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I read on TechCrunch this morning that Duncan Riley is against the new Pay-Per-Play audio ad idea (although he recommends it for his competitors) and I’d like to point out why he’s spot on with his assessment of the situation.
The Web started out as a silent affair and while I don’t believe in slavishly standing on ceremony, as it were, I do believe in respecting the ears and needs of your reader/viewer/listener and respecting the nature of the system and its current state of transformation.
Granted, the Web has now become a fully multi-media laden world and there are many advertisers successfully using audio, even compulsory-on-page-load audio in their ads. But, didn’t we agree a while back that the Web is not TV? TV is passive and we all accepted long ago that we watch what we get and the most control we have over it is to switch the channel, or mute it, or shut it off if we don’t like what we’re getting. Therefore, we don’t get pissed when a commercial comes on because we know that’s how it works.
But that’s not how the Web started, or how it works today. The Pay-Per-Play idea is old-school mass media trying to force the one-to-many model back down our throats and that’s not only irritating, it’s downright disrespectful.
The Web comes from a completely opposing side of the control spectrum where we have always had almost complete control over what we’re going to look at, or look for, and how we’re going to consume what we find. To suddenly and arbitrarily violate this agreement between Web consumers and information providers is a slap in the face to both parties and I suspect that’s why it’s so annoying for most people.
I know I will leave a site immediately if I can’t control the audio on the page, and apparently these Pay-Per-Play ads are set to fire off uncontrollably at 3 minute intervals the whole time you’re on a site.
From the Pay-Per-Play site:
The audio ad is only 5 seconds in length and a website visitor will only hear one 5 second advertisement per visit to any specific web page where the PPP code has been inserted. The visitor will only hear one audio ad for every 3 minutes they visit if they have already heard an audio ad on another page of the same website.
I just experienced the demo ad, and guess what? My speakers were turned way up (which I hadn’t realized) and the sub-woofer was turned up for a CD I was listening to recently and that Taco Bell ad blared horribly for 5 seconds.
It was so short a time that even if there was a pause button, I would have spent the whole time looking for it and attempting to click it. Ouch. Truly an ugly experience and not one I care to repeat, let alone every 3 minutes while I’m moving from page to page on someone’s site.
I think a good solution for advertisers and readers is to offer video, or audio content either paused with a play button, or muted with an option to unmute and start at the beginning, as I’ve seen some interstitial ads do recently. That way we can have the audio-visual experience, or not, as we’re so inclined.
Will you put these ads on your web site?
January 26th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I think these audio ads are evil. I wake up early to get all my work done each day. So, the rest of my family is asleep. Then I will reach a page with an audio ad and it comes blaring out at me. There is nothing you can do to stop it. By the time you can find the mute or volume control it is off. But, it wakes the dog and the rest of the family.
I say one way to put an end to it is to stop visiting sites that have it. Soon, those sites will have to decide if they want traffic or money.
I have decided against putting it on my website, though to be totally honest, I did consider it for the payout!
kexbrown’s last blog post..8 Blog Traffic Generators I Can’t Live Without
January 27th, 2008 at 9:59 am
kexbrown, thanks for your feedback and thoughtful reply. I think a lot of folks are seriously considering these ads for their sites. If you can believe the guy marketing the program, they have received 14 million signups from various web sites so far.
I think a lot of site owners are blinded by dollar signs, but I suspect they won’t make nearly as much as they think, and after that first affiliate check comes through, they’ll also see their bounce rate skyrocket and their return visit stats plummet.
It will be very interesting to see how this pans out.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:46 am
I’m a big believer that my sites are a piece of real estate. You have to really think about how much revenue you can generate when you allocate that much space on your site.
My take…. you’re probably better off putting something else that will generate you more luv and money.
Sharon’s last blog post..DC Ranch Village Health Club & Spa Twists with Chocolate Yoga Class
January 29th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
If audio ads worked all the big news websites would have this crap playing in the background. I know when I land on a site that starts playing music I’m gone in an instant. Tacky is being kind.
Colin’s last blog post..New Quotes on the next American depression
January 31st, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Hi Sharon,
And it is a MAJOR investment of time and effort–it’s so critical to be aware of everything you put on your site and whether it has a good reason to be there. So much better for all to generate love first, money second.
That’s a great way of looking at it! Definitely e-real estate, or even e-estate, but it’s still most certainly real.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Thanks for the comment, Colin. I genuinely think most people feel the same way, or would if they were aware of the issue. It would be interesting to put up a poll to see how many folks agree. hmmm . . .
February 5th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
You know what they say - if you build the love, they will come
Sharon’s last blog post..The Direct Link Between Better Sex and Being Fit