Weblogsinc. announced they are going to launch Focus Ads, the ability for readers to respond and comment on ads. Nick Denton said it’s “Bold to the point of foolhardy”. Jason responded with a story that highlights the advantages to this type of communication.

Let me say first, it’s a great idea. It’s not a new idea, but it is a great idea. Kuro5hin has been doing this for some time now. They even have a page where you can view a current listing of advertisements one can comment on.

Note, most of them do not have comments. That is not always the case. I’ve seen comments where users said they “would” buy the product/service but the price was too high compared to store X. That’s valuable information – the advertiser is getting a bang for their buck. Here’s an example of constructive user criticism on one of their ads:

I feel the danger of your statement is that someone could interpret it to mean only learn pure abstract concepts and try not to use APIs to learn them. I think that would be a mistake. I think APIs have a place in teaching developers how to program and exposing them to new ideas.

Let’s take it to another level – have the advertiser respond to the comments. Let an advertiser edit the text in their ad while it is running in response to user feedback so the advertiser can reap the benefits while the current ad is still running.

There are a lot of opportunities. As an advertiser which would you prefer? Silence (because users see and don’t communicate) or constructive criticism so the way your market your products/services can be altered to maximize your revenue?