When it comes to music, images, and media, I’m a strong believer in the “less is more” theory. With that being said, I’m constantly blown away by the many successful blogs and websites that remain painfully true to this concept. As an example (and as the inspiration for this post in the first place), I would like to bring to your attention the every infamous and often controversial Drudge Report, which for those of you who aren’t familiar, is a well established, online news publication that was started by a guy named Mike Drudge back in 1994. The site has kept the same general look for years (with the exception of content of course), and talk about the most basic, bland, and as I like to say, BOOTLEG design! The Drudge Report would seriously make a perfect tutorial site on how to place underlined text on a white background (that’s all it is). But as much as I mock the layout or compare it to the 1980’s MS DOS programs, this this site gets attention! It gets more attention than most sites on the web, certainly more than mine ever will, and probably more yours for that matter.
I’m not sure if the attention is panning out for them when translating visitors into revenue dollars, but the last time I was on the site, I noticed the notorious “visit our advertisers” text near the top of the page. The notable detail I found particularly amusing was that this awkwardly positioned banner was prompting me to buy a Lexus. Ha-Ha!
Me and a Lexus? I don’t think so. Luxury car? Not in my vocabulary really, but on second thought, no matter what brand it was, why would I make that type of a decision after being promoted from a tacky banner on a news site? WHAT? I came here to read the news, not connect with a car salesmen. I don’t mind supporting sites that carry substance and content, but what do they expect me to do with this ad? Theres a better chance of me buying a pet rock through a banner that reads “i hate you”on it!
I guess their geotargeting may have been off that day or just behind, but it was pure comedy gold! Thanks for the material Drudge, I owe you one.
Posted by egoassassin 
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