and long authentic looking article.

Except all of that is just an elaborate scheme to try and get gullible consumers to trust this fabricated article. Fancy backend algorithm generates random people names (sometimes for same photos, as I confirmed clicking on similar Ads from another page) and even articles themselves change depending on the area your IP is coming from, to try and get you to think that local reporter is bringing you this important news “information”. Of course the content of the article itself is also mostly fake, and so are all the other links on the page, purporting to be other categories of this “news site”. In reality, these links are just a cheap-trick, redirecting people to unsuspecting sites which are probably paying for “click through”, hoping for quality leads but instead getting ripped.

In one of the links I landed on a site claiming to be New-York’s WSVI television station. Of course in reality it is just another site scammers generated, and I wonder what real ABC affiliated WSVI station, which actually broadcasts in Virgin Islands, would say about this?

The wares they are peddling are suspicious or worse. The Work-At-Home scam is especially nefarious and I found earlier reference to similar tactics, even infringing on CNN’s trademark logo.

I am pretty sure the $5 cream they are peddling is either unsafe for your skin, or completely inert. And the $9 a week miraculous Insurance they are promising – I calculated that I pay less with respectable Travelers insurance, instead of their “unidentified” company.

How can (supposedly) respectable USA Today newspaper and online site stoop to such low quality advertisement sham? I literally felt that I need to run and tell my children about yet another evil on this planet that they need to protect themselves from.

But I also tried to take a step back and consider if I am overreacting. Perhaps this is the future of online Advertising? Should we just adjust our expectations that anything and everything we click on the web may end up directing us to Insurance site (regardless if we have a car) or maybe Viagra-like cheap pills offer (regardless of….). After all, how else are quality sites like USA Today can support their staff of professional journalists? We always knew that everything we find on the Internet cannot be trusted, right? Why would we ever use Wikipedia at all?

You have to draw your own conclusion, and talk to your own kids. Meanwhile I am uninstalling USA Today app from my iPhone and will think twice before clicking on any link leading to USA Today site – I hope the advertising revenue they got from AdBlade was worth losing all those readers over.

Before you scream – SPELL CHECK, STUPID – The error in the title is intentional. Nintendo’s device should be called iDS, but opting not to alienate Apple they called their “i” device Nintendo DSi.

With an upcoming launch (April 5, 2009) of actual Nintendo DSi device, Apple wants to be sure we instead talk a lot about iPhone 3.0 operating system potential features. They are organizing “Preview” event on March 17, but no word yet on when the actual operating system will “hit the streets” as they say (or whether Apple, in a suicidal move, will decide to charge for this upgrade).

There has been a lot of speculation about what the new features should be in 3.0 (and you can try to weigh in). Personally, I hope they will finally address the biggest trouble with the iPhone – The Lack of Communication Features.

There, I said it – for a communications device, it is in BIG trouble with “missing the trend” of how young next generation communicates these days. We all heard enough complaints about MMS, but I really think that is Old-School already. Instead, next-gen use IM these days, and with it, the Video Chat! Seriously, no IM or Voice Chat on iPhone?!

Which brings me to last point of this post – Walled Gardens, again! Knowing Nintendo and Apple, they are likely to opt for “proprietary” software. End result? People on DSi can talk to friends on DSi only, and people on iPhones, with each other, only, etc. This is the ultimate insult, I think, yet one that is very hard to overcome. Not just because of “tradition” at the companies, but also because of the mess with Intellectual Property laws around software.

Maybe Nintendo and Apple can “sign an agreement to open networks”, etc, etc? This is just as bad, as offers no help for Android (G1, and later devices) nor people on Windows Mobile, Palm Pre, etc, etc…

We, The People, want Open Communications Standards! Skype could offer us some hope in the Video/IM arena, but it being owned by eBay and all, makes it unlikely…

Meanwhile, just pick up Xbox Live Vision cam, hook it up to your 360, which is already connected to your Big Screen TV. Now you are ready to experience the future of Video Chat, straight out of Back to the Future 2 movie. Of course walled garden applies, and is escalated by setup complexity (plenty of people with 360 who still can’t connect it to the Internet, even).