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Please let this not be the future of reading on the web

elezea.com

61–70 of 126 posts

Re: Please let this not be the future of reading on the web

#61

"...Ad networks like The Deck come to mind..." everytime someone says this I just switch off. The Deck and other hipster brand ad networks are not a workable solution for 99.99% of bloggers, please stop using them as an example of how advertising can be "good"; they're an example of why it can't.

Yeah I don't see The Deck as being particularly innovative at all. Not to mention it can't scale very well.

Re: Please let this not be the future of reading on the web

#62
post #41

edw519's simple rules for reading on the internet: That's a Back Button (to the cadence of "That's a Paddlin'" from "The Simpsons") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFgR0m-9FmM Login button below the fold? That's a back button. Animated ads? That's a back button. Shifting content? That's a back button. More than 2 pages? That's a back button. Need to be logged in to Facebook. That's a back button. Unexpected video? Tha…

Certainly by those standards, the Youtube link you supplied is a back button. I wonder if you do find anything readable outside of HN these days ;-)

I don't read youtube videos.

Re: Please let this not be the future of reading on the web

#63

Well, which would we prefer? Seeing the ads, or having to pay for access to each site? Personally, as annoying as ads are, I still prefer them being there to the content not being available at all.

Isn't that a false dichotomy? You left out completely free content, which is still abundant and could hold your attention each and every day. It seems most ad-driven sites are fueled by screen scraping or opining on external content without adding much value.

Re: Please let this not be the future of reading on the web

#64
Publishers are clearly struggling to make money from their sites and decline in the quality and increase in annoyance of the adverts is the result. I wrote this a while ago (though not much has changed):

http://posterous.richardcunningham.co.uk/the-problem-with-on...

Re: Please let this not be the future of reading on the web

#65
post #41

edw519's simple rules for reading on the internet: That's a Back Button (to the cadence of "That's a Paddlin'" from "The Simpsons") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFgR0m-9FmM Login button below the fold? That's a back button. Animated ads? That's a back button. Shifting content? That's a back button. More than 2 pages? That's a back button. Need to be logged in to Facebook. That's a back button. Unexpected video? Tha…

Certainly by those standards, the Youtube link you supplied is a back button. I wonder if you do find anything readable outside of HN these days ;-)

I'm pretty certain that YouTube links are not "unexpected video." Perhaps it's flash, but I think the original means an entirely flash-navigated site.

Re: Please let this not be the future of reading on the web

#66
post #63

Well, which would we prefer? Seeing the ads, or having to pay for access to each site? Personally, as annoying as ads are, I still prefer them being there to the content not being available at all.

Isn't that a false dichotomy? You left out completely free content, which is still abundant and could hold your attention each and every day. It seems most ad-driven sites are fueled by screen scraping or opining on external content without adding much value.

Not really. Decent writers cost money. Editors cost money. Fact checkers cost money. Are there people who will write about their hobby for free, and produce good quality content? Sure.

At the same time, many things require feet (and equipment) on the ground, on location, and that, again, costs money.

Re: Please let this not be the future of reading on the web

#67
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Is it because The Deck is selective? Because if that's the reason then there you have a problem to be fixed by another startup. Bloggers of the world, unite? (I know there are already a couple of offerings and people working on new ad networks.)

That is exactly why it can't be considered a good option and why it is "bad" for the wider internet. The Deck being selective is saying "we know adverts suck, so if you're actually good you can be in our super neat actually good system!" so instead of solving the problem of bad adverts, they're just ignoring it and saying that the sites they like can be in their small network that doesn't have the problem. Their enti…

Is your concern that the millions of sites with bad content will not have many options?

Re: Please let this not be the future of reading on the web

#68
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You pay for a newspaper and it still has advertising...

Yes, but the advertisements don't get in the way of the content - editors wouldn't allow that. Also, the only way the ads can harm you is if they're coated with cocaine or some other drug :)

Can you really think of no other ways in which ads might harm someone?

Re: Please let this not be the future of reading on the web

#70
post #41

edw519's simple rules for reading on the internet: That's a Back Button (to the cadence of "That's a Paddlin'" from "The Simpsons") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFgR0m-9FmM Login button below the fold? That's a back button. Animated ads? That's a back button. Shifting content? That's a back button. More than 2 pages? That's a back button. Need to be logged in to Facebook. That's a back button. Unexpected video? Tha…

Publishers' solution to your problem:

Disable the back button.

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