Many proposals to block web ads circulate: what happens to Internet “free content” business models then?
Friday, July 25th, 2008There’s a lot of talk out there about schemes to allow users to block Internet advertising. And there is a variety of proposals.
One is on “Internet Outsider” (all the way back to April 2007) is Henry Blodget’s “One Way for Microsoft to Kill Google”, link here is to put more emphasis on a “cost per impression” (CPM) basis as well as “cost per click” (CPC). The writer suggests that Microsoft create CPM network to compete with Google’s Adsense.
But another writer suggests something even more sinister and nefarious: simply build an adblocker into the next service pack for Windows Vista and make it apply to all ads and all browsers (especially IE and Firefox). Would that blow away the entire free content industry? Would newspapers stop offering their content free in online editions? Would not only Blogger disappear but a lot of shared web hosting go away? What happens to social networking sites? It’s a scary thought, because the plain truth is that the whole boom in self-promotion is predicated on a two-way street, the idea that ordinary users are willing to see and react with ads. I found this suggestion on a Wordpress blog called “Reluctant blogger”, also (apparently) posted “way back” in April 2007, here. It’s easy to imagine legal complications if Microsoft attempted this.
In fact IE7Pro a separate ad-on, offers an ad blocker.
There is also a product called “Adblock” as part of “Rick’s Easylist” here started by an entrepreneur in update New York who simply calls himself “Rick”.
What I don’t know is how much traction these products are getting. But when I started my own personal publishing back in 1996, I paid little or no attention to advertising. I started with a book and then used the websites to supplement the book to draw and interest readers to my political arguments.
It’s not clear whether these blockers affect ads that play before free videos, or even those, common on newspaper sites and imdb, that overlay the content and must be closed to see the content. Those are more disruptive to viewers, but may be necessary to support the free content.
Am I cutting my own throat by pointing this out? No, because readers will find out anyway. We might as well started a spirited debate about it.
Also, notice, on this particular blog, there are no ads. At least right now. That could change later.