Two of the topics studied this week were marketing (session 8) and the internet (session 10). When these two topics combine, we are left with pop up ads. No doubt anyone who has ever spent any time on the internet has experienced the annoyance of pop up ads. Granted, for certain websites they have their perks. Occasionally pop up ads exist to advertise a sale on a store's website or to offer you to sign up for mailing list. However, some websites make their profits off of allowing others to advertise through them. This can cause a whirlwind of pop-up advertisements. A wonderland, if you will. Once you click on one advertisement or even exit the window, five more pop up and pretty soon your computer screen looks like the picture above. This whirlwind is an example of how companies abuse internet technology in order to force advertising. On television, companies buy spots during certain viewing periods that allows them to control who and how many people are aware of their product. However, on the internet, they don't have that control because people can pretty much view what they like. Companies have solved this through utilizing pop up advertisements in order to spread the word about their products.
A technology has been developed to counter-act this problem already. Most internet browsers come with a pop up blocker already set up in them. All the user has to do is turn on this technology and the annoyance of pop ups is gone. In some cases, you can even view what is being blocked in case they're are any pop ups that you want to view. This technology allows people to pick and choose what they are able to view whiling browsing the internet.
This video is a parody of some of the more annoying internet pop up ads:
I love the analogy of a "Wonderland" of pop-up ads. It brings to mind a Disneyland filled with giant boxes advertising Nigerian bank loans or "quick-easy-money from home".
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I can't think of any better place for a post on pop-up ads than in a "Misuse of Technology" blog. After all, you would be hard pressed to find someone who really enjoyed the experience of being bombarded with unwanted ads during their internet experience. I think pop-up ads,though serve as an interesting example into the changing nature of the internet.
Ten years ago, I'd say the average internet user experienced more "hostile" pop-ups (Ones which are unwanted, and usually difficult to close) than they do currently. You are right that this is due in part to pop-up blockers (although, interestingly enough, there are companies such as the Canadian company, Casale Media, who work to create ads which circumvent these blockers), but it is also due to some changes in the internet itself.
Back then, many search engines allowed these pop-ups, where as now sites such as Google explicitly ban them. Also internet marketing has become much more targeted. In the past the idea of internet marketing was almost a numbers game as much as anything. Now, many sites collect information about your previous search, purchase, and email history to tailor specific ads for specific people. So, if you happen to have sent off some emails to people about Nigerian banks in gmail, low and behold you are more likely to see an ad for a Nigerian bank on the side of the screen.
Less overt: yes. Less intrusive: I'm not so sure. But one thing is for certain, it beats the hell out of a "pop-up wonderland".
This post is great! It is so true that when you exit out of one pop out ad another one comes up! Although they are very annoying, they do catch my attention. I also do have the pop up blocker, but it doesn't work all the time. Some pop up ads have sound and are very annoying! Aren't there pop up ads that give computers viruses? Is there anyway to avoid this?
ReplyDeleteThis post is wonderful and I love the comments that people are posting! Yes a wonderland complete with a smiling cat and a queen that wants to chop of my head!
ReplyDeleteAre Pop Ups the only way to stay in business on the net! what happened to service! What is strange to me is that people actually follow the adds and buy things and that this form of advertising works (even if it does not with me) Again nice blog! it truly shows the accidental in the technology!
What a great post. Pop ups are extremely annoying to the user and I often wonder if the companies using them actually benefit from them or if it is just an annoying element of marketing that people use to try and gain market place without really realizing they are not worth the time. I wonder if there is a way of testing the effectiveness of them.
ReplyDeleteYour work is very good and I appreciate you and hopping for some more informative posts. Thank you for sharing great information to us. internet marketing
ReplyDelete