ADRIAN HARVEY <aharvey_at_sympatico.ca> WROTE:
> IT'S WAKE-UP TIME!!
> You're asking the wrong questions! Ask the *readers*
> who are obliged to avoid irrelevant, annoying,
> 'in-your-face' advertising on the Web like the plague.
> Trying to read content on websites is like driving down
> mainstreet Las Vegas...BILLBOARDS, PLACARDS, FLASH!
> FLASH! FLASH! ROADBLOCKS...ATTENTION AND FLOW KILLERS...
> WHERE AM I? Pretty soon we won't be able to see the
> text at all for ad detritus...
Adrian reinforces a survey we did in '99 "Noise to
Content Ratios" wherein we took an online sampling of
the most popular portal sites on the web.
Content space is definitely getting smaller and smaller.
Sites such as ZDNet and About.com are running as high as
800% to 1,200% Noise-to-Content ratios.
I, personally believe it can't possibly be productive to
the advertisers of these sites. I believe the advertising
is sold basically like "blackmail advertising" playing on
the client's (advertisers') hunger for click-throughs.
Consider that ZDnet re-loads the page three times during
an initial load. (Pages now averaging upwards to 80 and
90 K per page with multiple nested tables.) This serves
to 'reload' the advertisers' ad multiple times per 'real'
load. Hmmmmmm. Whether or not ZDnet discloses this
practice to their clients is unknown.
But running 80 to 90 K worth of "junk" to deliver 8 K
worth of content seems excessive to me.
If it works and sells ads, more power to them. However,
if it drives away readers, no wonder they have to reload
those ads three times!
Comments?
Fred
The Design & Publishing Center - www.graphic-design.com
WebDesign & Review, DT&G Magazine
60-Second Windows ... online since 1990.
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Received on Wed Mar 14 2001 - 18:36:18 CST
