Is Huddlebuy the most annoying spammer ever?

Adverts are a way of life. Indeed, we're constantly surrounded by messages to buy products. That said, in the right context/environment it's something that we roll with. Indeed, the right advert at the right time can be really useful. But spammers are in a different class. KitGuru hears about a new ‘challenger' for the title of ‘worst spammer'.

When visiting your favourite sites on a PC, you generally know what to expect in terms of advertising messages. The design of KitGuru took a long time – and its layout is deceptively simple. Early on, the choice was made for ‘content' to dominate the user experience.

Even if you access KitGuru on something like an iPad, you will still have ‘point and click' access to as many as 14 stories with a single page load.  The banner across the top is on the same line as the KitGuru logo and the MPUs (300×250 adverts) keep to the right hand side, so the content comes through loud and clear.

Take the same iPad and access the Facebook App over the past few days and you will have noticed horribly intrusive advertising from a company called Huddlebuy.

Despite professing to have ‘learned from the best' (their words not ours) Huddlebuy pays good money to regularly post up HUGE adverts into your timeline – which you have to scroll past to get to the actual content that interests you.

The adverts are long enough that you can't see both ends at the same time. We'll say it again, these adverts are HUGE and totally distract from your experience of socialising on Facebook.

Then there's the frequency.

Again and again and again with the same message.

With a sensible site design, like KitGuru, you can choose to move your attention from content to advertising and back again. When an offer catches your eye – you can interact with it – otherwise it is really simple to stay on target and focus on the editorial that you came to read in the first place.

One of our readers has been in contact with Huddlebuy after what he described as a ‘deluge of annoying spam' – only to be told by one of Huddlebuy's VPs that (a) there's no possibility to block it, (b) that there is no frequency cap to limit how many times you get spammed and (c) the classic ‘Teflon shoulders‘ response of “It's Facebook's fault, not ours”.

Nice.

All we can advise is that if you become a ‘victim' of these ‘Huddlebuy Spam-verts', then whatever you do – don't click on the advert – even if it is just to complain as our readers did. Its possible that they will read your click as increased interest and then hammer you with more ‘spam-verts'.

Much as we hate to say it, if you're being ‘spam-bullied by Huddlebuy', then just try to ignore it and hope it goes away.

Also, our readers suggest that you warn your friends not to click anywhere near it – unless they too want to become on-going victims.

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KitGuru says: We would never trust a company that openly spams people and we hate the idea of advertising that is horribly intrusive. Advertising is an important component of commerce in the 21st century, but it should add to the experience – not make you hate a company like Huddlebuy and wish you had never heard of them.

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums – especially let us know on Facebook if you've experienced a ‘Timeline spammer worse than Huddlebuy'.

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