KiMformation

Pop-ups, the ads we love to hate. A new study suggests that pop-up ads are the Internet equivalent of supermarket tabloids: Everyone claims to hate them, but somebody keeps reading. [CNET News.com]  But can a study exist in a vacuum?  As later pointed out in the article, "Current click-through rates are inflated because many Internet users are not familiar with how to close the pop-up window.  The rates will decrease as users gain experience."  Precisely.  My personal ratio is something like 10 or so erroneous clicks-through and 0 intentional visits to the site of a pop-up advertiser.

Who do you know that doesn't despise pop-up ads?  Like we don't know how to use a search engine to go directly to the site we're looking for in our precious internet time.  "I need a hotel reservation.  Maybe hotels.com will pop up if I go to my favorite wholesale tire website while I'm trying to eat a sandwich on my lunch hour."  And now we have shouting pop-ups ("Hey, you!!!" -- I kid you not), dancing pop-ups, and ones that refuse to go away.  Kudos to iVillage and Ask Jeeves, for (supposedly) banishing these ads.  Let's hope -- no, let's demand -- that other websites follow suit and abolish what is equivalent, not to supermarket tabloids, but to telemarketing on the internet.

- Posted by Kim Plonsky - 11:18:54 PM - radio comments (past)  []

Google responds to search ranking suit. Company says motion contains 'bare and conclusory allegations' [InfoWorld: Top News]  Online advertising network Search King has sued Google in federal court in Oklahoma, claiming that Google unfairly bumped the rankings of Search King's websites, causing financial losses.  Search King is seeking damages of $75K+, plus punitive damages and attorneys' fees.  Google is seeking a dismissal under the free speech protections of the First Amendment.  Search King is seeking a preliminary injunction.

In my view, this is a suit to watch -- two internet search engines, slugging it out over rankings as affect financial gains/losses.  Search King makes a persuasive argument, but I just don't know.  For starters, I'm suspicious when someone announces the filing of a suit on "principle," after the alleged offending party has already acquiesced to the demands made the basis of the lawsuit.  You'll have to read Search King's unusual statement on the matter yourself.  After visiting Search King's site, I'm sworn to secrecy.

- Posted by Kim Plonsky - 11:12:03 PM - radio comments (past)  []

Learned a new Radio UserLand tip today -- the hard way (see post below).  I made significant changes to my template files, such as including an image (you know, of a big dog -- make that of a dog, big) -- and I was unable to completely reverse the changes.  As is usually the case, the solution was quite simple.  All that was necessary was to publish the entire site, from within Radio.  The steps are:

• Open Radio from the system tray Radio icon

• Choose Radio->Publish->Entire Website  (Note:  this may take some time, depending on how long you've been using Radio.)

- Posted by Kim Plonsky - 9:28:56 PM - radio comments (past)  []