However, in order to do this, they tend to interfere with your viewing by following you around page and generally making a nuisance of themselves. While Internet users have become used to being bombarded by ads whenever they go online, annoyance factor associated with rich media ads is worse than any other format I've come across.

What makes them particularly galling is fact that there seems to be no easy way to close them. Most of these ads are delayed for a few seconds until full ad is shown, meaning that Internet users have to sit through them whether they want too or not. Internet users are by their very nature, an impatient bunch. They don't have time to waste waiting for webpages to load, and neither do they have patience to put up with distractions such as ads that can't easily be closed.

A study released by Taylor Nelson Softres confirms this. It found that word of mouth recommendations were more important than driving traffic to a website than search engines or links. It also discovered that Internet users would only recommend sites that they found enjoyable to use. The report concluded that most websites were still failing to recognise importance of user satisfaction in encouraging both new and regular visitors.

Perhaps websites should keep this in mind when accepting rich media ads from clients because while Internet users may appreciate fact that sites need to earn an income, anything which impacts on their enjoyment while online is going to have serious repercussions.

Perhaps majority of Internet users will follow my example and stay away from sites that bombard user with ads that can't be easily shut off. That way websites might wise up and start respecting wishes of Internet users, and concentrate on welcoming users, rather than annoying them.