Here’s a simple question: When was the last time you clicked on, or even were influenced by, a web site advertisement?
Here’s another one: Without looking, what products are being advertised on Balloon-Juice today?
I’ll bet both of those questions are hard to answer.
Politico justifies its existence by the number of pageviews it gets in a day. The Atlantic just turned its site to shit to make readers view more pages. Yet every Internet user I know is blind to ads.
There’s a big disconnect here, one that doesn’t seem to be recognized by any of the media geniuses who spend all day pimping their posts on Twitter.
Wil
I might have clicked on one or two ads intentionally over the past ten years. Maybe.
I have no idea what ads are on Balloon Juice right now.
I’m almost entirely blind to ads, and if I do happen to notice one, the fact that it’s an ad keeps me from clicking on it. It’s like seeing a number on your phone and knowing that it’s not your friend but a telemarketer. Do you answer or ignore? Ignore, of course.
Wayne
All I see is Tunch. Scares the hell out of me.
I generally have flash disabled. All the movement and flashing is too distracting. I also block images if they are from an outside location especially if they are moving. Static images are fine. However I do link through sites I visit if I buy something from Amazon and I generally contribute to a site I regularly visit.
WereBear
Ads on the web are easy to ignore, compared to TV, or even Hulu. But I do click on them sometimes; usually a book which looks interesting.
And geez, there’s a certain blogger I try to click on his Amazon links… can’t remember his name… but his cat and dog are really cute.
MattMinus
There are ads on the internet!?!?!?!?!?
I thought they stopped making those when everyone started using firefox with adblock and noscript.
While I’m sympathetic to the financial needs of content providers, ads remain a prime attack vector for viruses and malware. Until something is done about that, they will remain blocked.
Bootlegger
Biting the hand that feeds you eh?
@WereBear: With DVR it is easier to ignore TV ads. But even when I don’t use DVR I still channel surf or get up and do something else.
Ads are a general problem as a media funding stream. What is the alternative of the future? I’m going with direct neural imprint.
RSA
The “banner blindness” phenomenon was first seen in laboratory tests of Web page navigation over ten years ago. It doesn’t always apply, but I think it’s a good approximation of how most people use the Web.
gnomedad
New headliner? Did I miss your intro?
Bill E Pilgrim
I’ve studiously ignored advertising even on TV for many years. Before remote controls were even common, we had a little sound switch wired up to the speaker of the TV, and click, every commercial got muted. It’s amazing how little they bother you without the sound, and you find you don’t watch, even if you’re sitting right there.
Honestly I never noticed that this site had ads.
I read reviews. Like before I bought an iPhone, read columns, articles about it. Same with the computer. I can’t think of any purchases I make that would ever be influenced by an advertisement.
I assume that people are actually keeping track, that when they put ads up on lots of Internet sites, they notice whether they start selling more of whatever it is they’re advertising. So, I mean someone must be influenced.
If they’re not even doing that, if they’re really just counting “page hits” then they’re truly crazy.
BrighidG
I will admit to clicking on the ad for that Webcomic “The Dreamer” out of sheer curiosity. However that and the Tunch ads are the only ones I can recall paying any attention to on this site.
ploeg
I guarantee you that people pay attention to the ads (particularly, for example, when some astroturf group starts putting ads on talkingpointsmemo.com, which of course is fine by me; in the immortal words of Jesse Unruh, “If you can’t eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women and still vote against them, you have no business being up here.”).
Most importantly, web ads allow advertisers to measure response rate in a far more detailed manner than practically any other type of ad. If nobody is paying attention to the ads, the advertiser would know it far earlier than anyone else.
Mike Kay
Your new ad for sexy shoes was um, um… influential.
Ben
The Daring Fireball tech blog had a recent insightful post on this subject–“attention is the real resource”:
http://daringfireball.net/2010/03/attention_is_the_real_resource
chopper
i know the t-shirts ad with the raging hippie dude, that’s about it for today. at least the host gator ad is gone. tho the ‘penis reduction pills’ one was funny.
harlana peppper
@Wayne: I hear you, the only thing I notice is “pet-related” ads, although I really don’t have the $ to buy or contribute to anything right now.
Linda Featheringill
Good morning. Everyone seems to be in a good mood today.
My sick friend that I have been worried about is slowly getting better and is scheduled to come home today. Hope she makes it. If not, then perhaps another day soon.
Sunshine and 33 degrees. I think that qualifies for spring in Cleveland.
Fencedude
Ads? What are these “ads” you refer to?
harlana peppper
Oh, I take that back, I have clicked on the t-shirt ad just out of curiosity. Cool t-shirts, but no information about what they are made of. My requirement is 100% cotton (it has to breathe), but they don’t say, I’m guessing 60% cotton, 40% polyester, given the price.
JD Rhoades
Closest I ever came was clicking on an ad on Facebook for 5,000 dollar Martin guitar, which took me to its page on Amazon. I put it on my wish list for Christmas.
My family was amused.
Lee
I’ve clicked on three ads from this site.
The WebComic The Dreamer.
CafePress for Balloon Juice merchandise
and something about a year ago, I just can’t remember what it was.
fly
They’re often paid per view, not per click.
More views = more money.
J.W. Hamner
To be fair, there was such an uproar they seem to have pretty much fixed the terribleness.
I’ve bought “blogger recommended” stuff from the internet, but certainly not anything that in a banner that the site owner probably doesn’t even know is there.
Gary
And yet—the ads must get some response.
I know that I feel I don’t even see the ads. But I certainly notice when some truly incongruous ad (Bill Kristol or Sara Palin touting some sort of snakeoil for example) appears on a blog I read. So I must be seeing them at some unconscious level.
snowbird42
I never click on ads except on this site. I am fascinated by the ad for crafts. Since I am a craft artist myself I wonder if they work.
Does anyone else look at the art work on the sides?
PurpleGirl
A few weeks ago I clicked through on a Project Wonderful ad. I like to look at the crafts items, like jewelry, that people make. I’ve clicked through for the BJ swag. Otherwise I tend to ignore the ads, unless it’s animated and then I block the ad because the movement creates physical problems for me.
mistermix
@J.W. Hamner: You’re right — after their best writer (Fallows) went on strike, they put things back more-or-less the way they were.
Seanly
@MattMinus:
You can block ads on Firefox? I suppose I should do more with it…
Lee from NC
To the best of my memory, I’ve never clicked on an ad intentionally. Even the few that I’ve clicked on accidentally over the years, I have hastily beat a retreat from.
And if you had asked me what ads Balloon Juice has before I actually came over to the site, I think I probably would have said BJ doesn’t run ads, I’m just that oblivious to them. I don’t even block them. I just don’t see them.
flukebucket
I once clicked on a Pamela Anderson ad that turned out to be something about being kinder to chickens before we eat them.
I like the $6.00 t-shirt ad. That guy looks like a kindred spirit.
Violet
I’ve accidentally clicked on ads. Annoys the eff out of me when it happens.
And there’s some kind of ad for Amazon on this site. I know this because there’s always an ad for Amazon and I try to click through if I’m buying anything from them.
Who is mistermix? Are you new, or just a new nym for someone?
canuckistani
I’ve clicked on the ad for Little Bitsy, and I’ve been hypnotized by Tunch into clicking on the cafepress ad, and I’ve been aware of the PETA ads for a tasty looking steak and Pam Anderson’s alarming rubber boobs, but didn’t click on those. I also know that one of the regulars posts ads for hand-made jewelry, but I don’t wear the stuff so never clicked. Oh, and I’ve checked out (but not been hooked by) some of the webcomics advertised on the side. I guess I count as some kind of consumer, albeit the kind who never unbent his wallet.
cleek
Google “adblock plus”.
i have clicked a few ads here. i’ve also spent a couple hundred bucks advertising here.
frankly, i don’t think i got any response to the ads i ran on BJ. but that’s no biggie – maybe this isn’t the ideal audience. i do get hits from Google AdSense ads, so i know people can be enticed into checking-out the stuff i advertise.
Mike Kay
Congratulations to the Balloon Juice community on posting record traffic yesterday. Musta been everyone wanting to see Cole’s reaction to the latest Roethlisberger scandal.
http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=stats&s=s10balloon&r=35
Cydney
I *definitely* notice the ads here, but I never click them. I notice because they are staggeringly right-wing with with pics of Sarah Palin and Ann Coulter staring at me. I’ve noticed some egregiously ugly “art,” a lot of weird arts and crafts shit being sold as well as food. But it all looks awful, and I wonder who the demographic is for this stuff.
Robin G.
Yeah, no, I don’t see them. But at the same time, it’s always possible that they worm their way into my subconscious — maybe later I see a book at the store and go, “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of that,” but don’t know where from. I think that’s the purpose of most internet advertising, to simply raise the product into common knowledge.
Advertising on the net bugged me when it first got really rampant, but then I realized the money’s got to come from somewhere. Better that than paying fees to post and view, or only the rich having pages.
jibeaux
Well, if anyone ever HAS bought the p -e-n- i- s reduction pills advertised on this site, I doubt they’re going to cop to it. Or wait, you’re supposed to brag about it, right? Needing pharmaceutical solutions to your giant package? So let’s hear about it, did they work or are you still cursed?
jibeaux
Well, if anyone ever HAS bought the p e n- i- s reduction pills advertised on this site, I doubt they’re going to cop to it. Or wait, you’re supposed to brag about it, right? Needing pharmaceutical solutions to your giant package? So let’s hear about it, did they work or are you still cursed?
norbizness
Which is why it’s important not to give pageviews to places you wish didn’t exist. If you want to excerpt, we’ll certainly take your fucking word for it.
WereBear
Fact is, we might not be clicking on the ads, but somebody is.
Because somebody is the foundation of the Nigerian Certain-Body-Part Enlargement industry.
p.a.
never clicked on one, and barely notice them anymore. i try to make it a point to remember pop ups that interfere with viewing a site and never ever purchase that product/service. i will tolerate the ‘click to enter’ stuff to get to someone like ‘glenzilla’, however.
mistermix
@Ben: Gruber is always worth reading on this kind of stuff.
davematson
+1 to ploeg.
…adding, to a large degree, manufacturing extra pageviews is just an arms race with advertisers. But internet advertising is easily measurable by the campaign, from ad clicks to purchases to revenue per order from those clicks.
Only dumb advertisers continue to buy ads if they aren’t making an ROI.
Also, people always say they don’t pay attention to ads on tv, yet, commercial television still somehow stays in business.
demo woman
I do try to remember to click on the Amazon ad when I order because John gets credit. The Project Wonderful ads are always fun to browse through but that’s it. I do notice if Ann Coulter or Newt is at the top of the page though.
Grace Nearing
I click on ads. Sometimes I even scroll through googleads. Then again, I actually read phone books (well, the yellow pages).
I find information I have no use for very interesting.
Once there was a googlead promoting a quiz for determining whether one’s husband is gay. I forwarded it to Sen Larry Craig’s office and suggested they pass it along to his wife. (Was that mean?)
Paris
The ones I notice I initially thought were pranks. Has anyone else noticed that some ads (usually for loans and mortgages) use some really strange looking people? I’m used to ads that use models – these are like the opposite and I’m not sure why? Are the images of Neanderthals in the public domain? One showed up of an old ugly bald guy in a hot tub promoting hot tub accessories – WTF?
keestadoll
I get my news from the internet for one of the same reasons I DVR everything I like that airs on TV: ads annoy me. I am loath to return to a site/blog/etc that is ad heavy, but that’s me.
dmsilev
Another perspective on ads and ad-blocking software from Ars Technica. I’d recommend avoiding the comments, though. Makes even the most train-wrecky of Balloon Juice political threads look calm and well-reasoned by comparison.
-dms
EdTheRed
Don’t know about any other products, but I know that Tunch is watching me, and wants me to purchase items from the Balloon Juice store.
I actually disable AdBlocker Plus on this site and others that I want to support…Politico is not one of those sites.
MNPundit
As someone about to marry someone who spends her days trouble-shooting web-ads, according to the data she has shown me you are so, so so SO wrong. You have no idea of how mistaken that statement was.
The last thing I clicked on here was one of these free RPG adds, and I bet BJ is blowing cute shirts at me today.
John S.
People notice ads about things they have interest in.
Ads on here are a bad litmus test because the readers here come for many reasons, and really aren’t looking for anything other than commentary or a good fight.
Ads on news websites tend to draw a more focused demographic. If you want to announce some grand new B2B offering, running a few banners on Forbes or Barron’s might earn you the eyeballs of some high level execs. If you just started a cookie company, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have some banners on the food or lifestyle sections of some news websites.
Banners can work when they are used properly and serve a specific purpose. The problem is this shotgun approach to online marketing where people just spray and pray. But that’s what happens when everyone with a computer and a Google campaign decides they’re a marketing or advertising executive.
/advertising rant
Sarcastro
I once almost didn’t order an LCD projector from a place because its ‘add to cart’ applet was on the upper right off to one side of the page… brain just skipped right over it. My PFY had to point it out to me.
apikoros
I am, alas, involved in “Improbable Island” courtesy of this site, and I do recommend Improbable Island if you miss Zork :-) It’s all-text and supremely silly, but I like that. Monsters include:
the thing in thee back of the fridge
the word on plays (which attacks with incredible lameness)
your past and future selves
the gestalt treebranch
and a herd of hippopotomi.
If I’ve piqued your interest, (my own little mini-ad) and you visit on my referral I get some points.
I have (of course) been to the Tunch’n’Lilly store page, and I’ve clicked through a couple of other ads over the years. I am one of those people who the advertisers want, I guess.
mr. whipple
My eyes tend to ‘tunnel vision’ and disregard the ads at the sides. The only time I might notice is if the ad is very obnoxious with movement, but that ticks me off so much I refuse to click on them.
Yesterday I did click on the shoe ad, which I had never noticed until other people mentioned it.
Rathskeller
I’m working for my fourth start-up now since 1996. Although I’m in engineering, not marketing, I have repeatedly seen the results. Ads work: people do click on them, and they also raise public awareness when you’re just trying to get better known. I also thought I always ignored ads until I saw the internal studies of what our customers did.
The real question is how to effectively target the folks who will click through or who will eventually affect a purchase decision. In a way, that’s Google’s whole business model, with all the nifty doo-dads like search being just a side business. I’ve seen 50% click through rates on some ads, so you can get some real voom when the stars align.
For a politically oriented blog like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if an ad featuring Sarah Palin or Ann Coulter had a measurable effect in terms of viewership of later TV shows that had them on. Sure, you rolled your eyes at the thought of purchasing the book; but later, you turned on the show and yelled at the TV. You still hate the women with a passion, but perhaps you saw an ad for an iPad, and that increased the chance that you will buy one. And so on. It’s a big chain of links.
pk
Never.
No idea. All I see is a scary cat head on the right.
The last ad I remember was Pamela Anderson with something horrible sticking out of her. Had to avert my eyes every time I came to this site.
Nim, ham hock of liberty
I will try to click on ads from time to time, if they look safe and are hawking something in which might have an actual interest.
I like my free content, and if that’s how to encourage it, so be it.
Meaderthal
I use Adblock Plus on all my PCs; it doesn’t catch everything, and I will disable it on sites I like but, even then, most ads fail to connect with me. On average, I’d say I click on one ad every month or two.
Skalite
Point:
Aren’t you essentially telling your supporters, who buy ads on your site and presumably pay you money to stop doing so?
Your point is well taken, but isn’t this kind of shooting yourself in the foot? How WILL internet sites be paid for (and all the vaunted “new media” for that matter) if people keep admitting that advertising is useless? You’re totally screwing the pooch here man!
Luthe
Currently, I have BJ white-listed on my laptop’s AdBlock Plus filter, though I admit to having blocked the Project wonderful ads after a few too many blinky ads annoyed me. I always allow Google text ads, however, since those are nice and quiet and don’t sear the eyeballs.
At work and on the Mac I sometimes use, there are no filters, so I just suck it up and deal with the ads. I have occasionally clicked through to a jewelry ad or something, but very infrequently.
demimondian
Ummm…yeah.
So, in real life, I work for A Large Ad Serving Company (which also happens to be A Large Search Company), on the ads metrics side. We measure things like “how effective is your ad?”
You know what? They work. No, most people do *not* click on ads, and, no, I’m quite sure that almost nobody knows what the ads on this page are. That said — believe it or not, when I talk about ad targeting, I use Balloon Juice as an example of why you want to target sites that have relatively few pages views but a highly attached and engaged community. Such sites tend to have ads which perform exceptionally well (the s h o e s ad last night, for instance).
Violet
Ah, here is mistermix’s introduction. Guess I missed this yesterday.
MNPundit
So, with people chiming in left and right that mistermix is full of pure bullshit, will he change the initial post?
fasteddie
Internet ads do work. How else did Google get so rich? I buy lots of stuff off the web – electronics, shoes, clothing.
Bill In OH
@Bill E Pilgrim:
Wow, Bill E, I thought you were my brother there for a minute. He was doing the same thing since at least the mid ’70s. Any new TV purchase required a trip to the shack for an SPST switch and a run of speaker wire, and a trip to the bike store for a handlebar grip to house it. Never bothered by commercials again.
Ah, good times, good times.
Groucho48
I don’t post here much but I’ve lurked for a while. I make a point of clicking the occasional ad on sites I like. I actually bought a retro tie from an ad here and I’ve checked out that fiber place that has had ads recently. I found New Egg…years ago…from clicking a web ad. Got into the LOTRO beta from clicking on an ad. You folks don’t know what possibilities you are missing.
Monkeyfister
I don’t look at the ads. I don’t click ads. If ads at a site become too much, I stop going to that site. Salon lost my readership a long time ago with their multiple pop-up ads. Everyone seems gaga of every word that Greenwald writes, but I only see the excerpts. I refuse to go to a site where I have to battle with netflix pop-ups.
–mf
Cyrus
I think the only ads on Web sites I’ve clicked on intentionally were for some webcomics. There are about a dozen I read daily, as well as a few more I recognize and like when I happen to see them, so a particularly witty ad for a webcomic on the site of another one I read regularly can catch my attention.
But I think that’s it. I’ve been tricked into clicking on ads many times, but always leave as soon as it lets me.
There must be some value in subliminal, subconscious exposure to ads, though. No matter how many ads for amazon.com I see, I won’t click on it because I have a Sony e-book reader and therefore get my books through Borders (just like before I had the e-book, although back then I shopped at a physical Borders store because it was the closest bookstore to my home). But if my e-book reader gets crushed until a bus tomorrow, maybe I’d replace it with a Kindle if I see enough reminders. Who knows?
MazeDancer
@fly:
Fly is right. Many sites are paid by viewer stats. Not click throughs, but audience. Just like TV & magazine ads are priced by audience.
And while fewer of us would like to boost Politico’s ratings, many of us don’t realize our innocent use of AdBlocker can add up to good sites cutting staff and scrambling to keep going.
Because they don’t get paid by advertisers if they can’t provide viewers.
ArsTechnica.com ran a great editorial on how AdBlocking can be “devastating” to great sites.
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2010/03/why-ad-blocking-is-devastating-to-the-sites-you-love.ars
From the piece:
They even experimented with technologically disabling AdBlocker. Which worked. But they realized – and apologized for – not giving a warning they were experimenting was wrong.
The article was enough to make me realize the natural “never notice” of ads mentioned in the post may be enough. Content has to be paid for, if everyone refuses to pay for anything, quality is not going to be possible.
scav
Don’t see many ads and when I do, well, my basic gut reaction is if they’re spending a lot on advertising, they’re probably a crap product or at the very least have nothing to distinguish themselves from all the other similar products.
geg6
I have clicked on exactly four ads online and all of them were on BJ. One was for Laura W.’s mosaics, one was to make a purchase from Amazon so that John got the credit, one was for the Bitsy contest, and the latest was for BJ swag.
Otherwise, I have never clicked on a web ad ever. And certainly never a banner ad because they are the bane of my Internet existence.
GReynoldsCT00
I try to the ignore the ads. What creeps me out is when the ads are for items I have recently Googled…. big brother. I was using AdBlock on Firefox but have since gotten tired of Firefox and switched to Chrome — I’m not aware of any blocking they offer.
David in NY
The only time I’ve noticed an ad here was just yesterday, when the open thread produced comments about jury duty. Above the thread appeared a one-line link to something like JurySync, a lawyer’s service for assisting in jury selection (to choose favorable jurors for a particular kind of case). Also another law-related link. And I wondered whether the content of the comments was analyzed by some bot which then coughed up an appropriate ad??? I was gently accused of paranoia by a fellow commenter, but even paranoids are right sometimes.
Laura W.
It was a year ago right now that John implemented the Project Wonderful ads and I started using them to sell my mixed media mosaics. I have sold at least half a dozen pieces thanks to both the ads and the kindness of a few frequent commenters. I remember a while back I realized that all the hundreds I’d paid had finally been paid back, ie, I was finally in the black in terms of ROI.
I used the ads to wish Fuckhead a happy birthday last May (was it?) (please don’t hold it against rescue animals), to welcome Lily home the night John adopted her, to get votes for Bitsy during 7 or 8 weeks of the Cutest Dog competition, and then to thank Juicers for her eventual week 12 victory. Even renamed Bitsy “Glenn” in one ad just to get BOB’s vote. (Please don’t hold it against me.)
Lily and Bitsy got tons of hits, of course. Like thousands. My art has a very select demographic and is certainly niche, but overall I’ve found the PW program of value and certainly incredibly easy to use. As was said upthread, I am aware of at least 6 or 7 BJ regulars who run ads to support their livelihood, or to supplement their “real job” with arts and crafts. The ads support the site, albeit in a very small way in terms of the % John receives. So you know…you probably don’t want to give us any more reason to wonder about the effectiveness and value of our ad money than we already experience.
And welcome. Any friend of DougJ’s is sure to be received
warmlymockingly.David in NY
@GReynoldsCT00:
Yeah. Creeped out. That’s the feeling.
TrevorB
ADBLOCK PLUS
jimBOB
The truth is that ads rarely get much attention in any medium except maybe TV (particularly in the early days with a few networks over the air). Do you remember the ads from the last newspaper you read? The last magazine?
And computers compound the problem because they are really good at customizing their behavior, which in most cases means masking noise (which is what the ads are). The rise of the internet may end up having the paradoxical effect of allowing a vast proliferation of advertising while rendering it impotent.
@MazeDancer: You can rail all you like at evil users not submitting to being bombarded by ads, but the fact is that this reaction is both predictable and inevitable. People are interested in what they’re interested in, and will block out everything else.
What may eventually dawn on everyone is that advertising may just not work anymore in an internet environment, and that content will have to be paid for in some other way. If content providers don’t want to do it for free, or for the pittance they get from feckless banner ads, then we’ll either lose the content or have to find some other way to finance it.
Raoul
I think one ad to the left with shocking colors all the way down the column is the only way to get my attention.
Bill E Pilgrim
@Bill In OH: My brother is the one who showed me that trick also. Early 70s, maybe even late 60s.
Just a simple little plastic on off switch in our case, with yep, a wire running to the TV, which you’d take apart just enough to find the speaker, and wire it in.
TVs were less scary in those days to take apart.
Reading all of this, I was thinking that the one thing where advertising may actually influence me would be movie billboards, small ones on bus stops and so on. The city I’m in doesn’t allow any others, no large billboards until you get to the outskirts. It’s one of the best things about the place.
But “Oh look, I want to see that movie” yes that would happen. Definitely. Or music or etc. I really don’t think I’ve ever clicked on an Internet ad though.
Deb T
I’ve only clicked on links on this blog. I purchased three of those fleece hats that look like kitties and bunnies for my nieces and I bought some jewelry from an Etsy shop – what was it called??? Can’t remember but it’s marked in my favorites.
Oh, and I got a furminator on John’s recommendation and bless him for saving me from drowning in cat hair.
Comrade Darkness
I’ve been ogling the art ads on this site, wishing I had monies and some wall space. And thinking about gifts.
ON THAT NOTE: it would be all kinds of awesome if there were an advertisers page like in the back of a fancy magazine that held the links of the ads from the last year or so. I often think of something that would be useful, but the ad is long gone.
gbear
I can tell you there are a lot of jewelry and fashion adds on the left side of the screen, and an add for tortured piglets on the right side. I can also tell you I will NEVER click on that animal add. The only link that I’ve ever clicked through is the link to purchase stuff at amazon, but I often forget about it.
If I’m reading this at work I just shove the whole left-hand side of the window off of my computer screen, so that the adds don’t show. That add about animals is making BJ not safe for work.
Kryptik
I try to avoid ads and clicking on them whenever I can for the same reason as MattMinus: even innocuous ads on trusted sites have a bad tendency to carry some really awful shit beneath the surface. I understand that there’s a nneed to support sites and such through ads, but honestly, if the ad services used allow crap like that to worm through onto users and readers’ comps that can potentially ruin a computer, then they deserve to be blocked. That is not a way to drum up pageviews and clickthroughs.
LuciaMia
Just glad that Pamela Anderson and her oily boobs are finally gone.
But as someone else mentioned, I do sometimes click on the crafts ads, especially the jewelery designers.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
You obviously weren’t around these parts during the great Three-Armed Pam Anderson Ad controversy, when something like 20% of the comments in every thread were something like “Ewww, what is that thing in the ads”, or “AAAAA! My eyes! Please John for the love of god take down that creepy ad!” and then John would ignore us all and secretly laugh to himself like an evil dictator BWWWAHHHAAA!
It was as if a really cheap pr0n version of the goddess Kali from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom had moved in, taken over, and then refused to vacate the movie theater. And the doors were locked and we couldn’t get out OMG! OMG!
But other than that, nobody looks at the ads. Um, yeah.
Graeme
I get everything by RSS, so I’m generally amused when I click through & see ads. I don’t click on them, though.
I like the idea of your targeted donations, though. I spend enough on my own rescued cats, but I can’t wait until you guys start taking donations for Stupak’s opponent. I will give big!
I just sent John Hickenlooper some money in Colorado. I would love to see him as the Governor.
Will
The only ads I ever notice online are the ones I am forced to view, ala it washes over the home page of the WaPo, or the Times, or Salon, etc, for about 15 seconds. Usually it’s for The Economist.
Sentient Puddle
@GReynoldsCT00:
And don’t count on it ever coming. Google is all about web advertising. They’re not going to compromise that kind of revenue on a browser they made.
b-psycho
Last time I clicked an ad here was for that weird webcomic “curvy”. Been awhile…
I’ve got adblock back on now, so I see a lot fewer now. Though, I reinstalled it not to block typical non obstructive advertising but to filter out those stupid pagescripts that make sites take forever to load.
TomG
I never use Adblock, I just have learned to visually “tune out” ads that are simply on the page. I never thought much about it until I read that Ars Technica article about the problems with too many people using Adblock.
slag
@Laura W.:
A decent point.
I just got an email from GoogleAdWords offering me $100 worth of free ads to come back to advertising with them. I’ve been deliberating on it. Yesterday, I was strongly considering it. But today not so sure. My experience with advertising is that the ROI isn’t great. I think I make most of my money through pure luck (which, in case there’s any doubt, isn’t a good business model). So, yeah…I do question the value of ads.
As for the web ads I’ve clicked on, they’re mostly ads for rightwing sites (Newsmax, etc) that I just get the urge to siphon a few pennies out of now and again. I’m not their intended market, and consequently, I’d rather they spend their money on me. Of course, doing this probably gives me bad ad karma, but I think I can live with that.
That said, the ads at the top of my Google searches are generally fairly helpful and I do click on those often.
David in NY
Definitely — the content of our comments affects the kind of ads in the line at the top. Now I’m getting a link to Google for Advertisers.
Sentient Puddle
Sweet mother of Mary, I’m now reading the comments of that Ars Technica article and I want to shoot myself. I thought that these morons were terrible when they were whining about DRM even remotely trying to curb piracy, and this is…well, just as bad, but about something that’s an even smaller deal.
This is the one part of geek culture I could easily do without…we are not entitled to free shit.
lol
@Sentient Puddle:
Early versions of Chrome didn’t have extensions.
In any case, the latest version of Chrome does allow extensions and there’s an AdBlock-style extension available. It even uses the same lists as the firefox version.
It’s not as good as the firefox one (doesn’t prevent downloading ads, just hides them) because of the way Chrome is currently configured but it should get better.
In terms of the debate being had here, it might be the best compromise – still counts as a page view for the site but the actual ads don’t annoy you.
Cat
I’ve bought gifts from PW advertisers listed on here.
Daddy-O
I really, really, really don’t want to become a pissant who disagrees with everything I hear…but I have to tell you what I did yesterday when viewing your site.
I clicked on to an ad for a company that hosts websites, and checked it out. I do not remember the name of the company. I didn’t buy anything from them–yet.
Still, it was the first ad I’ve clicked on in MONTHS, if not years. Your premise is correct. But ads are the price to pay.
If your premise includes the idea that the Internets are hard to pay for, I must agree.
russell
I will cop to clicking through the Snorg Tees ads because cute wholesome girls who aren’t wearing any pants make me smile.
Other than that, no.
Martin
@Ben: And it’s worth noting that Daring Fireball is Gruber’s day job. Yeah, he picks up some money from speaking gigs and such, but mostly it’s just from DF ads (of which there is usually a total of one) and swag (which is unusually awesome).
As a rule I don’t block ads. I use a browser that allows me to selectively block them. If there’s an ad flashing and jiggling or worse, playing sounds, then just that ad is going to get blocked. I’ll also block the Pam ad, and a few others like it – basically ones that I wouldn’t want my kids or coworkers to accidentally see. The rest I let through so sites can get the revenue.
But I can’t think of many things Gruber says that shouldn’t be heeded, and I think he’s spot on with the piece Ben links to. I can tell you most of Grubers advertisers without visiting the site. I’ve looked at most of the products he advertises because they’re good products – someone has filtered the ads for me, and there aren’t so many that I need to tune them out just to read the page. The bottom line is that we treat ads the same as we do food. Mix even a little crap in, and people won’t touch it. If you run high quality ads for high quality products, I’ll click through regularly. Getting an ad stream like that is really fucking hard, though.
Martin
Oh, I should point out my ad trick. For Mac users, consider using OmniWeb as your browser (free). It’s a standard Webkit browser, so it works just like Safari or Chrome. OmniWeb has per-site preferences, so you could block ads from Politico but not from Balloon-Juice. Further, it has a regex ad filter allowing you to filter out precisely any ad you want – so you can block 3-armed Pam, but keep the rest of the page going. You can easily do this by right-clicking on the image, and under the ‘Image’ menu select ‘Filter Image’ and that ad will no longer show up. I think this is a reasonable middle ground, but unfortunately most browser/ad blockers don’t give users that degree of control.
Arclite
@ Mistermix and all who are interested.
Here’s an article on arstechnica explaining why you don’t have to click on the ads to make the site money.
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2010/03/why-ad-blocking-is-devastating-to-the-sites-you-love.ars
Allan
I click on all right-wing ads and sign Adolf Hitler up to receive more information. His email is [email protected], in case you were wondering.
mpowell
I know someone who does performance marketing for a living. He places ad buys and gets paid when people click through and do something (usually buy something, but sometimes just fill out a form). He pays for the ads himself, so he wouldn’t be making any money if people weren’t buying stuff from the ads he places. Internet ad space is cheap partially because its used for direct marketing instead of brand marketing, and I’m not sure it’s the right model, but the consequence is that you can be sure that the price is less than the value. People click through and buy products. Seriously.
BombIranForChrist
I don’t really pay attention to internet ads, although for some reason I felt compelled to buy five hundred pounds of this pill called Viagro. Not sure what that is all about.
licensed to kill time
Having just got here and not having read any comments yet, I just want to say that I use Firefox with NoScript and AdBlock Plus primarily for security reasons and because I have an old laptop that is powered by a rather elderly hamster who gets exhausted quickly. I try to keep it going by reducing his runtime in the wheel, poor thing.
I never see any ads to click on. The rare times when I use Opera or Chrome to come here I am always shocked by how cluttered and junky the site looks, as I am used to a clean soft blue and cream page with lots of open space.
I’d like to know how I can support this site w/o having to see ads so I will now read the comments to find out. I’m sure it has been mentioned because I think there are a lot of people who are in the same boat as me or just prefer not to see the bloody ads, thanks.
Persia
@Lee: I’m about the same. Sometimes a webcomic looks good, I bought something from Laura W, and I’ve visited the Cafepress shop. But usually I’ve got AdBlock on.
EJ
What was the last TV commercial you watched? What was the last billboard you saw? What was the last magazine ad you flipped past?
Of course you don’t remember. That’s not how advertising works. Everyone thinks they’re immune to advertising – trust me, you’re not.
I’ve been buying and/or selling internet advertising for 10 years now – people do click on the things. At least on the internet when people click on your ads and buy your products, you know the ad they responded to.
Comrade Darkness @79 – the advertiser directory page is actually a really great idea for networks like Advertise Liberally that run a lot of small specialty buys.
Paris @44 – you notice them, that’s the key. More important, you actually remember what the ad is for. I worked for a company years ago that ran those ridiculous looking mortgage and loan ads with odd-looking people and weird dancing animals. Its nothing to do with the images being public domain – the pretty people and the unkempt people are all cheap stock photos (and the pretty ones are easier to find). It’s because you’re so used to seeing conventionally attractive models in ads that some guy who looks like Alan Moore makes you do a double take and actually read the message. I never did figure out why people actually click on the ad and apply for a loan – but they do.
asiangrrlMN
I don’t know the ads on any site until someone points them out. I don’t watch commercials (I have DVR). Live, I mute them or switch or go get a snack or something. If I am going to buy something, I look up the item, talk to anyone who may know something about the item, and then I buy it. If I remember any ads for being particularly obnoxious (I watch the Super Bowl ads, but most likely won’t from now on), I refuse to buy the product.
I wouldn’t say I’m immune to advertising: I would say I’m actively hostile to it.
celticdragonchick
I clicked on the ad for the Dreamer here at Balloon Juice last week.
I’m glad I did.