At long last, a ray of hope?

[Andilinks]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/05/technology/05ECOM.html?tntemail0

[Wassercrats]

Sounds like more pop-ups are coming.

I didn't finish reading the second page because the guy walking the tightrope in the IBM ad was too distracting.

[Andilinks]

Like everyone else I abhor ads on web sites and have none on mine. But if you HAD read to the end of the piece you would have found that the article concluded with opinions by Richard M. Smith and Jakob Nielsen.

Smith:"I consider rich media almost as annoying as spam, Some of them are just as distracting as pop-ups."

Nielsen:"In user testing, I virtually always find that users will ignore a moving or blinking design element, even if it's not an ad but actually something useful that they are looking for,"

My point in posting the link is that, in general, the economics of running a website will get better. In my opinion the big advertisers still don't "get it." But eventually they will. They think that click-throughs are a good measure of an ad's effectiveness. They are not. It is the repeated exposure to a more pleasant ad experience that will lead the buyer to that brand when she has a need for the product. Eventually the discreet, understated ad will find its place in cyberspace.

The Times article is just an indication that things aren't going to get any worse. The intrusive ads were just a symptom of the industries' desperation. Things are getting better.

Andi

[TVB]

Psssttt...If you click on the printer-friendly link on their pages, it makes ALL the ads disappear. I pretty much do that whenever the option is available.

Betsy