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There's just something dreadful about having your decision making so directly influenced. It's sort of a "why are you trying to push this thing on me? Is it not

by WA 12y ago

There's just something dreadful about having your decision making so directly influenced. It's sort of a "why are you trying to push this thing on me? Is it not good enough to stand on its own merit? I have a sneaky suspicion that the same is true for these popups you see all over the internet. I have a basic rule: If there is a popup, I just close the tab. I don't care how good the content is. It can't be that good if the webmaster needs to catch my attention like a needy girlfriend by flashing stuff in my eyes. Close and gone. I wonder if I'm in such a minority such that it doesn't matter, or if this is intentional segmentation or just plain stupidity on the side of webmasters.

simi_ 12y ago
Excuse my gratuitous comment, but I'm just happy to see that I'm not alone. I too _deeply_ despise ads, and popups, and anything that I need to dismiss to get to the content. However, how can a blogging programmer make some money off its blog then? Donations or micro-donations (think Flattr/Gratipay/etc) is the only idea I can think of.
- WA 12y ago
  I'd go with Affiliate links and mark them as such. This is a matter of trust, because there's clearly a conflict of interest. If you recommend something and get money for the recommendation, how good are your recommendations after all? But if you have a trustworthy relationship to your readers, it's usually appreciated if they get tips on books or software that helps them. If you get a few bucks for a recommendation, everybody wins. Also, you could start your own product (e. g. an ebook or a tutorial about something), although this requires clearly more effort. The advantage of affiliate is that you get to select the products you recommend, unlike with most ads.
- pjc50 12y ago
  Turn this around: what would cause you or anyone else to pay money to a blogger? When did you last do this yourself?
  - GFischer 12y ago
    My girlfriend has a blog (on nail polish, of all things), and even not very notorious bloggers have "free samples" sent to them, and the more notorious ones certainly do have monetary offers. Same to hardware reviewers, product reviewers, etcetera, etcetera. Consumers themselves paying, I don't see it that often, but there's the "donations" model that seems to be popular among streamers, etc., I haven't donated myself but I could see myself doing so.
- jlarocco 12y ago
  It's highly unlikely I'd pay money to read blogs. Maybe if WordPress had a pay wall like the NYTimes, and if there were an exceptionally high number of good blogs on it, I'd pay something like $15 a year to read all of WordPress. Or, better yet, something like WordPress, but focused on a topic I was interested in. But in general there's too many mediocre and crappy blogs to say I'd pay money for them. Seriously, why would I pay money to read the millionth article about some random guy just discovering Haskell? IMO, maintaining a blog is like having a Facebook account.
jbb555 12y ago
I've the same. If I get a popup or an overlay I simply close the tab whatever was on it. Without even thinking. If I notice an advert I think scumbag company, how can they think that interrupting what I am here for is more likely to make me buy their thing and I make an active effort to avoid anything they sell from then on. It's not even concious, it just happens.
IgorPartola 12y ago
You are doing them a great service. You are self-selecting as someone who's not going to click on ads at all, and don't waste their resources. I end up using the site and either ignoring or blocking the ads. In fact, I wonder if putting up a giant popup right as you first enter the site is a good way to make more money by only having visitors that don't mind ads.

by WA 12y ago

simi_ 12y ago

Excuse my gratuitous comment, but I'm just happy to see that I'm not alone. I too _deeply_ despise ads, and popups, and anything that I need to dismiss to get to the content. However, how can a blogging programmer make some money off its blog then? Donations or micro-donations (think Flattr/Gratipay/etc) is the only idea I can think of.

WA 12y ago
I'd go with Affiliate links and mark them as such. This is a matter of trust, because there's clearly a conflict of interest. If you recommend something and get money for the recommendation, how good are your recommendations after all? But if you have a trustworthy relationship to your readers, it's usually appreciated if they get tips on books or software that helps them. If you get a few bucks for a recommendation, everybody wins. Also, you could start your own product (e. g. an ebook or a tutorial about something), although this requires clearly more effort. The advantage of affiliate is that you get to select the products you recommend, unlike with most ads.
pjc50 12y ago
Turn this around: what would cause you or anyone else to pay money to a blogger? When did you last do this yourself?
- GFischer 12y ago
  My girlfriend has a blog (on nail polish, of all things), and even not very notorious bloggers have "free samples" sent to them, and the more notorious ones certainly do have monetary offers. Same to hardware reviewers, product reviewers, etcetera, etcetera. Consumers themselves paying, I don't see it that often, but there's the "donations" model that seems to be popular among streamers, etc., I haven't donated myself but I could see myself doing so.
jlarocco 12y ago
It's highly unlikely I'd pay money to read blogs. Maybe if WordPress had a pay wall like the NYTimes, and if there were an exceptionally high number of good blogs on it, I'd pay something like $15 a year to read all of WordPress. Or, better yet, something like WordPress, but focused on a topic I was interested in. But in general there's too many mediocre and crappy blogs to say I'd pay money for them. Seriously, why would I pay money to read the millionth article about some random guy just discovering Haskell? IMO, maintaining a blog is like having a Facebook account.

jbb555 12y ago

I've the same. If I get a popup or an overlay I simply close the tab whatever was on it. Without even thinking. If I notice an advert I think scumbag company, how can they think that interrupting what I am here for is more likely to make me buy their thing and I make an active effort to avoid anything they sell from then on. It's not even concious, it just happens.

IgorPartola 12y ago

You are doing them a great service. You are self-selecting as someone who's not going to click on ads at all, and don't waste their resources. I end up using the site and either ignoring or blocking the ads. In fact, I wonder if putting up a giant popup right as you first enter the site is a good way to make more money by only having visitors that don't mind ads.