Software companies created popup blockers for a reason. People DO NOT LIKE POPUPS. I don’t mean the delightful popup books we enjoyed as kids or Jack in the Boxes (not the restaurant) or cans with springy snakes that pop up and startle the person taken unaware…
I mean popups.
For instance, I get Florida Trend emails that offer the highlights of the news each morning and afternoon. Sometimes the snippet of information is tantalizing enough for me to click for more — and too often I get a popup across the screen that tells me “if you subscribe for such-and-such amount per year, then you can read more. Otherwise, tough luck, sucker!” (Of course, the literal version is slightly more professional and kind.) I still hate popups.
Recently, I’ve been exploring a variety of blogs. The instant I land on a blog I once considered a promising read, a box pops up, offering me the blogger’s firstborn child in exchange for my email address. If I click on another part of the website, another box pops up, offering me the blogger’s second born.
OK. I exaggerate. A bit.
But I hate those popups. (Although I admit that at times the firstborn child offer seems so much better than an email address I already know… I may or may not have sacrificed my address in order to get that delectable, oh-so-necessary delight.) However, I simply cannot inflict such a request upon people who visit my blog. I mean, I am honored that they took the time to visit, to read, to like, perhaps to comment, or, even better, to follow me. I would love for them to return and visit often — or offer their email address so I could automatically send them my next posts. But I do not want to block the view of my lovely blog post in order to elicit their email address. More so, I do not wish to annoy them and repel them from my blog before they can enjoy it.
Unfortunately, I committed to complete a 7-day blog challenge in which I am to follow each day’s assignment (almost) wholeheartedly. The downside is that the day’s challenges don’t appear until just before my lunchtime, and I have zero to no time to complete the challenge. And I don’t always like the challenges — because one of the challenges was to create such a popup on my blog (made infinitely harder to use because I blog on WordPress.com), and the very next day’s challenge was to write a blog that takes a stand and offends…
So I thought I’d kill the proverbial two birds with one stone. Are you offended? Did you like my popup and freebie?
If you did, you might like my other snarky, humorous or deeply thought-provoking posts delivered right to your email box. Right?
Click here to subscribe and to get your free opportunity to express your opinion on popups.
Pop ups are like squirting the back of my neck with cold water while I am slumped snoozing on my keyboard… not that I ever ever you understand. But my reaction would be the same, I would scream and be furious wet cold and popups grrrrrr. I disliked yours intensely and closed without thought of what it said or gave. I follow on reader so don’t need to sign anything. I like your humour and invite you to my place popup free to peruse, comment, and generally make my place untidy . Until we chat again.
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Thanks! I so totally agree with you. My freebie was simply an opportunity to answer a survey question about popups, which you so eloquently did anyway! 🙂 I will visit your popup free place. Until then!
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I didn’t like your pop up. I didn’t read it, just looked for the x out place. I was wondering why, if you hate pop ups, that you had one on here…haha…then I read further, and found out why. Good job! It worked. I agree, pop ups are so annoying! 🙂
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I am keeping it there temporarily because of this blogging challenge I am doing. But I promise to eliminate it thereafter! 🙂 Unless, of course, my readership increases and people indicate on the survey that they love these things… so far, not so much!
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OMG! I agree with the previous two comments. Pop-ups are annoying and make reading the blog (or article) take longer. So, let’s talk about the correct spelling: popup, pop up, or pop-up?
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Yes. All of the above choices for spelling popup, pop up, and pop-up. (I see them all.) I chose popup simply because I have been dealing with a startup company that is developing software to help advertisers recover revenue lost by popup blockers (and that was how they used popup). I find that the newer, hipper companies are crafting their own spellings and doing things like referring to the United States as US without periods, whether it is being used as a noun or an adjective. Or the internet with a small i rather than a large one. Or using all sorts of incorrect phrasing that is so overused it is normal, though imprecise. And I am caving… never thought it would happen. (Actually, apparently it is perfectly correct to determine a style for a company as to how it handles all of these things… and the company of one that runs All Things Work Together deemed it popup. (Although all my commenters have used a different style.) 🙂
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I don’t like pop ups either. Very distracting and some of them are not easy to close. Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks. Mine will be temporary! It is simply there to emphasize a point. 🙂
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