November 29th, 2007
Aaagh! Ad-Enabled PDFs Coming from Adobe, Yahoo
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
How does everyone feel about dynamic in-game ads? OK, now how are you going to feel about ad-laden PDF files?
Publishers first upload PDF files to Adobe. Once digital content gets associated with the publisher for purposes of payment, it gets analyzed so that Yahoo knows what type of ads to place in the document. The files then get ad-enabled and e-mailed back to the publisher to be distributed as the publisher chooses. Thereafter, when opened, ad-enabled documents will call out to Yahoo to fetch dynamic ads for display, provided the PDFs are being read on an Internet-connected device.
As with ads on Web pages, publishers get paid per valid click.
The ads will appear in a sidebar, without altering the layout of the content beyond the addition of the sidebar. Source: Information Week
We Say: Not going to alter the document layout beyond the addition of the sidebar, eh? Whatever happened to WYSIWYG in PDFs, then? Aagh. I really don’t need to see more ads.
Kevin K. says:
Never open a PDF while connected or use your firewall to deny access to the internet for Adobe Reader. In fact, when I open a PDF from the web and ZoneAlarm pops up asking if I want to allow Acrobat to access the internet, I always deny it and the PDF opens right up.
Unless they change that somehow, that’s what I’d do…..
November 29th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
John says:
Yep, that was my FIRST thought. BLOCK THEM!
November 29th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Ed3 says:
Don’t use Adobe’s reader. Try Foxit. http://www.foxitsoftware.com/
November 29th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Erik says:
No more ads! We are over marketed to as it is. It is hard to even comprehend all of the places where advertising encroaches. I do not want ads in my PDFs, I do not want ads in my emails, I do not want ads beamed into my brain while I sleep (because you know someone somewhere is working on this very thing).
November 30th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Steve R says:
Not wanting ads misses the point. Of course nobody wants ads.
Ads represent a product with negative value to the consumer, and positive value to the supplier. This is ideal, since most products are the other way around, and therefore ads represent a kind of silent barter between producer and consumer, that doesn’t require exchange of funds.
Since that’s exactly what’s needed on the internet, ads will continue to serve the purpose.
After all, what else could a free content supplier GIVE you that would help repay its own costs for the other content they GIVE you?
November 30th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
beyond says:
Yes, ads are an evil necessity in todays internet, BUT somewhere it does have to stop.
www.myfreelivesite.com
December 28th, 2007 at 3:23 pm