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On August 15th, 2018, Google finally published an archive of all the political ads across its platforms. Included in this report are results from Search and YouTube. Dubbed “The Ad Library,” Google is reacting to lawmaker’s insinuation that stricter laws could be passed if they don’t make a move towards greater transparency.

Good news for voters.

Bad news for Teddy Maynard.

The Brethren

Back in 2012, John Grisham published “The Brethren.”

Aaron Lake, a significant character, is a representative to Congress from Arizona.

He’s affable, good-looking, and well-connected in Washington DC. Everybody likes him, and he doesn’t make a fuss. However, he doesn’t seem to want to move up in the party at all.

That is until he meets Teddy Maynard.

In the world of “The Brethren” Teddy Maynard is the Director of the CIA. Although he suffers from ailments that plague him continually, Maynard is just as cunning and shrewd as ever.

Maynard is also worried about a specific political figure in a foreign land. Given he’s in charge of the Central Intelligence Agency, Maynard is aware of a great many things. The United States general population, however, is kept in the dark.

At the beginning of the book, there’s a presidential campaign that’s already underway. The front-runner is not someone Maynard is fond of. It has very little to do with the man’s personality and more to do with his politics.

This guy’s soft on foreign defense.

Maynard wants someone in the Oval Office who is tough...which is why he’s keen on Aaron Lake.

Lake is likeable, and with the right amount of money behind him, Lake could be the sleeper hit for the upcoming Presidential Election. All they need to do is find contributors and staff. With Maynard’s connections and a long list of favors, it’s possible. Difficult, but possible.

So Maynard sets off to disrupt the election.

I should mention “The Brethren” was published in 2012 before President Trump was elected. Before the accusations of Russian collusion. Maybe Grisham knew something?

Whether he did or not, Teddy Maynard presents an interesting scenario; The Director of the CIA who is messing with a federal election and no one being the wiser.

It’s 2018 now. Google’s launched their political ad archive. Should Teddy Maynard have tried to pull off his little covert plot, it would have been a lot more difficult.

Thanks to Google’s archive of political advertising and a recent report, here’s why.

The Ad Library tracks the money

Google’s Ad Library is logging ads that appear on its platforms, and this includes Search and YouTube. It’ll list who paid for the ads, a rough estimate of the cost to deploy the ads, and how many impressions each ad received.

For Teddy Maynard to start running ads now, someone is going to be watching him. Well, maybe not him.

Maynard’s plan was to get others to fund Lake’s campaign. He’s got the favors, and he’ll be cashing them in. In return, Lake gets a lot of money, really fast. These contributors can then run ads on behalf of Lake.

With the Ad Library and similar programs from other social media sites, all these contributors are listed. A swift uptick in spending on a candidate, like Aaron Lake, will catch someone’s attention.

Top Keywords

The concurrent report Google released with The Ad Library will list keywords. Specifically, keywords that advertisers are going after. These keywords are linked to demographics and critical audiences.

A watchdog agency or a very concerned public citizen could find that specific keywords are being targeted more than others. When this happens, Teddy’s going to get found out.

Spending by State and Congressional District

Beyond the keywords, there’s the spending by State and Congressional District.

For the battleground states or swing districts, Teddy will likely spend more money on advertising here. His goal is to garner more and more favor for Lake in these areas.

As the old saying goes “follow the money.”

This would be another way to catch on to Teddy Maynard and expose his evil scheme.

Only Federal Campaigns

As of this writing, The Ad Library is focusing on federal elections at this time.

Good news for Teddy, if he were trying to rig a state senate election or the election of a city. Though bad news for someplace like San Antonio. Someone could seize control of a smaller area without the ad archive tracking them.

However, Maynard’s going for the big one.

Issue Ads Not Included

While there are plenty of ads for and against candidates, there are also issue advertisements.

These issue ads, though sometimes annoying, are meant to raise awareness. Should Maynard seek to sway the public to vote on issues, this could still work for him. However, elections are increasingly about the person running for office and less about the issues.

Case in point, Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton.

This most recent presidential election was between two people whom both had rabid supporters and vengeful critics. Moreover, there were those people stuck in the middle who liked neither candidate.

Instead of talking about issues, the media focused instead on something else. The main topic in 2016 became “who is the better person?”

Not “what’s their stance on X?”

While their positions were part of the discussion, inevitably, it came down to who was liked more. If someone disliked both candidates equally, the question became who was less of a horrible person?

Both had their flaws, and some of those flaws got broadcast louder than others. Both had their skills and strengths. Ultimately, it was about which person was a better person.

When evidence surfaced that maybe someone, from outside the US, had been working to disrupt the election, things got worse.

Hence, the push for transparency in political ads.

Does Teddy Succeed?

While Teddy Maynard’s dubious plot to get Aaron Lake elected is a significant part of “The Brethren”, they are not the main characters.

The eponymous “Brethren” are three federal judges who’ve come to find themselves in federal prison. Each one has committed some crime, and as a result, they’re now serving time.

To pass the hours, and to earn money, they’ve taken to running a scam. This scam gets embroiled in Teddy Maynard’s scam. Only John Grisham could write something like this and make it entertaining.

I won’t ruin the ending, but rest assured, bad things happen and mostly to bad people.

Go pick up a copy of “The Brethren”.

You won’t be disappointed.

Greater Transparency

As mid-terms approach, politicians running for office, or running to keep it, are wary of someone messing with the election for the sake of disruption. While they work to manipulate voters and constituents, someone may be managing them. That's not a fun way to think of the next election.

The good news is that Google, along with other social media platforms, is pushing for more transparency. They’re digging into their advertisers to find where the money comes from and how many people are affected by it. With this knowledge, we’ll have a better idea of who’s getting involved.

While these moves may not erase disruption and manipulation, they will make it more difficult.

In the meantime, do your research into your favorite candidate. Also, pick up a copy of “The Brethren”. Who knows, you may find a real-life Teddy Maynard!

Moreover, check out the best Spectrum internet deals in your area while you’re at it. You’ll get to research the issues, the candidates, and save some money in the process.

For more news on Google updates, and book reviews, keep your browser open to On The Download.

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Could There Be Hope?

As Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu continue to expand their streaming services, other players are getting involved too. Walmart’s pumping up Vudu to compete and even Vizio has launched a streaming service of their own. But where, oh where, is Disney’s?

The official word has been that Disney will launch their streaming service sometime next year.

In the meantime, other forces—ahem—other streaming companies are allowed to expand and amass subscribers. Moreover, Disney is still working on getting entertainment assets from Fox. Add to this the fact their Star Wars spin-offs came to a grinding halt following the flop-better-known-as-Solo.

Will we ever get to see a streaming service put on by Disney?

This slow reaction is vaguely reminiscent of history.

General George McClellan

On April 12, 1861, Fort Sumter was fired upon.

Historians have set this as the official date the Civil War started in the United States.

Abraham Lincoln, the president at the time, called up Union forces to head south and quell the rebellion. Unfortunately, most of the generals at the top of his list decided to fight for the newly-formed Confederacy.

Lincoln found himself with few options.

Though not the first one he chose, General George McClellan was put in charge of the Army of Northern Virginia. McClellan assumed command after the previous two commanders either performed poorly in battle or retired.

McClellan, who saw himself as a “Young Napoleon,” took his time to train and organize his men. He also complained that he didn’t have enough weapons and ammunition to supply his troops with.

While he waited for the extra supplied, he drilled and trained his men.

Training men for battle was a good idea, but the Confederates weren’t going to sit around and wait for someone to come to them.

It would take an executive order from Lincoln himself to get McClellan to move.

Kind of sounds like what Disney’s doing now.

History Repeating Itself?

The Empire that is Walt Disney seems to be moving slowly.

Sure, they’re creating movies, TV shows, and other content. Don’t forget their parks, cruises, and merchandise.

However, it doesn’t seem to be moving quickly.

Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, however, are putting out new content almost daily.

Walmart, through subsidiary Vudu, is getting into the streaming game as well.

Moreover, now Visio has a new streaming service too.

It’s not anywhere near Hulu or Amazon, but it is a start. Vizio has taken a selection of OTT (over-the-top) channels and made them free through their TVs. A bold move. Sooner rather than later, they’ll probably have a channel with original content on it.

Yet, Disney has done nothing.

Much like McClellan, they’re sitting there doing the same thing day in and day out. While McClellan drilled and trained, Disney is rebooting movies and turning movies into shows.

A good plan, no doubt, but it’s not groundbreaking. At. All.

It appears they think they’ll be able to ride their name brand until the sun dies out.

But history proves that to be a foolish idea.

Disney’s Late to the Party

Netflix does have a lot of Disney content, as well as Disney-owned properties available.

Moreover, that seems to be working for them.

Rumors were circulating years ago that Disney would launch a streaming service. Those rumors have been proven correct. However, it’s still been years.

Had Disney committed to the new streaming service even two years ago, it would have happened by now. Instead, they seem content with trying to get most of Fox’s entertainment assets and create Star Wars spin-offs.

 While I can’t speak with much authority on the first item, I can speak about the second.

The Dark Side

When I first saw Star Wars, I thought it was awesome. And what seven-year-old, growing up in the early nineties, wouldn’t love Star Wars?

Then the special editions came out, and I thought those were cool. Episode I was next, and I was sure we were on the cusp of a new era in movies.

It turned out that we weren’t.

The prequels didn’t do too well, and even in my young age, I got a feeling that these movies weren’t all that they could be. Looking back now, maybe I was too harsh.

Think about it for a minute.

A young man, going through the awkward years of his life, looks to the heroes of yesteryear to inspire him. That inspiration doesn't come.

Instead, we got a whiny Anakin, and Jar Jar Binks.

It was as if Hollywood reached down from their stacks of money and slapped me across the face. “The force is not going to be with you, ever!”

Well, you learn to live with it and move on.

When Disney bought Star Wars, I had a little hope.

Then they hired JJ Abrams.

All hope was lost again.

When they started producing spin-offs, I thought they might have some merit to them. By that time I had kids to take care of and going to the movies wasn’t high on my priority list.

When Solo debuted, I was curious…then I saw the headlines. I couldn't help myself when I read what they had to say, and I laughed.

The film didn’t perform as expected. As a result, the future spin-offs found themselves on pause.

I guess the force wasn’t strong with them?

What Disney Can Do

Derek Thompson of the Atlantic Monthly pointed out how Disney could rise up and become the dominant entertainment company once again.

In his article, “Disneyflix is Coming. And Netflix Should Be Scared.” Thompson detailed how the behemoth could indeed show its size.

Instead of launching just another streaming service, Disney could pull all of its content off of the other streaming services, as well as it’s cable channels, and put it all onto one big streaming service. Add in their original movies and the Star Wars, and they’d have a unique offering.

Netflix and Amazon might lose about 10% each from their subscriber base, but both companies don’t seem to be worried about this.

Thompson takes it a step further.

Make merchandise available through the streaming service. Do you want tickets to a Disney park or a cruise? Put that on the streaming service as well.

Now Disney wouldn’t have just another streaming service. It would be everything under one roof.

Thompson has dubbed it “Disneyflix.” I call it “Disney on Steroids.”

While such an endeavor would be a boon for the company, there could still be problems. Putting everything under one roof may work for Netflix, but Disney hasn’t operated like that.

To pull their content off other streaming services would mean consolidating. To make it work, Disney would have to market it as they’ve never marketed before.

However, what am I saying? Disney’s a huge company, they should be able to pull off a move like this and make it work.

That is if they decide to do it.

The streaming service has been set to launch in “late 2019.” A lot can happen between now and then. People could change their minds, and Disney may decide not to go through with the plan.

Whether Disney launches a streaming service or not, you at least have the option of finding the best internet and cable bundles. This way you save some cash and cut down on the number of bills you have.

Eventually, just like McClellan, Disney will be forced to move.

By then, hopefully, they’ll have a solid plan in place.