nasty surprise at AltaVista

[Vincent Wright]

Shirl,
This is not something new.
Other search engines, including some of my favorites, do the same
and indeed offer marketing programs at a reduced rate keyed into
search terms and phrases which the marketer chooses.
On the positive side it allows small companies like mine to be able
to at least be seen on the major engines.
On the negative side, if the marketer chooses the wrong terms, if could
gross people out or offend their sensibilities.
As an Internet friend whom you greatly helped out a couple of months ago
I must say that I think you are being a little sensitive about the "Always"
thing!  :-)
By the way: I never did receive your book! :-)

Vincent Wright
Director Technical Recruiting
Wright Enterprises
“Recruiting At The Speed Of Your Business!”
vince_wright at snet.net
http://www.ipa.com/eoffice/860-568-4405.html


Shirl Kennedy wrote:

> Aaaagh!
>
> Just popped over to AltaVista to do a quick search in response to a help-me
> message posted on another mailing list (and to distract myself from the
> noise of the plumber at work on my bathtub drain...on the weekend, at the
> higher "emergency" rates).  Someone was looking for statistics on the
> purchasing power of women.  Used the advanced search form and typed in:
>
> women and "purchasing power"
>
> When the results came back, I was horrified to be confronted by a pop-up ad
> for Always "feminine hygeine products!  Tried the search again, just to
> verify what I had seen.  And there it was again, the dreaded "Always" pop-up
> ad!  I can only surmise that it appeared in response to the search term
> "women."
>
> Is this something new?
>
> Has anyone else seen an instance of this in response to other search terms
> at AltaVista?
>
> Does this mean I now need to disable JavaScript before searching on
> AltaVista?
>
> Am I being overly sensitive to be grossed out by this?
>
> Shirl Kennedy
> Internet Waves columnist
> Information Today
> Best Bet Internet
> http://www.ala.org/editions/openstacks/bestbet/index.html