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March 03, 2005
How To Change The Web
While reading the weekly Community MX newsletter this morning, I came across a Wired article entitled New Browsers, Same Unwanted Ads. The article predicts that more virus writers will begin targeting Firefox as it continues to gain in popularity, but it touches on something else I actually found much more interesting: the evolution of intrusive advertising. As more and more people find ways to block intrusive advertising, advertisers continue to find more and more ways to force people to view clients' ads:
One advertiser site, [sorry, no free advertising here], states on its homepage that "due to the proliferation of pop-up blockers, we have altered our popup code so that if a blocker is detected, a layer ad will be delivered." Other firms, Wilson said, are using a technique in which advertisements load in the background when a person is viewing a web page, then appear immediately when he or she attempts to visit another URL. Others will force another pop-up on the user if the first is closed "too quickly."
It occurred to me while I was reading the article that the game we play with publishers and advertisers is actually pretty ridiculous. All of us have the power to end intrusive advertising without the use of popup blockers, or any other kind of plugin or utility. It's called choice. If you don't like the kinds of ads certain sites use to support themselves, your best defense is to stop visiting those site. Instead, patronize sites that have revenue models that you can live with. I can't think of any sites out there that rely on intrusive advertising that have content I can't find elsewhere. Send those sites a message by denying them your page views. I'm not saying you should disable your popup blocker, but what I am saying is that the best way to change the web is to actively participate in and support revenue models that you believe in. There doesn't always have to be an adversarial relationship between publishers, advertisers, and readers, or between businesses and their customers, for that matter. There are relationships out there that work well for everyone, and that I believe will ultimately prove the most successful. Relationships, communities, and conversations are changing business, but the most powerful agent of change is, always has been, and always will be choice.
Posted by cantrell at March 3, 2005 12:22 PM | References
Comments
"... game is pretty ridiculous...." Yeah, I'm with you, and on that "long term feedback" solution.
I've also sent letters to advertisers saying "your money was wasted trying to persuade me, here's why". (I invest in this mainly when I'm sympathetic to the advertiser but hate a particular message, like noisy SWF or whatever.)
But long-term results are harder to measure than short-term results, so business workgroups often focus on stuff it's easy for them to see... "We get 24% higher mindshare in our own window!" is a bright, shiny statistic that tends to get a certain repetition in business meetings.
Thanks for the post. If we can get it to a T-shirt slogan, and Slashdot could sell 'em, then...? 8)
jd
Posted by: John Dowdell at March 3, 2005 01:04 PM
Not to take this subject away from the Web, but has anyone else seen the new Burger King campaign? The singing cowboy? I'll never spend another dime in Burger King, and I like thier fries better.
Posted by: Alan at March 3, 2005 04:42 PM
I couldn't agree more. That's like the guy who complains that McDonalds burgers make him fat.
Posted by: Adam Howitt at March 3, 2005 06:19 PM
What don't you like about the ad? Obviously Burger King did something right -- they got people talking about it.
FYI, the singing cowboy is Hootie, from Hootie and the Blowfish. And the girl at the end is babalicious Brooke Burke.
Posted by: Mark Helmstetter at March 4, 2005 01:22 PM
And those advertisers will love the new Yahoo! toolbar... hope all you MM people have it installed at work.
Posted by: yahoo!_fan at March 5, 2005 08:09 AM