I'm more than OK with ads on the Internet; after all, the Tucson Weekly has prominently placed advertisements on our pages, and I'd like to stay employed, so even if I had some misguided anti-business streak, I'd probably keep it to myself.
I know people who have Firefox extensions to block nearly every ad normally encountered on the Web, and I guess I could install that, too, but it seems like that would be playing unfair. Nothing's free, right?
However, one site that I generally find useful and interesting, Pop Culture Brain (popculturebrain.com), includes a very loud autoplaying advertisement that opens on their main page every time anyone visits their site—followed by a video clip produced by the site's author.
Maybe he gets a little extra cash for having an obnoxious ad blaring when anyone hits the front page, and I don't expect anyone to post as much as that guy does and not make some attempt to get paid. On the other hand, it seems like I'm always listening to something on my computer, so every time I follow a link to Pop Culture Brain, I find myself racing to find the stop button as quickly as possible. Maybe the editorial content after the ad is great, but I'll never know.
Finding ways to provide value for advertisers is a constant challenge—but anyone creating content on the Internet should be thinking of the reader first. And for this reader, autoplay just doesn't work.
THE WEEK ON THE RANGE
We followed the state budget battle; examined the fallout from the Fiesta Bowl scandal; noted that Republican City Councilman Steve Kozachik is continuing to call out GOP members of the Arizona Legislature; shared a snapshot of Mercury; and introduced you to the Kino Bambino, the mascot of the Tucson Padres, our new Triple-A baseball team.
We let you know that Dr. Peter Rhee, head of trauma surgery at the UA, was joining a movement to improve background checks on gun buyers; listened to Cornel West's talk at the UA; took an advance look at Broadway in Tucson's 2011-2012 offerings; and started loading our music collection into a new cloud at Amazon.com.
We salivated over El Saguarito's new location at Prince Road and Campbell Avenue; peeked in the window of the new Frosty Jake's on Grant Road near Country Club Road; visited Flankenstein's BBQ food truck; and let you know that the Onyx Room was now open and serving Southern cuisine.
We watched the Arizona International Film Festival; looked at photos from Michael Hillman; shared the art of Anabelle Dimang, whose work can be seen at Stone Dragon Studio; wished Comedy Central a happy 20th birthday; mourned the death of Mel McDaniel; urged you to buy the Cornershop CD; suggested you check out I Was Totally Destroying It at downtown's Red Room and Murs at Club Congress; fretted about the future of Mad Men; and wished Tucson Weekly production dynamo Andrew Ling a happy birthday.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
"Rodney wouldn't care who else was running. He'd just assume he's the best candidate (and you know what assuming does, Rodney!)"
—TucsonWeekly.com commenter "Nunaurbiz," on speculation that Rodney Glassman might be anonymously testing the waters to run for Senate ("A Democrat Wants to Run ...," The Range, March 31).
BEST OF WWW
We have videos this week taking a look at the Ragbag of Jollification, and another installment in the Secrets of Tucson Bartenders—but the most important thing to know is that this Thursday, April 7, some members of the Tucson Weekly staff will be participating in "No Touching! An Arrested Development Quiz" at Bumsted's on Fourth Avenue. Several of us are devoted fans of the late Fox single-camera comedy, so the opportunity to possibly embarrass ourselves with what we've forgotten about the show is a can't-miss event. The Bluth-family knowledge showdown begins at 8 p.m., and more information can be found on The Range, at daily.tucsonweekly.com. Bonus points if you show up in Tobias' never-nude outfit.
