By Libby Esterle, Senior Account Executive

As a member of an award-winning Cincinnati-based marketing and communications agency, we aim to blog about topics that are A) of interest to our readers and B) also share some insights/key learnings and, most of the time, they are focused on best practices.

This is not one of those blogs. Rather, think of this blog as what NOT to do. Or at least, things you should reconsider leveraging or seriously limiting when it comes to engaging your target audience members online. And these “things” are current online trends that tend to drive me a bit crazy:

• The Electric slide. Sometimes, a headline like “11 Celebs You Didn’t Know Were Chicago Natives” will catch my eye but as I click to read more, I am often greeted by a slideshow that’s slow to load and riddled with irritating pop-up ads. Yes, Bon Appetit, I really do appreciate my daily emails and ideas for 17 Grab-and-Go Breakfast Recipes but I want to view them in a simple list format, NOT a multiple click slideshow.

• In 3, 2, and 1! And then there are the videos that launch automatically, usually when I am at work and have forgotten to mute my speakers, scaring the bejesus out of me and my poor colleagues.

• None of your beeswax. When I click on a story or real estate listing, my intentions are honorable, I promise you. Honestly, I just simply want to READ THE STORY. Or dream about someday relocating to the Carolinas without having to provide my name and email address.

• Kinda shifty. You know, when you click on a story only to have it overtaken by the Ad Lords that shift the content down to allow for the world’s largest ad to appear at the top of the page before timing out and shifting the story back to its original place? That kind of shiftiness.

All this being said, there ARE websites out there that get it right. Bored Panda is a great example- interesting mix of stories, easy to navigate and options to click through to stories of interest that are not presented in a slideshow or gallery and without a bazillion pop-up ads or videos that start on their own when you aren’t looking.

So, tell me, what tech or online trends drive you batty?