IMDb Sells Out

Yesterday, I checked out the IMDb for the first time in a week, and was greeted with this:

Over the last few years, I've felt like the IMDb has been commercializing itself progressively more and more; be it promoting bit-player actresses on it's front page to drive traffic, hawking the weeks newest DVD releases, or using stick-on ads. But this seems to be the biggest step yet even if only for a day.*

I can't recall the IMDb ever going this far with any other releases... this is a pretty major push for the "Twin Peaks" Box Set. And, for the record, I am a *huge* Twin Peaks fan. I just get cynical about blatant corporate synergy.

What's that you say? You were unaware that the IMDb is a fully owned subsidiary of Amazon.com? Take a look at the very bottom of the IMDb home page— you learn something new every day.

This is not much different from the New York times being an ad-based online magazine, or any other site that shows ads. Remember, nothing is free; we pay for "free" sites one way or another, and usually through commercials. You may not think of internet ads as true commercials, as they usually don't interrupt your regularly scheduled program temporally (i.e., stopping the chronological progression of your television show), but they do interrupt the linear progression of what you're reading. You have to skip your eyes past them to continue. Yes, that does have a temporal equivalent, but it isn't a temporal interruption. But is a spacial interruption better or worse? Hmmmm...

What worries me in this case, though, is that the premiere online resource for film is owned completely by the premiere online online retailer. Sure, I do most of my shopping on Amazon, so the links provided are convenient, but what happens when a movie comes out that is critical of Amazon.com? Or when trivia starts getting inserted to help promote sales? Or something more heinous that I can think of right now?

I don't mean to say that things are shady now, though yesterday's site look felt a little fishy. It's just that the potential for shadiness is particularly high, and if our history is any indication, what people can do, they often do.

* As of today, the ad look is already gone. [⇪]