[544] in Privacy_Forum
[ PRIVACY Forum ] How to Sink a Major Web Site with a Single Ad
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (privacy@vortex.com)
Fri Nov 27 21:45:11 2009
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:19:19 -0800
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How to Sink a Major Web Site with a Single Ad
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000642.html
Greetings. As I've noted previously, I am generally not a fan of
ad-blocking software. I want as much Web content as possible to be
free to viewers, and widespread blocking of ads potentially risks
pushing more sites to try pay-based models that will probably not be
viable. The likely result of large scale ad blocking could be a lot
of useful Web sites vanishing entirely.
But if Web site viewers become seriously disgusted with specific ad
formats, the sites that use them may be hammering nails into their own
organizations' coffins.
Web ads are a tricky business. There's a vast gulf between an
unobtrusive text ad and a giant "blot out" display ad (the latter
sometimes seen these days even on the home pages of some distinguished
news sites -- they take over most of your screen at least briefly).
Deciding what's eyeball catching without being utterly revolting is no
simple task.
There's one ad format though -- which has recently begun appearing on
some major media sites such as ABC News over the last few days
(including right now as I type this) -- that I suspect will drive away
Web users faster than a concentrated squirt of mercaptan in an
enclosed area.
I'm talking about embedded "auto-play" audio ads -- an audio (or
usually video with audio) advertisement that fires up loudly as soon
as an associated page is loaded.
There are various ways that Web ads can be distracting, but none that
I'm familiar with can equal the sheer obnoxiousness of reaching a news
story page and having a commercial come blaring without warning out of
your speakers, surprising everyone in the vicinity (including that cat
who was sleeping soundly in your lap, and awoke abruptly with fully
extended claws!)
This isn't the same situation as navigating to a page where you expect
to receive an audio playback and are appropriately prepared. It's
also very different from video ads that auto-play -- but with their
audio silenced until the user specifically activates the audio or
otherwise clicks the ad.
Playing ads with enabled audio content automatically and unexpectedly
on conventional Web pages -- and in some cases this will occur
repeatedly each and every time you return to those pages -- is taking
ads into a zone that I believe most Web users will not tolerate for
long.
I'm all in favor of creative Web ads, including ones that "push the
envelope" in interesting ways.
But ads that push past creative into seriously annoying are taking
major risks of disturbing and alienating viewers (and their families
and pets in the vicinity) who may be very difficult to attract back in
the future.
Until a Web user indicates in some clear manner that they wish to hear
any audio, embedded Web advertisements, especially on
non-audio/video-oriented Web pages, should always be seen and not
heard. Otherwise, those ads -- and any other content of such sites --
are likely to increasingly be not heard *nor* seen at all.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
- People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
- Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, GCTIP - Global Coalition
for Transparent Internet Performance - http://www.gctip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
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