Ads And Trackers On Web Sites

The issue of ads and trackers on web sites is becoming one I really hate having to deal with. I'm well aware that most sites exist to turn a profit, and even non-profit ones need to pay the bills. I'm fine with small ads that are placed in a corner or at the bottom of a page.

But good grief, people. More and more sites, including one of my long time favorites, Pajiba, are increasingly loaded with so much garbage as to be almost unusable. Pajiba, for instance, has just recently added what can only be termed "click bait" ads that are powered by something called Zergnet.

If you're fortunate enough to not yet be familiar with this sort of thing, great. Let me fill you in on a few details.

These ads have embedded links in them. Click on a photo and be taken to another site. Among the current ones on Pajiba are gems like this:

"What The Game Of Thrones Cast Should Really Look Like"

"Movie Bloopers That Were Way Too Good To Cut"

"Actor Replacements That Totally Ruined The Movie"

Oh, and just to make things even more fun, every first letter in each word is in bold. Like this:

"This Is Driving Me Nuts"

On the main page of the site, there are usually six to eight of these on the right hand side of the page.

Open a new page to read an article and you get those plus another eight to twelve at the bottom of the page.

You know, I really hate to be picking on Pajiba. I've been reading it on a regular basis ever since it first came on line. Its coverage of pop culture and current events is really good. But right now, it's the worst offender I'm personally familiar with when it comes to these horrible advertisements.

And don't get me started on the trackers that attempt to track every single move you make on line. I use a great, free service called "Ghostery" that blocks these little suckers and also will show you the names of them if you want to see them.

For the record, Ghostery blocked forty-one trackers when I was on Pajiba just before starting this post. Also, for the record, when I viewed this blog, just one was listed.

Very few things in life are truly free. Most of what is "free" on line will cost you big time in the end in terms of lost privacy. The software used to analyze what we do when we're on line is very advanced. Visit enough sites enough times and someone, somewhere, can and will be able to paint a very detailed picture of who you are.

I know. I'm here, telling you to be careful what sites you visit. But in the end, we all make our own decisions. Personally, there are several sites I no longer visit because of the issues I've discussed today. I hate to think that Pajiba might be the next to go, but it's going to be a close call, either way.