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Every Month, the Editorial Page with one-quarter byte February/March, 2001's "Two Bits" are titled : DEATH to pop-up window commercials!----------------------------------------------------- I wrote this editorial in February 2001. Since then, I've decided to make the following promise to one and all who visit my site: No pop-up window commercials will be shown at Techtite.com. EVER. Guaranteed! If some newbie dares ask "why," then read on. Rest assured, this editorial speaks for everyone online, when I give annoying pop-ups My Two Bits...and both barrels. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Imagine this scenario: you're reading the morning paper, turning to your favorite section: sports, local, weather, and what-not. Suddenly, some guy from out of nowhere constantly throws catalog pages in front of your face. Free offer! There's a sale! Buy this now! Mind you, there are ads already placed nicely next to the articles, Regardless, some goofball wants to throw ads in front of your face, in front of what you're reading, just to make things totally annoying and generally irritating. Welcome to the wonderful world of World Wide Web advertising, and a trend that I hope eventually ENDS : the age of pop-up-window ads. It seemed like a nice idea at first; much like the little subscription slips that fall out of the magazine when you open them, a miniature subscription window would pop up, at Time magazine's website or the equivalent, offering a subscription deal. Sure, fine, that's acceptable, if only because much like the subscription slip in the magazine, it was tiny, loaded in maybe 5 seconds, and was not too hard to close when it appeared upon entering the site. If discrete subscription notices, in little 150x100 windows, were all this fad led to, no problem; at least you can still read the web site, without big obstructions. However, pop-up window advertisers are going too far. The ads are getting larger. The ads are taking longer to download. Most ads are even for items that have nothing to do with the web site you entered! They are even increasing in number. I went to my favorite magazine-turned-website the other day --dailyradar.com-- only to have three ads pop up, all in their own windows, and all in front of what I was reading. Three ads? This is almost like wanting to read about the Lakers in your newspaper's SPORTS section, only to have someone throw in front of your face a coupon book, a department store catalog, and a coupon for a free fragrance shampoo that you'd never use. Hey, what if they threw a whole JC Penney catalog on your lap, right where it counts? Sure, they obviously got your attention, though come on, now! While the commercial agents gloat, keep in mind I WAS TRYING TO READ. How chipper will I be about buying your perky little items, when the ad is rudely thrown in front of my face? There are many better ways to advertise on the web; just as in a magazine. Banners, animated gifs, and even "ad columns" can work, similar to a typical magazine. In a web site that offers an online video "show," video commercials can be placed in between the other video clips of the show itself, or before, or after. This is how commercials have been done in movie theaters, TV shows, and magazines, and if it doesn't sell the product, that's probably because the product stinks. However, throwing the ad in front of someone's face is not the answer. Imagine going to see Star Wars, ready to see the infamous opening shot of the Star Destroyer chasing the tiny rebel ship, only to have some goofus doofus behind you throw an ad in front of your face about breath mints. I admit, few things online are as cool as the opening scene of Star Wars. However, you must also admit that this is hardly the way to advertise breath mints. "Oh, hey; there's that product whose publicist ticked me off! Man, I really should buy some of those!" In case online advertisers aren't getting the gist, here's the fact you must know, boys: pop-up window ads never sell. NEVER. Period. If they're clicked on, it's only because someone was trying to click on the window below them, when you threw an unexpected second window in front of their face. Aside from that, they don't sell. They NEVER sell. They never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever sell. Got that, guys? Yes, when you click a link on my site, it often opens a separate window. However, these are for separate web sites whose links must be clicked on by the user. You will never see an incongruous ad pop up in front of what you're reading at Techtite.com; not while I'm running things. You're welcome...even if it's not that big of a sacrifice; as I said, pop-up windows never sell. They're just too annoying. Hopefully online product enthusiasts will get the picture...and we all can finally read that Lakers article, without having that woman's catalog thrown on our groin. As always, I'm Techtite, and these are My Two Bits...
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