Word Spy - gator

v. To display a company's ad when a person visits a rival company's Web site.

Example Citation:

"It's called getting 'Gatored,' after one of the most popular applications underlying it, and some Web sites are out to restrict the practice. But for others it's fast becoming an effective way to feast on competitors in their own front yard."
—Stefanie Olsen, "Web sites prey on rivals' stores," CNET News, August 7, 2001

Notes:

Today's word comes from a software program called Gator. It's a browser add-on that (among other things) monitors the sites that a person is visiting. When a particular company's site comes into view, the Gator software pops up a banner ad for a rival company. The CNET article, above, calls such a program hijackware, a term that has already been picked up by others:

"Known as hijackware, Gator software positions your banner ads directly against your rival's site. In the States, 1-800-flowers.com found that every time a surfer searched its site for a bouquet, a ten dollar discount pop-up ad appeared for rivals FTD.com. Same thing has happened to American Airlines, who've been Gatored by Delta."
—Matt Kelly, "Pocket Vault," The Mirror, August 10, 2001

Thanks to both Gareth Branwyn and Mark Worden, who slipped this word under my door almost simultaneously.

Categories:

Marketing
Internet

Posted on September 13, 2001