Nov 30
Adding Insult to Injury…
AOL has now added, in tiny 8-point type, a disclaimer to its journals:
Ads are not an endorsement by the blog author.
(And yes, this example is bigger than the real thing!)
Then, apparently thinking that this was enough to quiet all of the concerns of its remaining journal writers, they added new animated banner ads that featured graphic elements that apparently lept out onto the journal writer’s actual entries, far outside of the banner ad’s border!
This, naturally, inspired a new outcry, and this assurance from one of AOL’s Journal Product Manager:
“OK…my mistake, we made it happen today. You may be still seeing them, for now but I assure you they will be gone ASAP.”
I never got to see one of them: apparently the complaints came in so quickly and so heavily (and the offending ad was part of such a growing rotation!) that I missed it altogether. I’m glad I did. Even this Product Manager described that ad as “Gawd Aweful!” (sic)
It’s still hard for me to fathom, after all of the uproar the ads themselves caused, and the delay in getting the disclaimer to appear (which, of course, really solves nothing at all), that they’d then add a new type of advertisement with Flash animation to extend out onto the entries.
And that’s what makes me so angry: at this late date, it shouldn’t surprise me…not at all!!
December 1st, 2005 at 2:16 am
After reading numerous comments about the flash ad with the wandering scooter, I finally saw it around 8 PM MST. The venue: Journals Editor Joe’s entry about that ad being discontinued.
I’m sorry to say I’m been half-expecting this ever since Harry Potter flew across the Welcome screen.
Karen
December 1st, 2005 at 3:09 am
Hi Patrick
I didn’t see the ads either, but the just the fact that it was “oops my mistake” is a little suspicious to me. I wish I understood what AOL was doing and why they are doing it. I think this does ad some validation as to why so many of us just drew the line at enough being enough and took our creativity elsewhere.
Always, Carly
December 1st, 2005 at 6:01 am
At first I thought the fact that they were putting a “disclaimer” on the ad was way too little.. later i thought about it and realized it meant “someone, SOMEONE, must be concerned that the PR over this “really is going to hurt aol” and so tried to do “something, no matter how small”. The whole thing makes me wonder if they really are going to try to do something or not.
I’m amazed that any attempt has been made.. I just hope it’s not the “last thing” they do!!
http://journals.aol.com/deslily/HereThereandEverywhere/
http://herethereandeverywhere2ndedition.blogspot.com/
December 1st, 2005 at 9:09 am
Thank you for posting Life with Lupus in your links. I truly appreciate the help while I try to regain my readership.
I have been very explicit with AOL about the effect the blinking ad banners have on me and other people with visual and neurological disabilities.
They obviously don’t care, and I am too tuckered out to do battle with AOL right now.
I really appreciate you advocating for those of us who are not able to do so at this time.
Sincerely,
Loretta
December 1st, 2005 at 12:00 pm
Nothing AOL pulls out of its bag of tricks will surprise me. I feel for the ones who are staying, trusting that the damage has been done. I fear they’ve just begun to see the extent of the destruction of what was.
December 1st, 2005 at 3:47 pm
Patrick…
I am one of the people who actually saw it and for a second I thought I was losing my mind. The motorcycle literally leaped into the journal.
(I just love the cool HTML stuff AOL can’t do… LOL)
Anyway, I really thought I was seeing things, because I was just sure that the ad for “My Wish List” didn’t just really motor down across my friend’s AOL journal. So I read it, left a comment and moved on to someone else’s journal and it happened again. I went on of to Smoke and Mirrors or Magic Smoke or whatever the journal is called….and saw that there really was a place to talk about leaping motorcycles.
OMG the overlords failed.
I left Jason a note too.
Talk about colossal, eh?
“They don’t like the ads banner huh? I’ll give ‘em ad banner…..
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha”
excert from the workshops at AOL ad and PR headquarters
December 1st, 2005 at 4:08 pm
I saw the disclaimer for the first time today. It seems that even if the folks at AOL don’t have a lick of sense, they have at least got a sick sense of humor.
December 1st, 2005 at 4:29 pm
Gee, how is it that there was enough uproar to get this stopped…. but not enough uproar to get the ads off? They will not stop pushing until they have decimated the very community they want to make money off of.
I saw it by the way…… there were little shadows under the wheels as it rested on my blog. What else have they got up their sleeve?
judi
December 1st, 2005 at 10:17 pm
Patrick,
AOL has not pulled the offending flash ad. I just saw it at 10PM this evening (Dec 1). Twice!
They don’t understand and I doubt that they will change.
December 1st, 2005 at 11:10 pm
Reading the product manager’s journal, “In The Know”, makes me wonder how long before AOL starts implementing the Hooked On Phonics ad banners.
Spell check on aisle AOHell, please.
If AOL will pay people like this to represent them, imagine just how highly they regard their paying customers who continue to voice their protest against the ad banners. Is that not adding insult to injury as well?
Just my pessimistic thoughts for the evening, of course.
Kris
December 2nd, 2005 at 2:31 pm
It just shows that they so do not care. Period.
But you had better not be late on that monthly payment.
December 2nd, 2005 at 10:16 pm
Patrick…you are a voice of reason and you will be missed. I know that we can all visit back and forth I even started a journal here too…but I still feel like all my best friends moved cross country. That exec that spoke on Joe’s page was a total jerk. Comparing Jland to their dam terrible chat rooms..yeah that’s a community spirit..not. I have to learn how to blog here I’m seriously tech challenged…Sandi