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I don’t like AMP, but I am so happy to see when websites complain that “leads dropped by 59%” because of it. For “leads” to drop that much it must mean they we

I don’t like AMP, but I am so happy to see when websites complain that “leads dropped by 59%” because of it. For “leads” to drop that much it must mean they weren’t legitimate, happy leads in the first place. I bet those “leads” came from a shit letter popup or other similar dark pattern, in which case AMP works as designed and benefits the user by shielding them from such garbage. AMP is bad for the web in the long term. But it is a decent stop-gap solution given that nobody is willing to make their websites bearable without Google’s pressure. EDIT: I just tried their website again without an ad blocker and sure enough, I was asked to subscribe to their shitletter.

codazoda 8y ago
I'm also an Amp hater and welcomed this news. Then, I went to the site. Because I really hate AMP I dismissed all three of their mobile pop ups; one after another. After reading the article I tried to use the back button to go back to hacker news; took three clicks (maybe one for each popup)? I'm guessing you are correct and they need to take another look for causation.
kentt 8y ago
Agreed. However, I'm more in favour of AMP because if the reasons you mentioned. Essentially I think Google has tricked a lot of publishers into using less dark patterns and avoiding shooting themselves in the foot with heavy ads and tracking. It's not perfect but from an end user perspective I'm grateful for it.
- ehsankia 8y ago
  It's also important to note that AMP isn't meant to be used for every site out there. It's only useful for specific sites that have a static landing pages. I still don't understand why sites like reddit use it either.
  - ivanfon 8y ago
    The SEO incentives are likely enough to make any and all types of websites interested in using it.
drb91 8y ago
> But it is a decent stop-gap solution given that nobody is willing to make their websites bearable without Google’s pressure. Somehow I don’t think Google wants them to stop showing ads. Everything else is a distraction that ignores the root cause of the customer experience being shitty.

codazoda 8y ago

I'm also an Amp hater and welcomed this news. Then, I went to the site. Because I really hate AMP I dismissed all three of their mobile pop ups; one after another. After reading the article I tried to use the back button to go back to hacker news; took three clicks (maybe one for each popup)? I'm guessing you are correct and they need to take another look for causation.

kentt 8y ago

Agreed. However, I'm more in favour of AMP because if the reasons you mentioned. Essentially I think Google has tricked a lot of publishers into using less dark patterns and avoiding shooting themselves in the foot with heavy ads and tracking. It's not perfect but from an end user perspective I'm grateful for it.

ehsankia 8y ago
It's also important to note that AMP isn't meant to be used for every site out there. It's only useful for specific sites that have a static landing pages. I still don't understand why sites like reddit use it either.
- ivanfon 8y ago
  The SEO incentives are likely enough to make any and all types of websites interested in using it.

drb91 8y ago

> But it is a decent stop-gap solution given that nobody is willing to make their websites bearable without Google’s pressure. Somehow I don’t think Google wants them to stop showing ads. Everything else is a distraction that ignores the root cause of the customer experience being shitty.