On some sites the amount of pop-up ads are just staggering.

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

Nowadays some sites are almost unusable because of so much pop-ups.

In the early days of the internet I used a free dialup internet provider called Juno. This is going way back to the 1990’s. But being broke…I loved it! I couldn’t afford internet at home and Juno saved me from a trip to the library to use the internet. Back then our little library had 2 computers and a line of people on the wait list to use them. So they put a strict half hour limit on your use. If you wanted to get back on, you got back on the wait list. So you could spend hours at the library trying to do something on the internet.

Now most libraries have Wi-Fi in their parking lots. You just need the password and you can be a digital nomad. Anyway, Juno worked out well for some time, then it got slow, then it got tons of ads and would kick you off if you didn't click on the ads - the combination made it pretty unusable. Maybe that was the era when pop-up ads got their start? The library eventually got more computers, dumped their slow dial-up service and let you have an hour of time, so I found that a better internet source than Juno.

Part of the scope of the Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Archival Collection is vintage advertising. I don’t do much with modern advertising, but I have added modern pop-up ads to the collection. When I was a kid I wanted to be a fashion / advertising photographer. But after a few years it sunk in I have no talent for studio work. So I sucked it up and moved on to areas that I do have talent in. I’m glad I didn’t force things for a life of misery and accepted my capabilities. My early roots as a advertising photographer wannabe must be where I got my interest in advertising.

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.