the section at the far bottom is new - the one on top is just repositioned. After a few visits it'll feel less glaring. You never know when you might see "one weird trick" that interests you!
@snapster YOUR ad we CHOOSE to come to, THOSE ads are like a stagnant swamp in an open garbage pit. Not clicking ever. Nothing personal but I hate those things and refuse to reward a site for carrying them. Were I actually to want to go back to that product I'll get there directly, not through one of those.
As long as the ads don't do terrible shit with Flash and/or JavaScript, I'm okay with them.
Be sure you're using a decent advertising network for these ads, though. I've heard that ad networks, if they don't have an especially good ad to serve to a given site at a given time, will reach down to another ad network and run an ad from them, so that the first network can still make some money from serving an ad of any sort. Sometimes the second network will reach down to a third network, and so on. As they keep going down, the ad networks usually start to get shadier, to the point where ads that do terrible shit with Flash and/or JavaScript work their way into the pipeline.
tl;dr: Meh, be sure to have someone watching the ads, because nothing ruins user experience like a bad ad.
@lljk agreed. years ago we had one of the top "targeted" sponsor spots with curated advertising that was sometimes even smart. We're not there yet at Meh but hopefully any bottom-of-the-barrel ads are short lived.
@lljk While some of the ad spots do use flash, I haven't yet come across any hijack ads. One of the browser (chrome) plugins I like to use is FlashControl. It blocks all flash on a page, but allows you to whitelist sites, and you can click on individual panes to only load the flash for that box. Exceptionally useful for some flash game websites I used to frequent.
@snapster I don't mind the ads, even not using an ad blocker... Hey if it pays the bills... seriously How are you making any money on some of the deals here. Even if you got some things for free, the cost of shipping, the hosting, the forums, the staffing... Makes me wonder do you make more money when something sells out in 17 minutes or if it sells well all day and sells out at 11:50...
@curtise They are targeted ads... This week I get English Recipes and Beverage Factory, mainly because I was looking up recipes for beef wellington (which turned out quite well if you care) and supplies for home brewing. To quote chrome: “Psst! Incognito mode (Ctrl +Shit+N) may come in handy next time”
@NigelF Considering I use Ghostery and don't allow third party cookies, precisely to avoid creating targets with which to advertise at me, and considering that I'm not interested in the next step in evolution, I'd say that the above ad wasn't targeted. It also seems like you're trying to imply I should be ashamed about revealing the ad that was served as if it reflects poorly on other content I may have been surfing (but wasn't), which isn't really a very nice thing to do, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt since it is difficult to convey emotion in a text forum. I also have no clue what the ad was advertising, and have no desire to know. Finally, I am glad to hear your beef wellington was a success!
@curtise I would hope that you understand that it was a tongue in cheek post, not everyone uses Ghostery. When the ad can't figure out your habits it tries to "guess" what your demographic is and your interests based on the site and overall stats for your area. Given the context, and the fact that it's clearly a click-bait ad for some fitness nonsense, I would say you have a lot of people going to ESPN or fitness sites in your area.
@jqubed I made a couple of changes, portabella mushrooms, shallot in with the mushrooms, Sierra Nevada mustard, green peppercorn sauce, and pork instead of beef. Oh and no chestnuts, can't find them this time of year.
@NigelF Thanks for the clarification! I'm glad it was humourous snark, and not mean snark! And in respect to targeted ads, I have to say the whole concept is absolutely distasteful to me - if I have to see anything, I'd MUCH rather see a series of Meh-curated ads for funky things that Meh thinks are awesome and wants to share with us, than to see what some decrepit algorithm thinks people in my area might want (but probably don't).
Here is my complaint about these bottom of the page ads: 3 of them are showing me stuff I just looked at on Amazon. That is really, really lazy, Ad Network. Don't tell me about food I'm eating, tantalize me about what I could be eating next meal. This just seems like advertising 101 to me. If I was paying for targeted impressions I would be annoyed with this. Otherwise, I don't care about these ads at the bottom of the page.
We'll know Meh has really sold out when we start seeing graphics around the ads that say things like "Irk loves this product more than he should, and you will too!"
Ah who am I kidding? I would totally click Irk sponsored ads.
@Superjimtendo Retargeting is actually really effective. They're trying to remind you to buy something you've already shown an interest in. Instead of a random ad, it's an ad for something you already want.
I understand those who are against targeting advertising, but personally, I'm a fan. I'm not a fan of the tracking and evilness behind the scenes, but ads or no ads, that's going to happen anyway. Targeted ads allows me to see ads for things I want to see. If I see an ad for feminine hygiene products, that's useless and annoying ads to me. If I see ads for Dropcam and Tile, that's good advertising. Things I'm actually interested in and want to learn more about*.
*I already own both of these. They were the ads on Meh when I scrolled down.
I had a period of time where I had opted out of targeted ads. When I bought my new computer in January I never did the opt out and I'm not bothered by it. Seeing targeted ads to my interests makes the ads bearable. I'm also more likely to click them. It's a win-win.
i hate ads. and we must kill ads. some are deadly - like dns unlocker dns unlocker adware redirects. they may hide terrible things, and just annoy us after all.
An AdBlocker is your friend.
How else are they going to pay for their office parties? I heard rumors they are awesome!
the section at the far bottom is new - the one on top is just repositioned. After a few visits it'll feel less glaring. You never know when you might see "one weird trick" that interests you!
Oh um and our entire page is an ad. meh.
@snapster YOUR ad we CHOOSE to come to, THOSE ads are like a stagnant swamp in an open garbage pit. Not clicking ever. Nothing personal but I hate those things and refuse to reward a site for carrying them. Were I actually to want to go back to that product I'll get there directly, not through one of those.
@Kidsandliz now we know where to hide the next fukubukuro
@snapster Now that would be hilarious - although you might need to duck for cover (well @jont would anyway) were you to do that. (grin)
As long as the ads don't do terrible shit with Flash and/or JavaScript, I'm okay with them.
Be sure you're using a decent advertising network for these ads, though. I've heard that ad networks, if they don't have an especially good ad to serve to a given site at a given time, will reach down to another ad network and run an ad from them, so that the first network can still make some money from serving an ad of any sort. Sometimes the second network will reach down to a third network, and so on. As they keep going down, the ad networks usually start to get shadier, to the point where ads that do terrible shit with Flash and/or JavaScript work their way into the pipeline.
tl;dr: Meh, be sure to have someone watching the ads, because nothing ruins user experience like a bad ad.
@lljk agreed. years ago we had one of the top "targeted" sponsor spots with curated advertising that was sometimes even smart. We're not there yet at Meh but hopefully any bottom-of-the-barrel ads are short lived.
@lljk While some of the ad spots do use flash, I haven't yet come across any hijack ads. One of the browser (chrome) plugins I like to use is FlashControl. It blocks all flash on a page, but allows you to whitelist sites, and you can click on individual panes to only load the flash for that box. Exceptionally useful for some flash game websites I used to frequent.
@snapster I don't mind the ads, even not using an ad blocker... Hey if it pays the bills... seriously How are you making any money on some of the deals here. Even if you got some things for free, the cost of shipping, the hosting, the forums, the staffing... Makes me wonder do you make more money when something sells out in 17 minutes or if it sells well all day and sells out at 11:50...
Yeah, IMHO, this really doesn't reflect well on the Mediocre brand. This is the kind of crapvertising I expect to see elsewhere, not here:
@curtise They are targeted ads... This week I get English Recipes and Beverage Factory, mainly because I was looking up recipes for beef wellington (which turned out quite well if you care) and supplies for home brewing. To quote chrome: “Psst! Incognito mode (Ctrl +Shit+N) may come in handy next time”
@NigelF Considering I use Ghostery and don't allow third party cookies, precisely to avoid creating targets with which to advertise at me, and considering that I'm not interested in the next step in evolution, I'd say that the above ad wasn't targeted.
It also seems like you're trying to imply I should be ashamed about revealing the ad that was served as if it reflects poorly on other content I may have been surfing (but wasn't), which isn't really a very nice thing to do, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt since it is difficult to convey emotion in a text forum.
I also have no clue what the ad was advertising, and have no desire to know.
Finally, I am glad to hear your beef wellington was a success!
@curtise I would hope that you understand that it was a tongue in cheek post, not everyone uses Ghostery. When the ad can't figure out your habits it tries to "guess" what your demographic is and your interests based on the site and overall stats for your area. Given the context, and the fact that it's clearly a click-bait ad for some fitness nonsense, I would say you have a lot of people going to ESPN or fitness sites in your area.
@NigelF So are you not going to post a link to said Beef Wellington recipe?
@jqubed I made a couple of changes, portabella mushrooms, shallot in with the mushrooms, Sierra Nevada mustard, green peppercorn sauce, and pork instead of beef. Oh and no chestnuts, can't find them this time of year.
@NigelF How can you call it Beef wellington with that many changes???
@tightwad Especially " and pork instead of beef."!!
@narfcake Definitely not Beef Wellington, but maybe more like Pork Nigel.
@NigelF I want Gordon Ramsay to do play by play of my life, and just randomly say "blitz."
@LaVikinga Pork Nigel?! You may want to ask his permission first.
@NigelF Sierra Nevada mustard is news to me — thanks!
@narfcake Obviously it's your fault that beef tenderloin is 3x the price of pork tenderloin.
@NigelF Thanks for the clarification! I'm glad it was humourous snark, and not mean snark!
And in respect to targeted ads, I have to say the whole concept is absolutely distasteful to me - if I have to see anything, I'd MUCH rather see a series of Meh-curated ads for funky things that Meh thinks are awesome and wants to share with us, than to see what some decrepit algorithm thinks people in my area might want (but probably don't).
@narfcake Just be relieved that @NigelF didn't say goat instead of beef!!!
@NigelF Well mine sure did suck
Here is my complaint about these bottom of the page ads: 3 of them are showing me stuff I just looked at on Amazon. That is really, really lazy, Ad Network. Don't tell me about food I'm eating, tantalize me about what I could be eating next meal. This just seems like advertising 101 to me. If I was paying for targeted impressions I would be annoyed with this. Otherwise, I don't care about these ads at the bottom of the page.
We'll know Meh has really sold out when we start seeing graphics around the ads that say things like "Irk loves this product more than he should, and you will too!"
Ah who am I kidding? I would totally click Irk sponsored ads.
@Superjimtendo Retargeting is actually really effective. They're trying to remind you to buy something you've already shown an interest in. Instead of a random ad, it's an ad for something you already want.
@Collin1000 Yea except when I look up a gag gift and am hit with three ads for wooden abacuses
They're just going to add more and more.. Before long, there will be ads between every message on the forum.
And then they'll get those annoying video ads that automatically play whenever you refresh the window.
Then they'll start with popup ads that trigger at the least bit of scrolling.
Then they'll..
Well, I doubt it. That'd be too Meh even for them.
I noticed the ads the other day and just assumed I needed to update AB+. At least now I know it's something new, and I should still update my blocker.
I don't like the ads that are interactive. If you accidentally hover over one and leave your mouse over it, it will expand and take over the page.
Then you have to click on the little x to get rid of it. PITA
I understand those who are against targeting advertising, but personally, I'm a fan. I'm not a fan of the tracking and evilness behind the scenes, but ads or no ads, that's going to happen anyway. Targeted ads allows me to see ads for things I want to see. If I see an ad for feminine hygiene products, that's useless and annoying ads to me. If I see ads for Dropcam and Tile, that's good advertising. Things I'm actually interested in and want to learn more about*.
*I already own both of these. They were the ads on Meh when I scrolled down.
I had a period of time where I had opted out of targeted ads. When I bought my new computer in January I never did the opt out and I'm not bothered by it. Seeing targeted ads to my interests makes the ads bearable. I'm also more likely to click them. It's a win-win.
All I get are homebrewing-related ads. Obviously the advertisers know their audience.
Targeted? I browse WoodCraft, Gander Mountain, and Bass Pro and stuff. Since when are any of these tied to knitting?
@Mehrocco_Mole Can you artisinally craft knitting needles from fish bones?
here is my opinion about them
It's just one ad -- what's the big deal?
@Kevin One? On mine there is one at the top right and then three more on the bottom
@Kidsandliz well, I only noticed one.
The EFF thing at the bottom of the main page? I clicked it, pretty dramatic kinda site but somewhat interesting. I'm meh either way...
i hate ads. and we must kill ads. some are deadly - like dns unlocker dns unlocker adware redirects. they may hide terrible things, and just annoy us after all.