Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Pays comScore More Money, Gets Bogus Endorsements

Pie chart



Summary: Award and outcome -- new case study courtesy of Microsoft and comScore

Microsoft and comScore are getting all cuddly again. Two days ago we wrote about the “analyst tax”, which may have equivalents like the "survey tax" (or the "measure-things-that-make-me-look-better tax" [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]). This pair that we deal with today is not new to us; we wrote about it in:





Look, what do we have here? Well, several days ago we found a lot of news from comScore and Microsoft (yes, again). For instance:

Massive and comScore Announce Breakthrough In-Game Advertising Research Methodology

For the first time ever, advertisers will now be able to see the direct impact that in-game advertisements have on consumer online behavior, thanks to a new research collaboration between Massive Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp., and comScore Inc.


Microsoft’s Massive Partners With comScore To Prove In-Game Ads Work

The unit was disproportionately hard-hit in Microsoft’s recent layoffs (28 percent of Massive’s staff was let go)—and we had heard that Microsoft was shopping Massive and was willing to sell it for just a fraction of the $200 to $400 million that it had paid for it three years ago. As for the in-game ad business overall, it has not met heady projections for its growth.


Massive teams with comScore to verify how well in-game ads work

Hoping to win over advertisers, Microsoft’s Massive division and market researcher comScore have teamed up to statistically show how effective in-game advertisements are.


They are sharing data now. That's one company that claims to be delivering "independent" data on usage.

Within the new methodology, comScore utilizes Massive's relationship with Microsoft by pulling anonymous data from services including Microsoft's Xbox Live and Windows Live ID. comScore then combines that data with input from its large panel to determine if ad viewers visited the product's website, searched for the brand online, or other relevant activities.


Should this be making any output from comScore regarding Microsoft highly suspect? This is not their first time hooking up and working together.

More news items, for future reference:

Microsoft, ComScore Pair For Gaming Measure

comScore, Massive partner for gaming insight

comScore helps Microsoft measure in-game ads

ComScore makes Massive breakthrough with in-game ads

And look what we found in the news just days ago:

Microsoft websites prove popular with users



Industry tracker conScore released a study which found that 1.2 billion internet users aged 15 older spent a total of nearly 27 billion hours online in September, and Microsoft websites accounted for 14.5 percent of the minutes spent online worldwide in September.

ComScore reported that the results reveal Microsoft is “the most enegaging global property.”


Yes, comScore is advertising Microsoft again. Maybe what's "engaging" is something like Windows Update and security advisories. The data and methods are all proprietary, so comScore need only deliver sound bites that glamourise Microsoft and both parties are happy with their business relationships; the public? Not as much. It is being deceived, but most people do not know about it. Microsoft applies the same tactics to lie about GNU/Linux and Free software, so this is relevant to everyone.

"Distrust everyone in whom the impulse to punish is powerful!"

--Friedrich Nietzsche

Recent Techrights' Posts

Hate Mail From Anonymous Cowards
if this persists, we'll need to escalate
Informal Open Letter to the Lawyer of the Microsofters (on Who's Funding the SLAPPs Against Techrights)
Whenever I ask about the funding they try to change the subject and act all aggressive
Microsoft Lunduke is Just Provoking People for Provocation's Sake
Be forewarned and remember where this guy came from: Microsoft
 
Gemini Links 09/08/2025: Rethinking Aliases and Posting on Gopher vs. the Web
Links for the day
Links 09/08/2025: Apollo 13 Astronaut Jim Lovell Dies, Slop Future Bleak
Links for the day
After Shutting Down Studios, Divisions, Applications (e.g. Skype) Microsoft is Also Shutting Down 'Apps'
Cuts all around as layoffs persist this month, Microsoft tries to get many people to resign, and debt skyrockets
Most of Geminispace Can Probably Fit on a CD-ROM or a DVD (the Textual Part)
If one excludes very large capsules and ones that contain non-textual contenty
Eventually UEFI 'Secure Boot' Will be Dropped (Users Will Demand Its Removal and Boycott Its Pushers)
we expect OEMs will just listen to users
The Register MS: We Know Slop is a Bubble and Mindless Hype, But We Get Paid to Participate
Call out the culprits
There Are Probably Over a Million Pages in Geminispace
there are two many limitations which merit a mention when it comes to assessing magnitude
Besieged by Plagiarists Who Play With LLMs and Image Fusions
We really need to exercise or use our collective voice to oppose Serial Sloppers
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 08, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 08, 2025
Gemini Links 09/08/2025: Water Painting and Political Violence
Links for the day
Slopwatch: LLM Sloppers in Google News, LinuxSecurity, and More
they also perpetuate some falsehoods as the LLMs lack any comprehension
Links 08/08/2025: China King of Plastics and US Dictator Plans to Meet Russian Dictator
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: Cracking a Family Member's Password and Overdose of Slop
Links for the day
Red Hat's Latest Talent Hunt, Day Ahead of Mass Layoffs, is Yet Another Microsoft Executive
Red Hat will apparently commence mass layoffs early this coming Monday
Links 08/08/2025: "Quit Facebook" and High Cost of Microsoft/Windows Shown Again ("BlackSuit")
Links for the day
Good Morning, Readers of The Register MS
Things The Register MS could (but does not) cover this morning
Why Gemini Protocol Has a Bright Future
Maybe Gemini Protocol's promise becomes more appealing as the Web turns to slop and bloat
It's a Lot Easier to Participate in the Unethical System Than to Oppose Injustices in It
Going after powerful and high-budget interests is never easy
Microsofters Filed Two SLAPPs Against Us, Now They Cannot Keep Up With Judges' Orders
For over 4 months already their facilitator in London has been under investigation by British authorities because of what's being done to my wife and I
Censorship Regarding Red Hat Layoffs
Talk about this? They'd rather not.
Struggling to Cut Costs, Microsoft Continues Shutting Down and Cancelling Stuff This Month
There are August layoffs at Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 07, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 07, 2025
Fake 'Linux' Articles, Written by Bots to Take Traffic Away From Real Articles
LLM slop helps replace information with junk or misinformation
When Google's Googlebombing of "Gemini" Was Not Enough; They Now Also Googlebomb "Gemini Space"?
We know GAFAM not only worries about Gemini Protocol but also attempts to 'infiltrate' Geminispace
The Register MS Promotes Microsoft Slop, Assumes All Readers Use Microsoft Windows
Microsoft really dominates the site
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: KDE/Qt Development and What's Missing From "Retro"
Links for the day
Links 07/08/2025: US Punishes India Instead of Russia, Attacks Law Firms to Prevent Scrutiny
Links for the day
Read Us in Geminispace as Well
it's definitely a lot simpler than using a Web browser
Once a Site About BSD and GNU/Linux, and After Months of Silence, LinuxBSDos.com Comes Back Only as a Slopfarm
very frustrating
Links 07/08/2025: Hardware Wars, Mass Recall of Colgate Total Clean Mint, More Microsoft Holes Found
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/08/2025: "Right To Manage" and LoRa Analysis
Links for the day
For the First Time in a Month OSI's "OpenSource.org" Blogs and It's Basically a Microsoft Blog Post (Microsoft Controls OSI)
For the first time in a month OSI writes something and it is Microsoft propaganda composed by a Microsoft-salaried operative
Microsoft, Already Borrowing 3 Billion Dollars a Month, is Trying to Cause Many People to Resign
MSN (i.e. Microsoft) and others openly admit it
GAFAM 'Says' is Front Page "News"
The point of journalism is to check and assess facts, not parrot what people and companies merely claim
Links 07/08/2025: Apple Makes False Promises, More Trouble for Microsoft
Links for the day
OSS Didn't Always Mean Open Source Software
"oligarchs all the way down"
The Register MS Does More Microsoft Sez or GitHub Sez (Says) Pieces
60 minutes ago
They Want Activists to Just Barely Walk and Eat, Not Do Activism Anymore
It's sort of like the ending of '1984'
Quit Perpetuating the Narrative of Gemini Protocol 'Dying' (It's False)
The "whisper campaign" against Gemini Protocol
Criticising Social Control Media in Social Control Media
Many people are quitting Social Control Media (fewer of them announce this in public)
Non-Free JavaScript Programs in Banks Aren't Even the Biggest Problem
Technology was supposed to make life easier; in practice, however, for most of us the opposite effect can be observed
Slopfarms Are Typically Fake News
Slopfarms typically relay falsehoods
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Replacing a Pocket Watch and Buying in Bulk
Links for the day
IBM is Obliterating Fedora
"Fedora releases were shipping with an increasing number of bugs on launch day even while I was using it for a several year stretch."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 06, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 06, 2025