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Will Mainstream Media Embrace Adblockers?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the so-crazy-it-might-be-true dept.

Blarkon writes "Slashdotters are aware of and often use Adblock Plus," and notes that "if newspapers wanted to hit the online content industry hard right now, they would be running non-stop information about how to obtain and use Adblock Plus.' That a scorched-earth approach to blocking Internet advertising through AdBlock Plus might collapse free online competitors by starving them of revenue. If more people are aware of Adblock plus, it will be more tempting for other browser manufacturers to include similar ad blocking functionality. Might Rupert Murdoch's apparent 'traffic killing' move to paywall content be a desperate gamble to avoid the impact of a future crash in the ad-supported online business model caused by everyone's browser including something like Adblock Plus?"

8 of 417 comments (clear)

  1. No problem. So what's the alternative? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Users have shown that they will not pay for online content unless there is an actual value-add. News sites provide nothing that can't be eventually seen on TV or read elsewhere.

    Newspapers are done. Trumpeting AdBlock isn't going to help them make a cent.

    1. Re:No problem. So what's the alternative? by earnest+murderer · · Score: 5, Funny

      There's certainly some truth to the idea that they are done, in their current form...

      But when I'm sitting here thinking over a cup of hot fresh Folgers dark roast coffee one thing comes to mind. That with quality content, public radio and TV stations have a (relatively) easy time getting people to *give* them money for their "free" content. Give as in some have the nicest studios in the area (and some I suppose squeak by in areas where facts have a liberal bias). And much like the free samples of Jiffy Pop and Movie Time popcorn available at Costco today, it may be abused but it does return a net positive.

      So while you are easing back into your Herman Miller "Aeron" chair (now available in "True Black!") consider that the era of $150+ dollar per year for a hand delivered stack of syndicated features and a few sheets of questionable local content may be over. The Gizmodo regurgitation engine doesn't have to be the end result. Some journalists are doing just fine with a new name tag and avoiding maintenance on a lavish building and fleet of trucks.

      --
      Platform advocacy is like choosing a favorite severely developmentally disabled child.
  2. Please don't by Necreia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If/Once Ad-Block becomes mainstream, companies will further and further integrate advertisements into the content. A good example is to look at how YouTube has ads baked into the flash.

    News and other ad-supported information sites would take steps such as inserting an ad jingle or statement in the middle of a paragraph.

  3. Not getting revenue anyways. by Darkness404 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In general, the people who have an up-to-date browser and have an ad-blocker don't click on ads. And in general most ads are paid per click rather than per impression, meaning that they are losing no money when someone has ad-block plus installed because they wouldn't have clicked on the ads.

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
  4. ad blocking could have been entirely avoided... by SCHecklerX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...had advertisers not become so obnoxious. There is no going back. They did this to themselves.

  5. How sites can embrace the AdBlock model by David+Gerard · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Do you mind non-obnoxious ads from sites you actually like? Me neither, they're just fine.

    What to do:

    1. Make your ads not a goddamn pain in the arse.

    2. Gently ask adblock-using readers to add your site to their whitelist. DON'T MAKE THIS A POPUP, THAT'S DOING IT WRONG.

    --
    http://rocknerd.co.uk
  6. There are other ad-blockers by davidwr · · Score: 5, Funny

    This sounds like a slashvertisement.

    Firefox users should give NoScript a try, it does a lot more than just block ads.

    IE users should give Firefox a try.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  7. I choose not to block ads by slim · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I feel that I have an unwritten contract with content providers: you provide me with content I want, and in exchange I'll tolerate the ads. That's the quid-pro-quo, and I'm very happy with it. It's better than paying money.

    If the ads are so intrusive that they're intolerable, I'll go elsewhere. Effectively, I "can't afford" that content.

    I reckon using an ad blocker is *directly* equivalent to circumventing a micropayment mechanism.