Once AOL go this way, so goes everyone else… Moz has a popup killer, yahoo just included one in their version of IE…
this from KTVU in San Francisco in a Op-ed piece on how to surf easier. Everyone interviewed said they either use a blocker of some kind, or will after this interview…
<b>AOL To Offer Pop-Up Blocker</b>
Service Would Work For AOL, Other Ads
POSTED: 9:17 a.m. EST March 12, 2003
NEW YORK – America Online is about to give its customers the power to make pop-up ads fade away.
Once criticized for flurries of the ads, AOL is making a download available starting Wednesday that will allow users to say no.
The Internet service provider said future versions of its software will have the feature built in.
A company spokesman said users will be able to block outside ads as well as those authored by AOL and other companies within AOL Time Warner.
AOL trails Internet service provider EarthLink in making the change.
Several small software firms already sell or give away pop-up blockers – but some are too aggressive, hampering Internet use.
AOL said its software allows users to see which sites have attempted to deliver pop-ups and make a decision.
Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
yeah… they’re just trying to compete though, cause they’re going down under soon.
I predict that in 5 years, AOL will be no more…
why? because the average knowledge of the user is rising. Consumers are realizing that it’s better to customize your own computer rather than let AOL do that crap for you… Can you believe that AOL launched an ad IMPLYING (not saying) that you could only get to webMD if you had AOL?
to tell you the truth, I dont trust AOLs reporting. They dont really do good analysis of them… here’s why:
first of all, they’re losing money. Their main source of revenue is subscription, and they’re losing money there… which means many of their new users are on for free… and many users go on AOL temporarily.
second of all… AOLs numbers havent increased in proportion to the increase of users that get internet at home. So they’re increasing size because more people want internet, but they’re losing market share…
I think though, that the advertising industry needs to be regulated with a BIG BIG BAT! seriously… by it’s nature, it’s just going to get MORE intrusive…
The thing is this: why doesn’t AOL help put a damper on popup abuse by NOT having popups on their flagship site!?
Not only that, but the AOL application itself is annoyingly filled with popups. That’s what I hate about it. When you sign on, that ugly welcome thing pops up. Not only that, but there are additional popups from their partners that pretty much stop you right in your tracks and don’t let you on until you’ve clicked the tiny “No Thanks” button. So there you have it - popups way before I’ve even started surfing. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of AOL’s profits come from these partners. They sell audiences. MANY people still use AOL and a lot of those people believe AOL IS the internet.