Firstly, what is a privacy policy? In simple terms it tells you how a website is using the data they collect about you and who has access to it.

Most large websites will have a link to a privacy policy but as global law on this improves we should start seeing more of these as standard.

So now you know what a privacy policy is, but did you know that all the online giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google are in the big business of collecting and monetising their user’s data. Even in the last few days Google has announced that it is changing and more importantly simplifying its privacy policy so that it can share data across it’s giant network more easily.

If this is news to you then you need to know that Google and many other website vendors have been collecting data on their users for years and using it to better their services, sell and target those same people with advertising. For instance when you create a Google search you are presented with a number of premium search results tailored to your criteria; and this is just one way Google is using that data.
But what does that mean to us, the users?

The short answer here is that Google is unifying the data collection and usage between its many free services, so in theory it won’t be collecting any more data than before, it will just use it to be more efficient between those services, which should mean better more effective services from Google that benefit us all.

The problem here though is that if you really don’t like having your data stored then the only 100% guaranteed safe option you have is to stop using Google’s array of services completely (Extreme I know!). Having said this the EU has ruled in the last week that Google’s new policy contravenes recent European legislation to protect users; so maybe things will change for the benefit of the us; either way though Google will still get some of your data.

So, Google will be collecting your data no matter how careful you are; and where there is user data there is usually advertising! I personally don’t like behavioral adverts, they are those clever little ads that know you have just been looking at holidays; and then send holiday advert to the other websites you visit, annoying yes but definitely appropriate; so I would certainly expect that with the shared data this will only become more accurate and hopefully more useful; if, a little intrusive.

I know it sounds like Google are the big bad monster trying to use your data for evil; but in my opinion we need to remember that Google allows you to search the internet with ease, receive email, store documents, socialise and navigate online for free, they are giving something to us that improves our lives and they still need to pay the bills, is it too much to ask for a little data driven advertising for totally free services? I think not, but I can certainly understand those who do!

If you still want to limit what Google do know about you then you can try and limit how much data you give, so run searches without signing into your Google account, or in your Google account preferences check the privacy settings for each service that you use until it suits you. If this still isn’t good enough then you’ll need to look for alternative that isn’t as aggressive with your data.

A few weeks ago I wrote ‘Newspaper paywall panic’ where I gave my thoughts on The Times’ doomed paywall scheme.  Well in the last week or so the results have started to be released and as expected they don’t make good reading, well not for Murdoch anyway!

So let’s cut to the chase, the number of people willing to pay the money regularly is 15,000, yep your eyes are not deceiving you and yes the general consensus is that this is a rather poor figure;  oh, but the bad news doesn’t stop there, the online subscription is a mere £2 a week which is pricing itself well below what is needed to counter-act the steady decline of the more expensive print product, not to mention the loss in advertising revenue they will undoubtedly be experiencing.  (Am I the only one that saw that coming, surely not!)

Okay, so there is the bad news; hang-on is there a glimmer of hope on the horizon? No! Apparently the iPad application has 12,500 subscribers paying £10 per month which in contrast to the web figure is quoted as being positive, this is due apparently to the relatively low number of iPads in circulation which interestingly contradicts Apple’s recent announcement that the iPad is now outselling its Notebook range with three million sold so far, sounds like wishful thinking by News Corp if you ask me.

I suppose I have been a little hard on The Times’ attempt to make money, I just find it hard to believe that the Industry in general still thinks it is because banner supported content doesn’t work; yet a high number of other websites and ad-delivery networks are experiencing good levels of user response with less intrusive and more importantly static support adverts.

Put simply, this is print minded executives trying to control the web which is the root of this problem; in my opinion, unless radical change takes place certain sectors of the news print industry are heading for the end.

I was contacted today by a colleague for whome I had recently designed a static banner, she requested that I animate it, when I asked why an advert with one simple message needed animating she told me that during a presentation to her superior she was reprimanded and told it should have been! – I was stunned that a senior member of our company should have such an uninformed view of online advertising, and worse still be preaching it to their staff!

As a fairly experienced designer of adverts from print to web I understand the balance between customer satisfaction and user response quite well, I also have equally successful examples of both static and animated artwork; unfortunately sales teams don’t have this wealth of experience and prefer something esthetically pleasing or dynamic to wow a client and make the sales pitch that much easier for themselves, while I sympathise with sales teams wanting to keep their task simple in difficult times I can’t help feeling that it’s ignorance that makes the pitch difficult, not the dynamics of the advert.

Let me explain why I feel ignorance is the issue – Banner advertising has been around for a number of years now and web users are more switched on than ever before, at the same time various web browsers along with off-the-shelf software make it relatively simple to block banner advertising, one click and a web site’s ads are gone which is not good news for companies that have a banner advertising website model!  This is where the ignorance of sales people and teams starts to become a real issue, their need to keep the sale simple will inevitably damage advertising effectiveness as users either stop visiting your site or just simply block your advertising content.

My ethos is ‘less is more’ – yep not the first time you have probably heard this, but as far as I can tell there are three clear types of banner advert -

1. The adverts with one clear message and minimal text
2. Adverts for brand awareness only and again minimal contact copy
3. Those with a few clear key messages. 

 For me the first would be static this is because the simple message is the important part of the advert, it needs to be on screen for as long as possible giving the message the best chance of being absorbed by the user, while the second is using general content with no clear call to action, this naturally could use subtle animation to draw the users eye without distracting them too much (colour blends and changes would work well), the third where content is an issue I would use interactive animation i.e. when a user rolls over the advert an extra element is presented. 

Using the correct advert type for the content you are presenting is key, but because of the fear some businesses have of the Internet coupled with a lack of understanding the industries most in need of these revenues may simply cut their own throats.  Many web design blogs and websites have adopted the static advert model and seem to be making money, maybe the media industry should pay attention to this!

To prove that this can be successful Fusion Ads delivery network deals in only static advertising and currently delivers over 20,000,000 page views per month to its design network – Seems this is working quite well and may just be worth keeping an eye on.

I think some animation is necessary and sometimes you simply cannot get around it but it certainly shouldn’t be the industry standard.  If you have to animate an advert to make the sell then the advert is probably not going to succeed!

Slowly advertising is going to change and banners will disappear, so adapt now it will make a huge difference to the future and life of all online services.

See related article – http://nasarik.com/is-it-too-late-to-save-the-web-from-over-the-top-advertising/