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To quote Dave a couple of posts down
"We're testing some new ads, these particular ones will be off the site on Friday. "
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YAMAKARASU
11/16/06 9:44 P
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| I read some comments here and I don't think that's very fair to say that people don't have the right to complain because Spark is a free site. We all know how amazing this site is, but honestly if there were going to be more ads with sounds on here, it would make me want to use this site less. I don't even mind ads that have sounds that go off if you say, scroll over the ad, but sounds playing on their own really get to me. I tend to have several windows open at once, so I swear I thought I was going crazy because I couldn't tell where that chiming was coming from! I really hope that the only solution to deal with the sounds isn't to turn off my speakers, because I play music on the computer and the chiming is really annoying. Any sound turns me off any ad, no matter what site it's on.
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HEALTHYELLA
11/16/06 11:44 A
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| I also agree with either donations or paying for an adless site. Many websites (such as livejournal) have programs where you can choose to either pay and get special features and no-ads, or you can opt not to pay and have the ads. Something like that may work - where if you didn't want the ads you could pay a fee, and for those unwilling/unable to pay the fee, they would just need to deal with ads. Or donations from members could go to maintaining the site and keeping it free from ads.
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DJHEILMANN
11/15/06 5:02 P
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| Thanks for the feedback Kelly!
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Coming from a place where I both manage a web site and design ads to go on the web site, I can see both sides of the coin.
As a consumer, though, I'm going to be agitated not at occasional ambient sounds (so long as they remain ambient - not obnoxious), but at ads that pop up in the middle of my screen (I've been lucky and not experienced that here so far).
I think thus far, Spark People has done a decent job with its ad posiitons, not making them too invasive. I'd be highly disappointed, though, if the ads starting getting more and more invasive where I'm forced to do something to get the ad out of my way (like the pop-up ads).
I'm not sure how your sales team works with the advertisers, but I'm certain you can let your advertisers know not to use sound in their ads. Believe me, a good ad design needs no sound at all to call attention to it. The Eat Better America ads are beautifully done and therefore, I don't see why they'd feel they must add sound in addition. The movement with the Flash design is what catches the attention.
There are message boards (ezBoard to name one I know of) that actually do accept payment from members so they can have an ad-free browsing experience. I'm not sure if Spark can do this, though, if it's a not-for-profit business. (Not sure how they'd justify the income from the people paying to avoid ads.)
I really love this web site, and definitely don't mind the current advertising positions. I just hope your sales team doesn't just tell the advertisers they can do whatever they want with their ads just to make a sale, though.
I like the idea of a donations option, too. I'd be more than happy to donate money to this web site if it will help keep the ads from becoming invasive.
Thanks for listening, Spark Team!
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VINDICATED
11/15/06 1:20 P
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I too would be willing to pay for Spark, but I also agree that it is a great thing to keep it free and available to everyone, regardless of financial means. The ads don't bother me in general, as I mentioned, I find them very inline with things people on this site might be interested in. I just found some of the methods of advertising to be overly distracting.
Thank you for taking our suggestions into consideration, it is greatly appreciated!
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I LOVE SparkPeople! I typically find the adds to be in-line with the site. I recently bought my digital camera with accessories through a link on SP (you're welcome). The new noisy adds actually look like one of the best fits to the site and are really smooth and schwanky... and then the nice gentle tones come in... FREQUENTLY. I could mute (and sometimes do for this reason), but I use my computers' sound for other things - music, notifications, etc., and I mute selected sources when I'm on the phone or other things, so having an unwelcome noise come from an ad DRIVES ME NUTS! I WON'T GO TO THAT SITE NOW purely because of it's interference. I would actually like to see that ad around... WITHOUT THE NOISE. I will likely even go to the site if they remove their sounds, but not before then!
Also, I would DONATE to SP if there was an option, even if I still got the ads. If there was a way to subscribe I would likely do it if it was a reasonable price if the ads were more limited (not even fully removed!)... okay, I would probably subscribe regardless of any changes.
Once the ads started creeping in front of what I doing and beeping in the background unwelcomed, I'VE BEEN SERIOUSLY THINKING OF LEAVING SP! Again, please review my very first sentence to get an idea of how significant this is to me. To summarize, I HATE IT! I expect that this is a very adverse result of what they were targetting, but there it is, and it is affecting your site too, as evidenced by posts here. I've read where only 1/10th of those irritated will make themselves heard. I already e-mailed SP marketing about this but got no reply.
Please put constraints on what the advertisers can do and I think all of us in this topic will be content. Is that really too much to ask? I'm fine with ads, just NOT INVASIVE ADS. I see this as a simple quality maintenance issue for SP.
Thank you for your consideration. :-)
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DJHEILMANN
11/15/06 10:37 A
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We're testing some new ads, these particular ones will be off the site on Friday.
While we realize some people would pay to not have ads, there are some people who could not afford to use the site if we were not free.
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DISTURBEDONE
11/15/06 8:36 A
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While I appreciate that the site needs ads, having annoying sounds is just too much. I won't click on an annoying ad, so it doesn't bring any revenue from me.
Personally, I'd rather pay a fee to use this site without the annoying ads.
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Thank you for all of your comments. Please be assured that they are being read by the ad and tech team. We are working on ways to balance ads and the user experience.
Jennifer
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NAPPYHEADED
11/14/06 9:25 P
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Vindicated -
you're definitely not alone. i started this thread and agree with your points completely.
the Spark community is so vital because of input from participants. the input helps the site grow and improve.
our concerns about the mode of advertising being accepted is just as important as the views of those who don't seem to mind.
an advertiser is concerned with eyeballs on the page and how many click thru to their sites. it's important for the advertisers to hear that some techniques turn off rather than entice.
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VINDICATED
11/14/06 9:18 P
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Not to be rude either, but I generally bring this kind of thing up to help improve the site. I love this site. No question. Beeps, chimes and flying ads won't change that. But I guess I thought that since I found them to be a distraction, surely a few others did too, and maybe it was something to take into consideration. Since I've received mostly attacks (albeit mostly politely worded ones), then I must be on my own. And for that I grovel. I was under the impression that the Spark staff were open to hear all of our suggestions, whether they would be implemented or not. Perhaps my expectations and hopes for this website, both for myself and all those who use it and create it, aren't necessarily in line with the general consensus then.
Above all, as I mentioned many times, I truly appreciate everything that comes with the package of this website. I appreciate the constant improvements, the amazing staff and all of the supportive members. I couldn't dream of a better system to help me in my weight loss goals. So for those who think I am complaining, please know I only want to make the site I love so much be the best it can be.
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HEALTHYELLA
11/14/06 8:58 P
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Well I know that myself and many other people I've read on the boards DID click on the ad - and simply BECAUSE of the sound. I think it's a great advertising tool. Sure some people will be turned off - but isn't that true for everything? The website is actually really good as well.
Not to be rude, but I find it kind of sickening that even though Sparkpeople has provided such an amazing service to so many of us - and for absolutely no charge - people still feel the need to complain. Think about all the knowledge from articles, support for message boards, and motivation by way of tracking and points that you are exposed to by the site. It has helped millions. A simple chime is not too high of a price.
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VINDICATED
11/14/06 8:13 P
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| Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining that there are ads. I've found them to be suitable products and services and very well correlated to things members might want, and can give great ideas and save us time for searching elsewhere. However, I'm just as inclined to click on those ads if they are silent and not obstructing the rest of the page.
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MARYJANE45
11/14/06 7:53 P
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| Not to be rude, but anything worth having is worth working for. And if it is free, all the more better.
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VINDICATED
11/14/06 12:58 P
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| True enuf HUMMEL. I just think that maybe it's the advertiser's then, maybe the 'shove it right in our faces' isn't the best approach for this particular medium. We are all here to try to better ourselves and our lives, and these advertisers may have products or services that could be helpful to us, but this is also the place I come to get away from the rest of the world, to feel comforted in who I am now, and be surrounded by support. To me, invasive ads hinder that atmosphere. They are of course appropriate in some places, I just think that there are more appropriate methods of advertising for this type of community.
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TAKINGBACKLIFE
11/14/06 12:53 P
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The ads can be somewhat annoying, but I just remember that those little annoying things are what keeps this place going.
I just mute my PC speakers when I am sparking at work. As for the floaty things--I just click off them when they show up.
Spark is free and great. Advertisers pay to place their ads including sounds and floaties--if spark was to tell them to turn off their ad's sounds and no floaties, that advertiser may not advertise on here at all, thus, making spark lose some of their ability to keep going financially.
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VINDICATED
11/14/06 12:29 P
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lol Yeah, I'm terrible, I'll specifically not shop somewhere if they annoy me somehow, even I really need that particular item. If a restaurant gives bad service, I'll refuse to go back there, no matter how great the food is. You get the idea.
That being said, I truly love Spark and hope there is a happy medium to be found to keep the site funded as needed... but if the users are unhappy with it, they may not stick around...
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NAPPYHEADED
11/14/06 9:40 A
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yep. i just experienced the floating window thingie.
so not okay, so very not okay...
please, Spark, exercise limits on the mode of ads you accept. your advertisers want viewers to click their links, not get aggravated.
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VINDICATED
11/14/06 9:14 A
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| Yeah, I too understand and appreciate the need for ads to keep this wonderful site going for free, but I've noticed the ads are slowly becoming more invasive. I just had some WebMd survey scan across the middle of the page, covering up what I was in the middle of reading, until I clicked close. And yes, the beeping noise does get annoying as you surf thru the site and it keeps chiming. I don't think we should have to turn our volume down everytime we visit Spark! (I usually have music on otherwise)
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NAPPYHEADED
11/12/06 8:00 P
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well, i would think the control you could exercise over it is to alert the advertiser that many people find ads with noise obnoxious. if their goal is to get people to click, the sound is working counter to their aims.
i used to use yahoo for my home page. yahoo started accepting ads with noise. many of us complained to little avail. i dropped yahoo and so did some others i know. yahoo and those advertisers lost eyes on their page because of the sound.
i don't understand where advertisers are getting the notion that sound (that a surfer cannot turn off) is a good idea. nothing makes me run faster from a website than noise blaring when i click there. no one should have to remember to turn their speakers down because a site MIGHT have noise.
Spark is too valuable to me to leave but i tell you, that site will never get a click from me simply because of that ad.
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SP_COACH_DEAN
11/12/06 7:18 P
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I'm not sure we have much control over that. I just turn the volume on my speakers down to 0 when it starts getting to me.
Hope this helps.
Coach Dean
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NAPPYHEADED
11/12/06 5:10 P
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i realize that Spark needs the ads to generate revenue but i find ads that make a noise really obnoxious.
some people visit spark while at work. it's not particularly helpful for the site to make noise when the page opens up!
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