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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.

9 of 278 comments (clear)

  1. X10 ad museum by pohl · · Score: 5, Informative

    In case anybody does not remember the X10 ads, I was able to find an online gallery of old X10 ads. Not at all subtle about who their target market is, are they?

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    The "cue the foo posts in 3, 2, 1..." posts will commence with no subsequent foo posts in 3, 2, 1...

    1. 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.
    2. 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?

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      When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.
  2. The Google-fication of the facts by Billosaur · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I see... so Google saved us all from ourselves did they? I seem to remember that even though Google was much talked about in 2000, it had yet to become the preminent search engine it is today.

    Perhaps this has more to do with it: Results 1 - 10 of about 7,590,000 for Pop-up blocker software. (0.20 seconds). Taken from Google itself. Pop-ups weren't simply replaced, they were stamped out. They still exist, but not at the staggering, nauseating level they were once.

    Does anyone know anyone who ever bought one of those X10 cameras?

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    1. Re:The Google-fication of the facts by dslauson · · Score: 5, Insightful
      "Pop-ups weren't simply replaced, they were stamped out.
      Very true, but Google had a hand in that, as well. The Google toolbar, with popup blocking, was popular before browsers like Firefox that have integrated popup blocking were part of the mainstream. It's definitely what I used in IE before I made the switch.
  3. I like google as much as the next guy... by grasshoppa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...but what a stretch. Even Hemos notes it:

    I'd actually that while the text ads had something to do with it, the massive growth in pop-up/under blockers made a large difference as well.

    ( ignoring missing words and all. I have no room to talk in that dept )

    Can we please attribute things to where they belong? google may be the second coming of Christ, who knows, but let's try to keep their achievements realistic.

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  4. Pop-up ads are coming back by davidwr · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Lately thanks to animation-plugins and other technologies, I've seen a rash of annoying pop-up and "peel-back" ads. Anything that covers existing content without me explicly asking it to do so is by definition annoying.

    I'm waiting for someone who has the skill to update Firefox so plugins cannot overwrite areas of the screen already used by text and graphics. Either that or put in white space for the part of the screen the ad will eventually take over, so the ad doesn't obscure the real content.

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    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  5. 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

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    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  6. Adblock by DrJAKing · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Are there adverts on the internet then? WTF...

    True enough though, for a while I couldn't be bothered to filter Google's ads. Nowadays I find RIP and CustomizeGoogle keep the interface nice and clean.

    Useful links for those that like to make their own mind up:

    http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
    http://www.customizegoogle.com/
    http://rip.mozdev.org/index.html
    http://adblock.mozdev.org/
    http://www.pierceive.com/

    And for those that might bleat "without advertising, many sites would fail" I say Good. Let those sites fail. Give me micropayments and an honest relationship.