09 October 2016

Aha!


Continued from the previous Aha!



Why mosquitoes? Why? Why?Why!!!?
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Continued in the next Aha...

08 October 2016

Blocking users who have ad-blockers? You must be joking!

If we could simply trust people in this world, everything would be a lot simpler. Security checks everywhere wouldn't be necessary, roads wouldn't have road humps, cars wouldn't need alarms...and so on. However, that's not how the world works. There are always some people who spoil it for everyone else. Someone has to cheat, someone has to drive too fast, someone always has to steal.

And someone has to scream for attention by using flashy advertisements and popups when you are busy with some work, browsing the internet.

While we do love the people who came up with ad-blockers, I've come across some very silly websites which block the people who use ad-blockers. A very off-putting move. Why in the world would I visit your website again?

Here's one from the Times of India website:



Then there's there was a really sweet one from quickfever.com (Don't worry, it doesn't really matter if your site has a clean layout and minimal ads. If I disable my ad-blocker, I'll be hit with plenty of ads from the other websites I visit. So I won't be disabling it):

Update [27 Oct 2016]:  As shown in the comments at the bottom of this post, quickfever.com no longer has the message. These guys are really cool!



The most ironic one was from Forbes.com. Their quote for the day says "You might have a great thing - but if you don't know how to market, then you can't succeed". So yes Forbes, you may have a great website but if you block users who have ad-blockers, then you can't succeed in convincing people to click on your ads anyway. Bye.



Dear blockers of ad-blockers,

You may have a great website with great content. You may need to generate money out of ad clicks. But that's not something that concerns us. Any amount of advertising is futile if the consumer does not want the product in the first place. The use of an ad-blocker is indicative of that. We won't be clicking your ads even if you allowed us to view your website with our ad-blockers disabled.

By putting up the patronizing "Ad blocker detected" message, you've not found a technological solution to make money. You've just found a nice way to annoy people and get your website an "I'll never visit that website again" reputation.

The honesty of government officers

When most people talk of government officers, it's mostly with disappointment and mistrust.
I have however come across many officers who take pains to do their job honestly. Conversations with them have revealed how they dislike the way the 'system' functions and guess what? They say they would be more satisfied with their jobs if they were allowed to do their jobs honestly and efficiently.

Everyone makes mistakes, and even our Prime Minister had once remarked about honest officers in the government. I congratulate these officers who have had the courage and integrity to do their duty well.