DISQUS

not on my site · 6 months ago

If you want to bombard users maybe you will like it.

This concept is simply a differnt version of pop ups.

By the way the Google example doesn't even fit into a 1024 768 resolution.

John Baxter · 6 months ago

1. Yet another reason to turn off Javascript.

2. I'm fully capable of never returning to a site which annoys me sufficiently (and I have a low threshold).

John Dietz · 6 months ago

This seems counter the the trends I've seen where large publishers are actually reducing the advertising placements on their sites in an attempt to increase CPM rates. Ad costs are down right now largely because supply of ad space is much higher than the demand for ad space. If publishers generate more ad space, they will just continue to lower the value of each ad for the advertiser. Maybe websites will soon look like NASCAR cars with advertisements in every imaginable space. Maybe we'll get down to 5 cent CPMs.

Bart Pestarino · 6 months ago

@1&2; Publishers are already using AdSense et al. What emptyspaceads does is add motion to these ads, which significantly increases click-throughs. Increasing click-throughs is good for the publisher, good for the ad network, good for the marketer. Of most importance, the publisher creates an improved user experience because the ads in the margins or between paragraphs are white space most of the time.

to poster 4 · 6 months ago

Bart, not sure how more ads, regardless of poetitioning, is good for the user experience.

I like poster 3's analogy of the Nascar model.

Pop ups add motion too.

I am just a user that gets rankled with ads, regardless of the form. I think the web site owner risks alienating his customer.

Bart Pestarino · 6 months ago

@4; The same ads that are already on a publisher's site are presented in a new way; there are no new ads or any change in a site's ad inventory.

Tony Wright · 6 months ago

Depending on CPM, I think this could be a good way to go. Content sites struggle with creating trust when the first visual impression you have of a site is plastered with ads for teeth whiteners and belly fat removal. EmptySpaceAds seems like the equivalent of a magazine putting ads on page 2 rather than page 1 to improve first impressions.

David Parkinson · 6 months ago

Hi everyone, David Parkinson founder of emptyspaceads here.

First off, thanks John for the coverage. Now I'd like to to address each separate comment:

@not on my site: Is it really reasonable to say that you're "bombarding" users with ads when they aren't even visible most of the time? And is it a different version than pop-ups? It's a new ad format that unlocks screen real estate that you're already using. Finally, certainly there is more empty space on larger monitor resolutions... but not everyone runs with a 1024x768 resolution.

@ John Baxter: Certainly turning off JavaScript is a choice that's up to you, but you'll lose out on a rich Internet experience. I'd like to ask if you saw the demo. Many of our publishers find that our ads are less annoying because they are not always present. If we could reach the CPM of their existing ads, we've had publishers tell us we're actually less annoying than persistent ads. See here: http://www.slymarketing.com/2008/03/review-of-e... and http://www.ezmoneyon.net/empty-space-has-died-l...

@poster 4: A Nascar analogy isn't really accurate when you consider that we do not require you to give up your white space to show persistent ads. A better analogy would be ads that appear on the cars based only on certain conditions, such as the car winning the race.

I want to reiterate that we find all feedback, regardless of your position, incredibly valuable as we constantly refine our product. We think we're on to something really big here and we'd love for you to be part of it. I'd encourage you to see our demo at http://www.emptyspaceads.com, and give us a call at (206) 701-9212 to see how we could help you unlock your website's empty space potential.

To David #8 · 6 months ago

What I was trying to say, as I am not technical, is I run 1024x768 resolution and your demo does not resize itself. It is not too much white, it is the need to use the horizontal and verticle scroll button to see the information.

I ratley see that these days. Just an FYI

Grant · 6 months ago

I applaud emptyspaceads for trying to do something useful with the gutters.

As I look at techflash on my 17" Mac Book Pro half the screen real estate is white space. Admitedly I'd prefer something useful, like new content rather than ads, but still, beats the heck out of whitespace.

I will note that Ad Block Plus stops emptyspaceads just like it does any other, so the abp users out there won't even notice.

Not to pick on emptyspaceads, but I'll also jump on my favorite soap box and point out that this is another great example of how web usability is defined by monetization rather than utility. Like boiling a frog it gets worse and worse until the frog dies. Yeah, I know, it's very cassandra of me.

Mike · 6 months ago

"Empty space potential"!!! That made my day...

Web designers are too stupid or too ignorant to use the entire web browser window or what?

Bottomline: Get Firefox + AdBlock.

BlogReader · 6 months ago

Aslam signed on after looking at Web sites and discovering that many top sites devote as much as 40 percent of their design to empty space.

and that's a good thing, well unless you like the look of myspace pages. Empty space IS design. Less is the new black.

For a 180 deg different view on this see http://zenhabits.net/advertise-on-zen-habits/

CareerCup.com · 6 months ago

I've been using EmptySpaceAds.com on CareerCup.com, and have been quite pleased with it. I was initially concerned about how users would react to it (eg, is it annoying? will it turn off users?), but figured I'd try it out.

Contrary to what I expected, I've gotten zero complaints about it. In fact, several users have said that they actually appreciate this approach to advertising over taking up "real" space.

What I realized, then, was that it *is* better than the usual ad units. When I put a regular ol' Google Ad Unit on my website, it always takes up space - space that I might actually want to use for content. With EmptySpaceAds, however, the ads are less intrusive. Would users prefer no ads at all? Of course. But, then, that's not really an option.

Interestingly - my ad revenue actually increased by 30% with EmptySpaceAds. Better for users + better for me.

Anonymous · 6 months ago

Re @13, careercup.com is run by Gayle Laakmann, former "VP Engineering" at Empty Space. Hardly an unbiased opinion.

Annony · 6 months ago

true, gayle was the VP and of course she will say she is using it .. i use careercup and i am irritated with things that pop up on mouse move. why not show it so that i can click it.. its like i am scared now, who knows what mouse move will show what ad, its like waiting to get shocked. if it is a pornish ad then its like you will be in for a surprise .. i dont like the idea at all and of course gayle should have put a disclaimer that she was working there .. its like cheating now. moreover gayle has a record of leaving every company she has been in a year or two. Its like people who work for google think they have become god. I would rather love to see text ads as a single line, which keeps changing to show different ads.

Holly · 6 months ago

not good .. i dont like it .. also gayle should put a disclaimer that she worked as VP there .. how can she write as though she is a third party.

Mike Koss · 6 months ago

I think this is a creative idea. David's claim that this strikes a fair balance between a site's design aesthetic, and the publisher's need to generate ad revenue seems very rational to me.

It's a cool idea - I think the web only stay's "fresh" as long as people like David are out there trying something new. Who says that the only ad models there can ever be were invented in 1998?