I spend plenty of time on the world wide web. There seems to be increasing use of pop-ups. I do have my browser set to "block" pop-ups but I still get them. I have heard that many institutions, such as newspapers, have been hit hard by giving their content and stories away for free on the web and are looking for ways to keep all their paying customers and maybe attract more. One way businesses can create some income is to sell advertisements.
When I am not in the market for anything, a pop-up web page offering a subscription to a magazine or letting me know of a cake sale is an annoyance and an intrusion. Some marketers seem convinced that if they state an interesting fact ("World Collapses in Sunbeam Assault") and then insert an advertisement for the cake sale before they explain that some nut somewhere had a dream about world collapse, I will appreciate the ad, the craft, the photography, the exciting price, and my basic hunger for cake will combine to put me in a good mood. It doesn't. The stubborn ad, with a little box informing me that the ad will disappear very soon, puts me in a ferocious mood. I don't really try to memorize the name of the advertiser, the company and product in the offer and the web company who delivered this irritant but sometimes I do remember those responsible without trying. When I do remember, they are first on my list of those to be ignored and avoided.
Once in a while, right after getting trapped by bad taste and bad manners, I get a 2nd intrusion asking for my time, energy and good graces in the form of "input" and "feedback" - will I answer a few questions about my experience using the web site? There are probably nice people who are happy to learn of the nut's dream and of the cake sale and are willing to say so on a scale of 1 to 5. I realize the other nice people getting low pay for constructing the ad, the web site and the cakes are just trying to make a living. I, too, am a nice and rational person who resents their efforts and dislikes their results. Plus, I am not going to buy their cakes.
--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
