Blinking Ads

Hey everyone, I don't know if you have noticed or been bothered by the 'blinking' ads on the right.

The original zaadz policy was no animated ads, but the sponsors seem to have gotten around this by this 'blinking' thing. I made a post about it on the 'What do you think' thread which is specifically for our views on the ads and sponsors in general. I had to make this post midst reading one of your pieces because I found the ads so bothersome I couldn't carry on reading. Matthew, one of the team, agrees with me that they are very distrubing.

If you feel the same way, please read my post and add your “I feel the same way” to it. Maybe we can make a difference?

Thanks.
Sandra

Re: Blinking Ads

I've finally found something good about my small computer screen!  I didn't even know they were there.  I have to scroll to the right, to the left, just to see the whole screen.  But I will be glad to contribute my two cents for your cause, Sandra, because one of these days I'm sure I'll have a nice big wide computer screen!

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Oh you lucky thing, Ayla! Well, yes I know it's not nice having a small screen. Thanks for adding your 2c.
Love,
Sandra

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To tell the truth I don't really even see these ads … I do agree that the flashing irritates me but most of the time when I go to a link from the recent posts  the ads don't feature because they are at the top of the thread … actually I'll have to investigate that … they may be there, but I'm unaware of them.

I have an uncanny way of deleting things I don't want to see … oops … don't mean anything here on the pod :)

Have never clicked on an ad anywhere …  since my first time back in the  early 90s, they all want something, but maybe after reading your comment and going to that link I ought to … hmmm …  relook at it … i'm still a bit suss …advertising to me is just advertising, and if I'm interested I'll go there … got a book to sell?

Other than ebay … I'm not interested … mind you, when I get back home and someone wants to sell a good washing machine perhaps I'll be interested … basically though, I don't pay ads much attention – wherever they are.

Oddly enough none of the ads here seem to be flashing today, but if you go to the Zaadz homepage they are … and I agree NO flashing would be great.

I'll put my 2c worth on the thread Sandra.

Jim x

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I just checked the thread. you have to be member of the Think Tank pod in order to be able commenting there.

as for blinking and animated ads, I find them really disturbing. if I could I'd just ex them with my adblock, but they are extra put in here in a way that you can't.

for me it doesn't even matter much whether they change fast or slowly, other then the faster, the more disturbing. the one with the eagle? 365 days to enlightenment? makes me really angry. aggressive. hah hah, not very enlightened, my response.

the power of kindness - even tough a slow animation - puke!

zaadz filmmaker coalition - no, not even that one makes me feel friendly.  the same three changes within what, 20 seconds? stupid!

Organic India - with special offers on something called the Tulsi Suite - whatever that might be - I don't care.

I think aggressive advertising is a form of pollution, and blinking ads to me are a form of aggressive advertising - how can you NOT see them? (OK, unless you are blessed with ayla's way too small screen or Jim's incredible talent of blocking his sight… ;)

one way of getting around them while reading online is choosing the print version of the text. at least for longer pieces that would give you some peace and quiet if you are distracted or annoyed by the blinking. it's not much good for reading threads, though, because you can't get the print version of the whole thing, only of single contributions.

anyway, for longer pieces of writing the print version is clean. just don't tell anybody from the zaadz sales team - better not wake the sleeping dogs!

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Hey Jim, Gabriele…. this discussion, i.e. what you both wrote really needs to be on the 'What do you think' thread - as for joining ThinkTank, that's easy just press the “join” button ;-) You can turn off notifications so you never ever ever know about it, or simply unjoin after making your post.

No-one from zaadz is going to read this ( well I know it happened once, that a team member realised we were unhappy about something technical, but… that was lucky I think). It's more important to put our voices where they could count.

The whole idea of Zaadz is that what we have to say is at least listened to, and obviously if more people speak up then something happens. Ads may not seem to be a big deal, but it is no different to the greater situations of the world, if we just complain amongst each other, well, that does nothing.

My experience of Zaadz in the beginning was that the Team was incredibly responsive and acted on any good ideas put forward by members. It remains to be be seen if this will change since Gaia now owns Zaadz. My sense is the fact that Zaadz has grown so much ( I was here more or less when it began and it felt like a village then, now it feels like a huge metropolis) will affect things, people feeling less involved with the community at large, more impotent to make a difference etc. I'm not sure this is true, but unless we try, we will never find out…

Love both,
Sandra

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I was right about part of it … once I get to the part of the thread where Gabriele has posted the ads are no longer on my screen cos they feature at the top :)

There's a lot of talk on the thread that Sandra posted about being able to block the ads but that will entail paying for it. It's an interesting thread but I don't want to get involved but I'd maybe pay a few dollars a month to be able to have the facility to turn the ads off. It's a large discussion because the sponsers pay for the ads to be there.

Also now I realize that they are enabling me to use the site for free I have less of a problem with them and again today on my screen they are not blinking ads in the pod although they may be on other parts of the site … still not going to click on them though :)

Great tip about using the printer version. I haven't used that because I don't have a printer with me here in London but will give it a try – it may make the posted pieces easier to read.
Thanks.

Jim x

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hey, I just found a way to read complete threads without the ads!

you go on 'print' in the first contribution of a thread. then you get the ad-free print version. if you now click on 'View Replies' you can read all replies in the ad-free print version as well !!!

:)

I love improvising practical solutions!

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God, this really got me started! :)

I went back and joined the pod and commented on the Think Tank pod about blinking ads.
looks like I'm the only party pooper there who isn't positive about advertising…

I also wrote a whole blog rant on advertising in general and on zaadz, since the whole topic reminded me of the excellent question 'If you could 'uninvent' something, what would it be?'
yeah, well, guess what???!!!

:)

very inspired and interesting morning, thanks a lot, Sandra - for bringing it up and for not letting us/me off the hook.

I like writing essays. it makes so much clearer for myself where I stand and where I haven't thought things through properly. very supportive for clarity and transparence, and clarity and transparence, I discovered this morning while writing some morning pages, are essential for my sanity and health - mentally, emotionally, spiritually and, last but not least, physically.

Re: Blinking Ads

Jim, Gabriele…
:-))))

And, the thing is if I type a response / comment on a piece into a 'response' window in the browser, there is no way I do not see the ads, and they are blinking today, believe me. I could type into a text editing app first, yes, but… sheisse, (!) for me, every moment counts and that would simply take up some of my commenting time.

So, please, anyone who doesn't like the blinking ads please add your voice to the ThinkTank thread.

We will have ads on Zaadz, there is no way around that unless you have a million or more and want to give it to them so they don't need revenue, but well, right now that blinking 365 days to enlightenment ad is giving my already sore eyes an eyeache and increasing by a worrying amount the days before I get enlightened.


love,

Sandra
p.s. right now this thread is on the What's Hot on zaadz, so maybe someone is watching :-)

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I just added my 2c to that thread (and wrote some more in my blog, spurred on by Gabriele's example).

It was the '365 days to enlightenment' blinky that galvanized me to action, I might say, for more reasons than one. 365 days to enlightenment??! The blinky reminds me of the 'last chance' motel or gas (petrol) station signs I remember seeing long ago, driving down one or another seldom-used prairie road; or the 'last chance for salvation' spiel I grew up on. No thanks, I'll take my chances. :)

I don't mind the 'quiet' ads so much. (Or do I mean, I'm resigned to them?)

Thanks, Sandra, for starting this.

rudyan

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great blog post, rudyan!

and good you added your voice on the Think Tank pod. I also liked what that guy Patrick said about the psychology of advertising, that it's burned into your brain even though you might loath the ad… and I admire Siona for her constant cheerful and seemingly clear way of responding - she's a great communicator, but my gut feeling tells me to have a REAL close look at what she's saying and check for the hidden truths behind the seemingly approving and supportive statements…

my issue seems to be 'manipulation' - I keep coming back to responding about manipulative ways of communicating in my responses and what I'm writing about, whether it's advertising or questioining articles that are defending torture on terrorists…

manipulation is all around us, and yes, actually I think being OK with the silent ads IS kind of a resignation, or programming we have been going through in a world that doesn't leave many free spots without ads anymore…

sending love!
Gabriele

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Great to have your voices Rudyan and Gabriele to all this. Thanks.

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Ok I added a post to the think tank and surprised the hell out of myself by finding I was a lready a member of the pod … spent at least 3 minutes trying to find out how to join it LOL

Just goes to show where my time is spent ;–)

and now I've set myself up because all I seem to see at the moment is ads :–)

Jim x

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Jim, just went to look for your post on the Think Tank - were you aware that there is a huge discussion thread on the issue? the “What do you think” thread? you started a new one… but maybe that's what you intended…?

anyway, I put in some time and actually read almost ALL of the “What do you think?” thread that started in April. very interesting. made me realize even more deeply that my response is a completely idealistic one - my specialty - and that the discussion about the ads to me shows a huge gap between BEING the change and somehow trying to change the world by keeping things the way they are, just better - like 'conscious' capitalism, and 'conscious' advertising.

in my vision, advertising and capitalism are what we have left behind, because it didn't work. at all. manipulation has been left behind, too. how? I have no idea - but I think it's a great idea to keep visualizing and staying true to the ideal, living up to it on a daily basis as good as it gets and keep going for it - instead of compromising here and lowering my expectations there, because… there are a million good reasons why it's not possible just now..

Re: Blinking Ads

yes, the what do you think thread is specifically set up for all conversation about ads, and generally any other threads started are asked to repost to this thread, so everything is one place… easier for the team to actually find out the general thoughts on this particular issue.

The advertising thing. I wont put this on the ThinkTank thread as it will muddy the waters.

The truth is, I am always advertising. And many of us are, just in not such obvious ways as what we consider to be 'advertising'.

For example: I have a link to this pod on my profile page. Why? Because I want people to come here, Why? Because I love to build community, and because I want people to know about me and my work,  and yes, ALSO because I want like minded people to find a place they feel supported in, a place where their writing can expand and grow and be seen… because I believe in the Diving Deeper method as a way to open the tap/faucet to our most authentic and exciting voice, via the medium of the written word.

AND I point people here and share here from a 'capitalist' and mercenary p.o.v.: because I want to be able to do my 'work' and earn from it, so this pod is a way to tell people about the things I have to offer which are 'for sale' - participation in the live Diving Deeper workshops and my email writing mentorship programmes.

In fact, there has been very little financial return for the hours I spend here. It would work out to be less thanf a cent per 24 hours probably. And yet I'm still here, I guess because the community factor and my wish to share what I believe in is stronger than my mercenary desires – and I'm also here because I want to be supported to write. who knows, maybe one day I can earn from that too.

I have thought about how to 'earn' from the time I spend on the pod, and everytime I think about it I can't come up with something that feels good. (or that would work - I'm sure if this turned into a pay x per month pod, most people would leave).

All I can do is limit the amount of time I spend here so I don't detract from what I personally need to do in terms of my writing and my earning.

I've diverted. I just wanted to open up the possibility that we are always 'advertising' in a way, perhaps not specifically with a financial aim in mind, but we advertise ourselves, who we are, our writing, what we believe in.

Why, - and this is just to be devils advocate -  is say, the ad for Zen Clocks that is up there right now so different from all the above? I bet the company 'believes' in its product. How else would we know about it if they didn't 'spread the word'?

I think the Zaadz/ Gaia team hopes to only put ads out that are 'socially conscious'. I'm sure many which are not slip through, but I support that aim. And yes, I do not like advertising, especially because I consider much of it an aesthetic abomination. But if it's beautiful, or funny, and not trying to sell me cigarettes etc, I don't mind. And yes, much advertising is very manipulative. I 'learned' about all this in my 1/2 photography degree which was very politically based, and took apart  some ad images to show how they sent ” messages” which bypassed the conscious mind.

Curiously much of this was not about the product specifically but about how they encouraged things like the subordination and marginalization of women ( images of family, husband and wife) and people of colour etc by placement of people in the image, subtle wording, etc.

My rather too many cents. Never thought so much about advertising before.

Love,
Sandra

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oops thought I added to the discussion … so have now posted on it … all those blinking ads confused me:)

Jim x

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Glad to see discussion about this.  I have not read all the posts yet, but just wanted to get lmy personal tw cents in because I think this is a very important consideration.  Perhaps someone has mentioned this already……

BLINKING LIGHTS/PICTURES - can cause SEIZURES!!!

In the UK, there is some regulation about how many blinks are allowed in advertising because children were having seizures watching TV with so much blinking. No regulations in North America yet. 

What's with the constant blinking,  cutting back and forth when TV characters speak???
 I have seizure disorder and cannot endure the constant moving. 

Now I will start back at message #1.  Thank you for bringing up this topic.

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Oh, mimi, do please add what you said to the thread on ThinkTank ( link above ).
YES, i did know about the seizure thing but I forgot it until you told me. This is really important information for the zaadz team to read.
Oh, and welcome!!
Love,
Sandra