I've noticed a really annoying ad on Digg and just wanted to give my thoughts about the whole subject of advertising. Advertisements suck, and we'd all be better off without it.

We've had advertisements on the Internet for a long time, and even though they are necessary for the survival of some websites, I still hate them. Here are just some reasons I believe advertisements on the Internet stink.

1. Can anyone say "Annoying"?
Imagine surfing a website, enjoying an article about the ten hottest celebrities. Then, out of nowhere, an ad pops out. You'd think that it's extremely annoying, and that's exactly what everyone else thinks. Who wants to see bright flashing lights flying across the screen when they are doing something important? No one. Trust me. You don't need colors to attract my attention, so stop trying to kill me by inducing me with the 'rainbow'. The pop up itself has already gotten my attention. Heck, these advertisements could probably give someone a seizure or at least blind someone. It seems like a whole bunch of these advertisements were whipped up on Microsoft Paint, then animated with every color available in Photoshop. Add in stupid messages, some sound, and you've got yourself a top of the line annoying as hell advertisement. Screw off.

2. No one really cares that you're selling "XXX" or what not.
People come onto websites so they can read and enjoy whatever the website has to offer. We don't go to blogs so we can buy whatever the hell you're selling. Advertise your goods for sites like eBay, where people are actually looking to buy things. Don't clog up my favorite sites with spam about buying shampoo because that's not the reason I'm there. I don't go to sites like Digg to be pestered by some out-of-there company trying to sell me useless items.

3. Stop exploiting young children.
Yeah. I know what you're doing. Every single time you have an advertisement that has a subliminal message, you've just exploited a child. There are many younger kids out there who don't know that advertisements are hoaxes, so they will think everything is true, and that Mc Donald's is worth "Lovin". Stop exploiting these children.

4. Malware
One of the main reasons people are so wary of advertisements is that so many ads are festered with malware of all sorts. People are afraid of clicking on an ad because they don't want trojan's all over their computer. No one wants to risk clicking on an ad. Tell that to your marketing supervisor.

5. False Advertising
Advertising is one thing. False advertising is another. I just hate how there are so many ads with a 'Get your free Alienware computer! Click here!' when we all know there is no such thing as free things in ads. And what a great way to get a customer. I mean lying to them? Just awesome. I'm sure you'll have that customer back.

6. "Holy ****" that's a lot.
Another thing that annoys me about advertisements is the sheer size. There isn't just one or two. There are thousands. Most of the popular sites might limit it to be only two or three per page, but there are some websites that are swarming with advertisements. You'll see a blog post completely surrounded by ads on all sites. Each and everyone of them blinking and moving on their own. Do you honestly think the users enjoy that? Do you really think we're going to click on something?
7. Time Waster
Our time is valuable. I certainly don't want to waste it by closing an advertisement, but that's exactly what these advertisements are making everyone do. They close the pop up window as soon as it pops up. Why waste all that time? Every time we scroll to avoid an advertisement, every time we have to get rid of an ad, and every time we have to rant about advertisement, you're wasting our time. You're also wasting your own time developing the ad because just about everyone is fed up and tries to ignore the ad. Thanks a bunch.

8. "You're doing it wrong!"
All you witty people who work in the advertising industry. You're doing it wrong. If the point of an advertisement was to annoy the living daylights out of everyone, then Congratulations. Otherwise, you've failed. Advertisements on the Internet these days aren't encouraging people to buy a product. They are encouraging people to smash the computer screen because the advertisements are so damn annoying. Next time you're going to make an ad, keep it nice and small, take out the fancy-seizure-inducing colors along with any pop ups and sound, and I promise I'll click on you. Honestly. I will. Oh, and making it funny or interesting would also be nice.

9. It's not helping.
Advertisements are supposed to be promoting the products or the company supporting it. Unfortunately, most of the ads I've seen have failed to accomplish that. These days, all advertisers seem to think that sound in combination with blinding colors, and the word 'Free!' is going to make a user buy whatever they are selling. If they are actually under that delusion, and I wish them good luck because their company isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

10. We hate you.
I speak on my own behalf, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who think the same way. Advertisements, "We hate you". Make yourself less conspicuous, smaller, and a whole lot cleaner, and perhaps we'll consider hovering our mouse near you. Until then, farewell.
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If you would like to be Ad Free, use the AdBlock Plus Firefox Extension. You can say goodbye to all those pesky ads.

Posted in Labels: 10 Reasons, Advertising Posted by Bookmark Geek at 5:21 PM