My favorite websites still think it’s 1998

April 3, 2008 – 9:59 pm

Back when the web was new and fresh, I was like a small toddler on a sugar high. I’d touch any shiny thing that came into my view. I’d click that flashy skyscraper ad, I’d punch that stupid monkey (admit it, so did you). But last time I checked it wasn’t 1998 anymore. I’m smarter now. So are you.

We’ve grown up. We don’t click on flashy obtrusive ads on websites because we’ve learned through years of conditioning that those ads aren’t relevant to us. They’re untargeted – a message blindly thrown to the masses. They’ve never done us any good, so we ignore them. This is especially true for pop-up ads. We’ve built up a strong immunity to them — and for good reason. So why do CNN.com and ESPN.com continue to serve pop-up ads to visitors that will almost certainly ignore them? Because they’re lazy.

Depending on what browser I’m using, and how well my pop-up blocker is working, I see this when I visit CNN.com :

C’mon CNN.com, you’re better than this. The fact that something called a “pop-up blocker” was invented in the first place should be a good enough signal that people don’t want to see pop-up ads.

But I understand why you continue to serve these ads. I’m sure for every 1,000 impressions, one or two weirdos intentionally (or accidentally) clicks on one. Woohoo! The ad space just became profitable (I guess). Hmm, a 0.1% response rate…I bet you could do better than this.

How about creating a myCNN.com? Where I can login and personalize my news content — and where YOU can keep track of my reading habits, likes, dislikes, interests, navigation style, page view time, etc, etc, etc. And then you can serve me RELEVANT, TARGETED ads that fit MY interests and viewing style — and you can place them where I’m more willing to click them (maybe I’ll even let you place them in my email inbox…maybe). Why don’t you just take the time to get to know me?? I’m betting you could easily turn a 0.1% response rate into a 10% response rate.

The point is, I already have a Netflix subscription. I don’t need another one.