I read the Huffington Post online. I like its somewhat left-of-center viewpoint. I don’t like its advertising policies. They represent the worst of the Internet!
The latest ploy from Huffington is pictured at the top of this post. It’s an ad that sits squarely on top of the the content you’re trying to read. In and of itself that would be pretty bad, but there’s more.
Though the ad has a close button with a red “X” clicking it does no good until the ad has been displayed for a while. I haven’t looked at the underlying code yet, but I assume there’s a timer doing this dirty work.
So click, click, click til you’re blue in the face and steam’s coming out of your ears.
Advertising is a tough business. I understand. I work on advertiser supported television.
What I don’t understand is a business model that profits by pissing off readers.
HuffPo, make no mistake, I’m pissed. I can’t be alone.