Cow-a-bonga, Dude!


Mooooo! Cranky Old Woman here! I've written in the past about my preference for ad-free blogs. On those occasions, I always hear back from people who point out that there is nothing wrong with trying to make money from having a blog (absolutely true, but not my thing at all) and that advertising is everywhere and why shouldn't it be on blogs (what next -- ads on toilet paper?). I still visit blogs that have visual advertisements, but not as frequently as those that don't. Now I'm aware of a new phenomenon, so dreadful that I might possibly come to believe that visual ads on blogs really aren't that terrible!

I'm speaking of audio ads! Recently I've had abrupt loud advertisements come out of my computer, seemingly at random. Observation shows that these horrible ads stop immediately if I close the tab for the blog that I'm reading. I don't see anything on the blog to indicate that there is going to be a loud ad, but, then, since it happens very close to the time I open the blog, I don't have a lot of time to look around.

Anybody know anything about this?

I vow that if/when I actually pinpoint blogs that have these uncontrollable audio ads, I will immediately delete them from my links, favorites, and every place that I have blog lists. Please don't tell me that there's nothing wrong with them and that advertising is everywhere. I should have some say in this.

Mooo!  Mooo!


Comments

Barbara Anne said…
Amen!! I'll share this soapbox with you, if you don't mind. The absolute peak of this crass intrusion into my home (IMHO) is audio ads that blare out when I'm reading the obituaries in the on-line newspaper of the town where I used to live. Okay, that's creepy of me, but those audio ads are awful.

Methinks we should write the company that is advertising and tell them to cease and desist or we won't buy their product and we'll spread the word. Power to the people!

Hugs!
Quiltdivajulie said…
FAN-TAB-U-LOUS photo for this post!!

I am totally with you on websites and blogs that blast unwanted NOISE (be in music or speech or both) when I arrive. UGH UGH UGH

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOing along with you!
Anya said…
I absolutely agree -- I have no interest in listening to ads or hearing someone else's musical playlist. Go right ahead and Moo as much as you want... You'll have a full chorus joining you (quietly, of course)!
Bobbi said…
AGREE! shouting because I keep my computer on mute unless and until I decide I want to listen to something.

So intrusive.
Pat said…
That's why God made hearing aids with a remote control.

Seriously, I have not run across those yet, but will moo vociferously when I do. I have encountered blogs in the past that have some sort of soft music playing in the background. I thought kind of nice at first until it looped for the 23rd time and I was ready to pull my hair out. Most of those blogs have since taken the music off because it made the blog page so memory intensive and took so long to load.
howdidIgethere said…
I keep my computer speakers turned off unless I want to watch or listen to something, so, I confess, I have managed to avoid this horrendous phenomenon.

"Advertising is everywhere"? Only where people/companies are willing to let it be, i.e. where the space is sold. And we all have the option of supporting those sites/places/companies that are congruent with our beliefs and desires and NOT supporting those which aren't. I am something of an expert at tuning out visual ads, but will continue to default to no sound on my computer so I don't encounter intrusive audio.

Speaking of sound, my personal MOO is the "beep" of car horns to signal remotely that the car is locked. I have been startled many times when a seemingly empty automobile loudly honks its horn at me! I find this to be rude, annoying, and selfish. Why not have the car flick its lights instead? No sound pollution.
sophie said…
I am also mooing along with you. Another pet peeve are the blogs with ads that don't share a complete RSS feed, so that in order to read what they've said (and see and hear all the ads) you must click over to their site/blog.

Moooooo!
Janet O. said…
Oh, no, Nancy. I hadn't encountered any of these. Do I have this to dread in my future? Yikes!! I will not be visiting any blog again that does this to me. : (
Ms. Jan said…
Nancy, I have no idea why it happens, but that is precisely why I keep my audio turned OFF at all times. I turn it on when I want to hear something. Mooo away!
I feel your pain.
Its a shocker. There you are quietly reading, and suddenly you are assaulted by sound. Thank goodness there are not that many blogs that do it.

Unknown said…
Your quip about adverts on toilet paper made me smile and took me back well over 40 years - when I was a small child I attended our local village primary school in an old victorian school building which had the toilet block across an outdoor playground, the local authority at the time was West Riding County Council (aka WRCC) - you may wonder of what relevance this last little piece of information is - all will become clear when I tell you that those freezing cold outside toilets with added spiders at no extra cost had the 'izal' type toilet paper popular in institutions at that time - the sort that had a polished finish which would skate over whatever damp surface you chose to wipe with it (sorry getting a little graphic here I'm afraid but some memories are still so clear) - to complete the picture each individual piece of this delectable bathroom accessory had written upon it 'WRCC Please wash your hands' Even in the toilet they were encouraging reading practice!
AnnieO said…
Oh, bother that! I don't have my computer speakers on unless I specifically want to hear something, so luckily haven't yet been assaulted, but would moo vociferously if I were! I can't remember a single time I ever wished to click on an ad on a blog.
Anonymous said…
And I say "Amen"!!!!!!
Unknown said…
My trick is to use an app to follow bogs. If you have an iPad, Blogshelf is great. You see only the entry, no ads. Agree they are annoying!

Love your blog, by the way.
suz said…
I don't mind blogs that have ads unless the ad becomes part of the actual blog entry. However, an audio ad would annoy me and cause me to elminate the blog as well. If you can ignore the ad, it's fine with me, but don't shove it in my face - not nice!
Gretchen said…
This exactly the reason why I keep my speakers on mute. Too much noise in this world if you ask me. Moooo-ing with you.