Update: Scratch Nest thermostats from the list of potential Google ad-bearers.
In a statement to Recode, Nest founder and CEO Tony Fadell said ads won't show up on his company's 'stats.
"Nest is being run independently from the rest of Google, with a separate management team, brand and culture," Fadell's statement read. "For example, Nest has a paid-for business model, while Google has generally had an ads-supposed business model. We have nothing against ads - after all Nest does lots of advertising. We just don't think ads are right for the Nest user experience."
So there you have it. No ads on Nest thermostats. This means you can now pay extra close attention to your refrigerator.
Original article...
If there's one thing Google isn't serving enough of, it's ads.
Thankfully the company might someday address that, if it follows through on a proposal that it could put ads on everything from thermostats and refrigerators to car dashboards, watches and glasses. The search (an ad) giant outlined its proposal in a letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
These everywhere-ads are currently hypothetical. At least we have no proof that they're otherwise.
And a Google spokesperson told TechRadar that the letter "does not reflect Google's product roadmap." Hm.
The definition of mobile
So it seems some context might help, before you start looking at your thermostat sideways expecting to see an ad for whatever you last Googled.
The search company mentioned the possibility of putting ads on appliances and other unusual places to explain to the SEC why it shouldn't be required to disclose revenue generated from mobile devices, like Twitter, Facebook and other companies are.
Google said it doesn't make sense to single out mobile devices as their own category, since the definition of mobile is always evolving, especially as more household items turn smart.
In fact, the Google spokesperson let us know that the company is "in contact with the SEC to clarify the language in this 2013 filing."
Explanations
Google said the content it could (hypothetically) display on weird devices might not even be limited to ads.
"Our expectation is that users will be using our services and viewing our ads on an increasingly wide diversity of devices in the future," the company told the SEC.
With Android already getting behind the wheel, Google Glass headsets causing headaches all over the place, and Google buying up home appliance companies like the smart thermostat makers at Nest, it's not hard to imagine its expectation coming true.
But imagination is all it might be: "Nest, which we acquired after this filing was made, does not have an ads-based model and has never had any such plans," Google's statement to TechRadar explained. We'll see.
