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How Text Ads Tamed Ads on the Wild, Wild Web

Posted by Hemos on from the been-much-much-better dept.

securitas writes "In Sunday's New York Times, Randall Stross writes about How Google Tamed Ads on the Wild, Wild Web and how it is largely responsible for the demise of the odious pop-under ad. From the article: "Without intending to do so, the company set in motion multilateral disarmament by telling its first advertisers in 2000: text only, please. No banner ads, no images, no animation.... Google introduced these ads at the very moment when X10 ads were strewn like chewed gum on every square of sidewalk. X10's pop-unders were accepted at mainstream sites run by companies including Microsoft, Yahoo and The New York Times." Remember that "in mid-2001, X10's company Web site was the fourth-most visited" on the Web. Thank you, Google." I'd actually argue that while the text ads had something to do with it, the massive growth in pop-up/under blockers made as much of a difference, if not even more.

7 of 278 comments (clear)

  1. Text ads work by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 5, Funny
    And these text ads are oh-so-effective. Entering "fusion reactors" on Google gets a sponsored link

    Fusion Reactors
    Looking for Fusion Reactors?
    Find exactly what you want today
    www.eBay.com

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
    1. Re:Text ads work by AEton · · Score: 4, Funny

      If you ask me, it's all been downhill lately. They used to be a lot better.

      --
      We recently had heard in the office over one of the Yellow Machine that's made by Anthology Solutions.
  2. Re:X10 ad museum by Loc_Dawg · · Score: 5, Funny

    That reminds me of a fake SA page from a few years ago!

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    _signature creation failed.
  3. Re:X10 ad museum by Hatta · · Score: 4, Funny

    You misspelled ad nauseum.

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    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  4. Re:X10 ad museum - disappointed with product by borkus · · Score: 4, Funny

    I got several of those cameras and was disappointed with the results. Apparently, bikini clad women were not lounging around my house when I was away at work. If they had been, I would have asked them to do a litle vacuuming.

  5. Obligatory Aqua Teen Reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    http://www.yzzerdd.com/

    Wwwyzzerdd. Three ws, two zs, and two ds.

  6. Re:X10 ad museum by czarangelus · · Score: 5, Funny

    What frightens me is the bottom ad on that page. It's advertising a hidden camera for "security in your kids' playroom" with a picture of an older girl with noticably hard nipples. What are these people trying to tell us?

    --
    When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.