As I clicked, for about the eighth time today, to close a space-invading pop-up within .004 seconds of it opening (without even giving it the benefit of a nasty glance), it crossed my mind that pop-ups are long overdue to expire as a means of getting attention.
It is true that they have evolved, as they now mostly circumvent browser-based pop-up blockers, and they must be working to some extent or advertisers wouldn’t continue to use them — but seriously, they are right there next to email spam, car windshield leaflets, junk mail, Vegas card flickers, and nativity-based Obama detractors on the list of things whose value is massively eclipsed by their abrasiveness. They and everything else on that list should be rounded up, crammed into a shelled-out 747 fuselage, and shot into the sun. And that’s a mild opinion.
Oh, you’re trying to read a hotel review? Allow me to jump in front of you with a huge, flickering neon sign advertising the amazing benefits of —
Click. Goodbye.
