"Taste the Rainbow" Parties Sponsored by Skittles, Revealed by "Deep Throat"

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Suicide Pop-up Ads Garner Dozens of Impressions

A new type of ad inspired by the tactics of Iraqi insurgents has garnered an ever-increasing number of clickthroughs. The ads, inaccurately termed "suicide pop-ups" by industry insiders, work by first opening a spread of several pop-up and pop-under ads when a page containing them is opened. Users typically know to expect such ads, however, and will close them quickly and commence reading the content- (and inline ad-) filled page they had requested. However, after about 15 to 30 seconds, a SECOND spread of pop-ups and pop-unders will appear, taking users unaware as they idly click on the page or attempt to follow a link.

According to the website of a small advertising placement company claiming affiliation with DoubleClick, the ads were inspired by the now commonly used tactic used by Iraqi insurgents where a secondary bomb is planted at a blast site. Such secondary bombs are often timed for 15 to 30 minutes after the initial blast to target police and emergency personnel responding to the first blast. Exact statistics have not been made public, but the web site reports a clickthrough rate increase of about 300%.

It is unknown whether any clickthroughs have succeeded in topping the 0.1% "buy" response rate for products such as inexpensive male enhancement prescription drugs, free iPods, or low mortgage rates. Web user support organizations have issued calls for increased pop-up protection in web browser programs to protect users from intrusive ads.

News Occurrence Hits All-Time Low

The revelation of the identity of the Watergate personality known as "Deep Throat" has obscured another important story this week: less news is happening now than ever before.

By a simple headlines count, the usual high number of stories have been released, a number consistent with reporting levels seen since the early 1990s when 24-hour cable news exploded onto the scene. However, according to the two content analysis studies released today by AP and Reuters, the preponderance of news headlines since 2003 merely restate or refract already reported stories. The studies were undertaken independently by the two news providers.

Industry pundits, ironically enough, have initially laid blame for the dearth of news on themselves. With the public's appetite for immediate analysis of news stories, reporters have become most concerned with ensuring that known stories achieve complete coverage in all their nuances. Meanwhile, news organizations have devoted correspondingly greater media space, whether print, radio, interactive, or television, to commentary, leaving less space for "new" news and less incentive for reporters to find it. Also emergent is a practice termed the "Camp O.J." Effect, where reporters reportedly seek out new stories that are likely to have a high degree of interest to facilitate saturation coverage, are mostly based on opinion rather than events, and take place within a circumscribed area where reporters can temporarily set up banks of broadcasting equipment and cameras so as to be able to cover every development at a moment's notice.

Dark Matter is investigating the relationship between this drop in news and a possibly related drop in the number of events taking place worldwide. Dark Matter's editorial policy remains firmly rooted in the principle that all events are ontologically suspect and, for this reason, should be reported with caution.