Pop-ups and Epinions

kurt_messick · #1 05-30-2001, 03:43 PM

Does anybody know/has anybody heard of Epinions testing out pop-up boxes? I've had three instances in the past few days where opening an epinion screen has also seemed to trip a wire for several pop-up boxes with advertisements showing up.

Am I unique in this experience? Has anyone else seen this happen?

mnehr · #2 05-30-2001, 03:45 PM

I noticed this whenever I go home and log my wife off of Epinions so I can surf. I had 4 pop up boxes open last nite upon logging out of her account.

erik_kosberg · #3 05-30-2001, 04:11 PM

I’ve been getting them sporadically over the last week or so, sometimes three at a time. Very annoying. BTW, ZDNet’s AnchorDesk had an article yesterday about pop up ads.

I suppose that Epinions feels that they have no choice but to go along with this obnoxious trend. They have to make money somehow but I wish that they could find a less annoying way to do it.

**amykhar** · #4 05-30-2001, 04:28 PM

A lot of ad companies are doing ads like this right now. Our own tried to slip one in a week or so ago. When it comes to a choice between pop up ads that annoy the hell out of users, and no ads to pay the bills, sites get stuck using the stinky ads.

It's not really fair to nag Epinions about this because not running the ads could cause a significant revenue hit.

Amy

vania · #5 05-30-2001, 05:38 PM

I don't really mind the pop-up ads..... at least they're the kind that go away when you close them!!!!

vania

nylawgirl · #6 05-30-2001, 11:22 PM

Am I the only one who got the pop-up ad for the hearse company? I know I was away from Epinions for eight months but I wasn't that away.

-- Cate

#7 05-30-2001, 11:28 PM

No, but I got a pop-up with a guy's nipple earlier. Does that count?

nylawgirl · #8 05-30-2001, 11:30 PM

Hmm, I don't know. I guess it depends on the guy.

-- Cate

nicholmere · #9 05-30-2001, 11:37 PM

In class today I decided to surf while I waited for my teacher to set up a printer for me. When he came back around I closed the window, but an ad for a web cam came up, it made it look like I had been surfing on some type of sex site - I didn't look too closely (I was trying to close the window) but it showed a camera spying on a woman. Ugh.

**pluckyduck** · #10 05-30-2001, 11:54 PM

I have my own little war on pop up ads.... I refuse to use sites that use them and send nasty little emails to the webmaster about them.

I hate pop up ads

You don't know, but I'm the reason PlanetRx.com went under. I was supporting their entire web operations with my purchases, until they took on some lame advertising that caused pop up windows to appear. I told them I wasn't coming back until they went away, and two weeks later they went under.

Coincidence? I think not.

Andrea
firing off a letter to community care at Epinions...ooooh...wonder what kind of response I get....

anybody care to take a stab at it?

**amykhar** · #11 05-31-2001, 09:25 AM

Andrea,
Is it fair to make Epinions give up what little revenue they have simply because we don't like the ads? If it's a choice between popups or nothing, I would hope that we could put up with the annoyance for a while.

Amy

kuuleimomi · #12 05-31-2001, 09:36 AM

Yesterday I was trying to sign out coz I was on public computer [that's a different story] and as a guest I got several pop ups. Not like I'm a fan, but I don't mind them

**pluckyduck** · #13 05-31-2001, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by amykhar
Andrea,
Is it fair to make Epinions give up what little revenue they have simply because we don't like the ads? If it's a choice between popups or nothing, I would hope that we could put up with the annoyance for a while.

Amy

Oh, I was teasing about firing off an email.

If I'm going to fire off an email to Epinions, I'd pick something "more important".....and I'm not doing any email firing off.

I am serious, though, about my reaction, as an outsider, to pop ups -- which is something to consider. I really do avoid sites that have them. I used to use Ask Jeeves and Google pretty much 50/50. Two weeks ago Ask Jeeves started giving me pop ups, and that was the last time I went there. I probably won't go again until somebody tells me that they've been on Ask Jeeves and the pop ups have stopped.

Will that keep me off Epinions? No...but it would have in half a second if I weren't already sucked in.

Something to think about.

Andrea

**Joubert**[$] · #14 05-31-2001, 10:20 AM

You're all heavy-duty web surfers. You know that click through on banners has dropped like a stone. The revenue stream has to be replaced somewhere. If clickthrough doesn't improve, something else will be tried.

I'm with Amy on this one. Someone's gotta pay. It ain't gonna be "impression value", but there are going to be lots of different types of ads.

Frankly, I found what Epinions (and everyone else) is doing in mingling content and advertising more alarming than a new window being spawned. Mind you, I don't necessarily disagree, but it's a trend to be closely watched.

cornell2000 · #15 05-31-2001, 12:13 PM

I have a couple observations to make about the popup ads. First, I have only encountered them if you are browsing the Epinions site and are not logged in. I have never seen one when I have been logged in normally.

Also, there are software programs that will remove advertising from the web sites you visit. Go search for Proxomitron or AdSubtract and see what they're like.

kurt_messick · #16 05-31-2001, 12:34 PM

I wouldn't mind pop-ups so much so long as they adhere to certain conditions:

1) There can be only one (to borrow a Highlander phrase). Four or five pop-ups end up being annoying. I won't look at those adverts. I click them away as fast as my mouse can locate the close button (on my Mac, the key-command is executed in response to a pop-up so quickly the content in the pop-ups never get to be seen -- so much for effective advertising)

2) Pop-ups not be offensive in content. The few pop-ups that have resolved on my office computer do, like nicholmere mentioned above, make it look like I'm doing inappropriate surfing.

I know that I avoid any site that has pop-ups like the plague. If I see the content of a pop-up, my only impression is a negative one associated with the product/service -- it isn't as passive advertising as a banner, it is aggressive and in-your-face in a way that sours me on both the advertiser and the carrier.

**hadassahchana**[$] · #17 05-31-2001, 01:03 PM

I understand the point about Epinions needing that extra revenue.

However, are they really getting much out of it? I will read banner ads occasionally, and sometimes even click on them (if I'm feeling virtuous). However, I can't close those pop-ups fast enough. I find them overwhelming and confusing, and I would guess that a lot of folks feel the same way.

Cindy

**amykhar** · #18 05-31-2001, 01:06 PM

The pop ups that our ad company provided were pay per impression ads. Not pay per click. Thus, it only mattered how many times those ads popped up.

Amy

nicholmere · #19 05-31-2001, 04:37 PM

I decided to click on one of the pop-ups. I happened to choose the SPY-CAM, for research purposes only

, and discovered two things

1 - The new pop-up window doesn't have a scroll bar, so it is difficult to view the full ad anyway, but eventually I managed to see the whole page.

2 - I selected "Fun uses for Xcam". There were two categories, indoors and outdoors.
The outdoor list included:
"--Bring a little spice into your romance...(need we say more?)" Outdoors? Hmm

"-- Make your own "Blair Witch Project" documentary ...in your own backyard!"

I'm not a fan of these pop ups, I just close them ASAP, but I hope they help Epinions bring in some revenue. I'd hate to think I was being annoyed for nothing.

proeditor · #20 06-01-2001, 09:58 AM

I just clicked on one for the heck of it too -- I usually never do.

This one had a picture of a sexy body and said something about smooth skin -- turns out it was about embalming fluid. The window ran a video clip. Then, sickly curious, I clicked on another picture and that clip was about wound filler. It really turned my stomach. While the ad tried to use humor, I don't think it was a joke. Whether it was or wasn't, it was quite tasteless. And how many morticians are surfing Epinions? There isn't a category about choosing coffins, it there?

Guess I'll just go back to my usual practice of ignoring pop-ups.

proeditor · #21 06-04-2001, 11:30 AM

Me again.

I just got another lovely pop-up -- it was for Franklin Funeral Services. What a happy thought to start my day! I didn't click on it.

theeye · #22 06-04-2001, 11:57 AM

Just fyi, the various funeral/embalming-related pop-ups are actually ads for HBO's new drama series "Six Feet Under", about a family in the funeral home business, which premiered last week. Whether the ads are in good taste is a question subject to debate, but FWIW they are *not* advertising the actual "products" shown.

And while we're on the topic, I did catch the premier last night. I found it only mildly interesting. The whole concept of embalming, open casket funerals and extended "viewing" is so completely contrary to my own religious tradition that I found it rather horrifying at times in a way that I'm not sure would play the same way to a Catholic or someone else who holds by those traditions. (I'm an observant Jew -- in my religious tradition, these practices represent the ultimate in *disrespect* to the deceased, though, of course, I understand that they are practiced by those who intend only the greatest respect and would be as horrified by a closed casket funeral as I am by an open one.) (Note to moderators: feel free to move this to another thread or forum if this discussion takes a "life" of its own -- pun intended.)