Embedded Text Ads: Another Bad Idea

Rafe Needleman is debating whether or not he likes the so-called "embedded" text advertising from Vibrant Media's IntelliTxt. It isn't all that new, but the concept is gaining sites that will use it. In fact, InfoSync, which is the link in the post beneath this one has used a similar advertising method for a while now. Basically, it underlines certain words within the text of the page, and if you mouse over the word, it pops up a little advertisement. Rafe points out that, as a writer, he doesn't necessarily like his text to be riddled with advertising that way. However, my complaint is from the standpoint of a reader. I don't know if I'm different that most surfers, but I tend to use my mouse cursor as a sort of "pointer" to help me keep track of what I'm reading. When I read sites that have this kind of advertising, it becomes very difficult to read, because just as I get somewhere, a pop-up blocks what I'm reading. It's quite annoying. At the same time, it also makes it much more difficult to pick out actual links. Yet another bad idea that tries to make online advertising intrusive rather than fitting it into what users are looking for. Trust me, the last thing I want to do is to be interrupted in the middle of a sentence I'm reading.