Remember when the web didn’t suck?

  • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Here’s what’s behind that stupid ad

    https://www.10news.com/news/fact-or-fiction/fact-or-fiction-online-ad-advises-people-to-wrap-doorknobs-in-foil-when-home-alone

    It clearly implies there is some kind of safety benefit to it. But there is not.

    Clicking on the ad leads to a lengthy slide show which eventually gets to the doorknob story.

    All it says is aluminum foil can be used as an alternative to tape to cover doorknobs and hardware while painting.

    It has nothing to do with safety and the inclusion of the phrase “when you’re home alone” was only used as clickbait to make the ad seem more important.

          • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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            7 months ago

            They pay for the number of impressions as well as the number of click-throughs. More clicks on the ad = more cost for running the ad, or fewer impressions. However, it also gives more money to those hosting the ads, so it supports them imbedding them.

            You can use this plugin to automate the process if you want to continue down this path. https://adnauseam.io/

            • Psychodelic@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              That’s freakin awesome! I absolutely love that idea/solution. Is it kinda hot in here? Why’m I all moist?

              Seriously tho, is there any downside? Also, I’m still not sure I understand the point of running the ad in the first place. Why run a shitty ad that costs you money? Is the idea to get people to follow that other conspiracy site more regularly?

          • I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Advertisers pay a fee to the website where their ad is displayed every time someone clicks on it, it’s called the Pay Per Click model. It’s how websites make money off running ads. There is a small fee for displaying the ad and larger one for click throughs.

    • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.zip
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      7 months ago

      I mean… if you are like, home alone status, in a whole ass house with a bunch of doors… maybe covering the knobs in foil would make it so some kind of intruder makes more noise when opening doors, as they either handle the foil opening the door, or when removing the foil?

      ???

      It kind of makes some sense?

    • 𝔼𝕩𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕒@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      I was under the impression it was a safety thing. If you grab loose foil like that it will form to the hand crushing it to turn the knob and therefore you know the home has had “visitors” without you saying so.