Cliptec: Online news is awful

Phillip Smith at Cliptec thinks online news is hard to read (no longer online). He says:

It’s ok in small doses. But try reading a whole paper online; it’s awful.

Smith has a point.

Online newspapers aren’t designed for easy reading. Publishers are more concerned with pushing advertising down reader’s throats.

It’s not just distracting animated ads. It’s pop-out movie ads, bursts of sound and giant pop-ups which dance around in front of text.

They give a new meaning to “in your face”.

Publishers know passive online advertisements no longer work. Hardly anyone clicks on a banner these days and Google ads are not much better.

They need to make money. But there’s a danger they will kill the business by alienating readers.

If publishers told readers paid content means less advertising crap, they might be more willing to shell out for online news.