Yes you heard me right, TERRORISM, yes a certificate in TERRORISM!!!
Recently I got to see one of the most obnoxious Google ad I had ever seen. We all know about the recent Mumbai attacks and also that Google renders it’s ad’s based on specific keywords within the articles themselves, portraying how disastrous automatic generation could be.
We know that, this was not at all Google’s intention but surely cant anything be done about it? What do you say…
A quick google search (http://tinyurl.com/6ll4ul) (since we’re not told what the ad links to) turns up “Certificate in Terrorism Studies” at the University of St. Andrews, and this page has the exact same phrase, “100% online – Enrolling Now.” It’s obviously not a certificate in learning to be a terrorist, but one in studying, and, presumably, learning about deterring it.
There are similar programs at the University of Maryland and at the American Military University.
So, it sounds bad at first and makes a great sensational story (and this page turned up near the top on a google search for “terrorism in Mumbai”), but it makes a BIG difference what the page actually it. Whoever posted this should have at least clicked on the ad.
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I agree – I’ve taken the Certificate in Terrorism Studies as necessary part of my job – and it was an excellent course that increased my awareness about terrorist activity and how to counteract it. I took the St Andrews one (www.terrorismstudies.com) but this isn’t the one being linked from the original google ad.
I think everyone should get real – an outrage like has happened in Mumbai just makes these courses even more important to everyone in a counter terrorism role. Thank goodness academics are assisting in the fight.
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Dear Mr. AJ,
It should be noted that the point of this post was to highlight the title chosen by Google Ads, not something else. Looking on the lighter side, it is flaw on Google’s side
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