When clicking an ad isn't enough...

As if it's not bad enough that certain Facebook pages require "liking" the page to see anything, now certain Facebook advertisers are not letting you view their web sites without first "joining" their e-mail list. For instance, the "bearded beanie" - I clicked the ad, and was greeted with a page that says something like, "Fab.com features daily specials... join today!" I was intrigued enough to want to click the ad, but now, in order to see anything on their web site, I have to provide an e-mail address (so they can spam me all day long and, I presume, sell my e-mail address to other spammers). Really? I click your ad and I can't see the stuff or buy from you unless I give you my e-mail address? (And this isn't the first "advertiser" I've seen that requires you "sign up" in order to even browse their site.)

Sort of like the various news sites that have news videos, but when you click the video, you can't actually watch it unless you sit through a 15-second ad video first. What? This is getting ridiculous. And say you take the time to watch the 15-second ad because you really want to see the video you clicked (which was on their home page, and they have on-page advertising all over the screen elsewhere, too, both on the original page with the video link and on the page you're on now), and then there's a "related video" shown on the page after your video concludes, and you click on that one... guess what? You have to watch another ad video before you can watch the next video on their web site.

And what about the internet pages that, when you go to visit them, display a full-page ad in place of whatever it is you wanted to see, with a "click to skip this ad" link somewhere on the page? Really? You want me to view someone else's ad instead of your page?

I'm sorry... internet "advertising" is getting ridiculous. Not only that, but your various ads are actually costing me... as well as the internet community. That "extra page" is a bunch of overhead (bandwidth) that is wasted, overhead that I have to pay for either in time or perhaps in money. For example, if I'm out & about and surfing the web on my phone, or with my MiFi from Verizon (I don't have a MiFi, but a lot of people I know do), I'm getting "charged" for every Megabyte. Yes, I have 5GB included with my monthly access fee (5GB is the basic MiFi package), but that correlates to a specific $/MB, and once I've used up the 5GB (or whatever my limit is) I get charged per MB. So now I'm paying for you to advertise to me. That just seems wrong somehow.

Now, go click my ads over on the right hand side of the page and make me some money! :)