Robert G 24 Apr 06

You know what’s frustrating? My company uses Websense, so at work I can never see the images that get posted from flickr.

Matt Lee 24 Apr 06

Robert: Maybe you should ask someone why they block Flickr?

Dan Boland 24 Apr 06

I think the AmEx example is a case of terrible wording. It seems as though you can upload 10 files at a time, but only five times. Right? Maybe? Sometimes I get the feeling these people don’t actually read what they write down.

Piotr Usewicz 24 Apr 06

CRN’s ad is just awesome

Simon B 24 Apr 06

Pretty standard for tv guides in the UK ( and also Australia. Printed guides are always like this and so are most of our online ones. Guides on cable tv are normally the other way though. I guess it just takes skill to be able to read either way.

George 24 Apr 06

Matt Lee: I would guess their response might be “why are you browsing blogs at work?”

Edmundo 24 Apr 06

Not a bad way to calendar several things going on at the same time…
—-
LOL, Windows
—-
pseudo-3d must be used for everything, of course!
—-
The perpetual problem of the web. I wish there was an easy ftp program-like way to upload multiple files.
—-
The curling stuff is not bad, except that it’s too noisy because it’s animated like a website from 1996 and it should only curl if you click on it, not if you hover over it.

John P. 24 Apr 06

What’s everyone’s opinion on peeldowns in general?

It’s definitely not as obtrusive as popups.

It doesn’t force the user to close anything like popups unless the user “peels” it down.

Should be semi-relevant to the page otherwise user will tend not to peel it down anymore.

Jon 24 Apr 06

John P— I hate it. Fortunately I don’t have to see that crap thanks to Firefox + Adblock.

nursegirl 24 Apr 06

John P. - I actually turned off my adblocker and went to the CRN site just to see the peeldown. I definitely prefer it to popups, but the undulating corner would eventually wear on my nerves. I wonder if there would be a way to make the peeldown corner obvious without also making it annoying.

John Lewis 24 Apr 06

I don’t like the peels. Particularly if they are “automatic”. Very distracting. I normally click out immediately from it when it happens.

MH 24 Apr 06

Peeldowns: yuck. Of course, the first time it’s mildly interesting, and you wonder how they did it, but soon after, the message is clear: “Look! You must read this because we are extremely clever—see? It’s like paper! It’s a kind of pun: webpage — paper! Get it?”

[crickets…]

scott brooks 24 Apr 06

Re Peeldowns

You know i agree with most of the posts regarding this on both sides. Yes i hate them ….but when coupled with the right creative it can be an effective strategy for getting and capturing attention.

Execution is everything …. bad creative on any medium makes me question advertising.

cheers

Scott

Robert G 24 Apr 06

George: You are correct.

Michael Wales 24 Apr 06

When it comes to peeldowns, or any of the other “dynamic ad displays” I find that the close link always loads first (probably due to the ridiculous filesize of the ad itself).

This is a blessing in disguise - it allows me to close the ad immediately, without having to view it - which is what I would have done in the first place.

Ads should be relevant to the content on screen and be utilized as a follow-on to further educate the reader on the topic at hand. If I’m trying to download a patch for a game, I don’t want to see information on HP’s newest print server - now, give me an ad to a review and shopping cart for the latest PC release - I’m 100 times more likely to click that.

Nooky 24 Apr 06

Tony: How is that a comment on Mac users?

Richard Bird 24 Apr 06

Gotta love Amex’s “10 options, 5 are good” approach.

American Express and all of its dot-coms are a pet peeve of mine, having been a member since 1975. (They thank me regularly with opportunities to cancel my accounts.) And, having been a consultant to James D. Robinson III, and Lou Gerstner.

In my opinion, American Express websites continue to be among the worst of all financial institution services, despite my ongoing battle to point that out to them.

Paul Livingstone 25 Apr 06

Pretty standard calendar for TV/Radio schedules… it’s used like that in press as well as DVR interfaces (Sky+, Telewest etc) in the UK. Let’s you see how to schedule programmes across multiple channels easier I think.

Paul Livingstone 25 Apr 06

Sorry, on second look I’m talking rubbish… it seems it’s vertical hours on DVRs (which I prefer) and horizontal in press… which is pants.

Greg 25 Apr 06

I think the peeldown is a perfect example of using technology to produce some really cool visual effect, then mis-using that effect to sell me crap I don’t want.

It’s like if Pixar started making annoying commercials for TV networks, but they were all rendered at Finding Nemo levels, and broadcast in HD.

Dave 25 Apr 06

On the peeldown ad, isn’t the “close box” right on the corner that you’d grab (if it were paper) to peel the content away and leave you looking at the ad?

Isn’t that backward?