Internet Advertising: A Plague Upon Both Your Houses.

I have NEVER, EVER in my ENTIRE LIFE bought ANYTHING from a stupid pop up ad, a banner ad, a side scrolling ad, a creeping barrage ad, an interstitial ads, or a Google search result ad. I have never EVER noticed that I am buying more Dawn brand dishwasher soap because I saw a commercial for it on TV or saw a banner ad for it on the internet. In fact, when I see an annoying ad for Dawn brand dish soup, I make a mental note to myself to buy less Dawn brand dish soap. TAKE THAT creeping barrage Dawn brand dishwasher soap ad!

How does Facebook make money then? Why do companies value marketing so much. Well obviously because everyone is not like me.

99% of internet companies are dependent on marketing for a large portion of their revenue. I understand that. But my question is: Would the internet, as we know it, exist if everyone was like me?

Here is my method for buying ANYTHING.

1) Determine what it is I want to buy.

2) Do a Google or yahoo search for "user reviews of products". Or do an Alta Vista search if you are stuck in 1997.

3) Find a legitimate ratings website. Amazon, Google shopping, eBay, Rotten Tomatoes etc.

4) search for the thing you want.

5) Sort by rating. Read the reviews. Do your research. Compare prices

6) purchase that thing.

7) Close laptop.

8) Possibly watch Friends or maybe Lord of the Rings.

Unless you're advertising is expertly subliminal like Google's or an actual bargain - I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR STUPID ADVERTISEMENTS.

In conclusion: Sometimes it is useful to contrast other people's behavior with your own. Ask the question - what would the internet be like if everyone was like you?

Ancient Pop Up Ads

Appendus Rantus:

Now, using my magical powers of ranting, I want to try to tie this all in with free-to-play games, whaling and microtransactions.

So here is my problem with free to play games, microtransactions, Facebook, internet monetization and marketing in general. They are stupid. They are a waste of money. Their existence is a fluke of modern human impulsive behavior. I personally, have never done anything that has EVER provided any direct money to Facebook(unless you count their regular practice of data mining people's accounts for demographic information and selling it to ad companies).

I bought the entire Mount & Blade series for 8 dollars on Steam not because of the stupid pop up add that came up for it but because I spent an hour researching it online(I spend this long when I am buying a game because the time investment is important to me and I don't want to waste my time playing a crappy game - I'm not overly concerned about cost). That is what you have to do. Anytime, ANYONE, tries to sell you something, you should expect that it is very likely not going to be as good quality as something you researched and decided to buy yourself. That is general good advice for your life.

And now to ask the same question, in several different ways:

What are your habits when it comes to dealing with advertisements? How would internet companies like Facebook make money if advertising was a relatively pointless endeavor.

And finally: What would the internet be like if everyone was like you?