Why Do Media Sites Still Use Pop-Ups?

from the haven't-they-learned? dept

Since many of us have been using popup blockers for quite some time, it's possible to forget that many sites still use popup ads, despite the fact that they piss off users and have been shown to be bad for business. Also, studies have shown that the vast majority of clickthroughs are accidents. Despite all of this, Adam Penenberg's latest column notes that many major media sites still use popups, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Slate, CNN.com and Fast Company's website. This sort of comes as a surprise, since it's been quite some time since I've seen any popups at all. However, you would think that these sites would recognize that these ads are bad, and only serve to drive people away. More likely, however, is that they've realized the really tech savvy people have already figured out how to use a popup blocker, and the leftover clueless folks are more likely to be those who accidentally clickthrough -- putting money in the wallets of these publishers. In other words, perhaps popups are a tax on the tech illiterate.