Slashdot Mirror
Google Testing Banner Ads On Select Search Results
cagraham writes "Google promised in 2005 to never "ever" put banner ads on their search results, but that appears to be changing. The company confirmed to SearchEngineLand that it is running a "small experiment" involving large-scale banners on searches for Southwest Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Crate&Barrel, among others. The ads are being shown in less than 5% of searches, and only in the US, for now. Interestingly enough, the Google exec who wrote the no banner ads promise was Marissa Mayer, now CEO of Yahoo."
and start being evil, or at least really really annoying.
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
"Dear Human Products,
Google will be placing large, targeted ads across your search results.
Thank you for your personal information.
Do Know Evil,
Google
Trolling is a art,
I'd rather have banner ads than have 3 or 4 ads at the top that are almost indistinguishable from the search results.
I haven't seen a youtube ad, EVER. Why are you not using adblock?!
It seems there are many Geeks around. Adblock usage was 9.2% overall in US and Europe in 2012. See this PDF link for details. Well, maybe there aren't so many geeks but they install Adblock on the computers of friends.
Google's business has always been ads. I really don't see how sponsored links embedded in results are any more evil than text ads, especially when they're just running them on search results
Google's business has always been ads. I really don't see how animated banner ads are any more evil than static banner ads, especially when they're just running them on search results
Google's business has always been ads. I really don't see how flash ads are any more evil than animated banner ads, especially when they're just running them on search results
Ads ain't evil, they just really annoy me. And Google should know this. What is top plugin for their own browser? What is the main reason people root android? Right, ad blockers. They should know people HATE ads. Hate them with a passion that causes them to foam at the mouth at the slightest exposure.
And frankly the ad-blockers I have installed work well enough. So far the battle between advertisers and humanity is going fully in favor of humanity.
Until recently google seemed to accept that a portion of their users had the skills and desire to block all ads and let them get away with in exchange for market share. They were not going to be able to push ads on these people but at least they used their services, enabling them to grow as a company and then sell ads to those that don't mind them. (Just as slashdot allows contributors to hide ads).
That changed, ad blockers are banned from the android store. So I use firefox mobile and install a plugin for that browser and don't run programs that use ads. And waiting for a moment to root my new phone.
They are not going to push ads on me but I am perfectly happy to instruct everyone around me how to block them. Fight me google and you will find millions of nerds telling all their friends how to block them. You want to fight us? We made you what you are, we can kill you just as easily as we killed altavista. Reduce you as Yahoo has been reduced. Do you want to join the ranks of AOL?
Then keep your ads to those that don't mind them.
You would think that a company that offers their own phone to offer customers a clean phone without vendor or phone company malware would understand this. It seems sales has overtaken google as well.
Look at what happened to other companies were the sales guy was not killed when he utters the words "I got an idea". Your making billions google, be happy with it. Because there is no way in hell I am going to watch your ads. Ever. I and countless other rage filled nerds will see you dead and buried first. We did it before and unlike MS, we can do it again.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.