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In that case, why not have the ad blocker download the content, and execute the tracking js, but simply not display the resulting ad to the user. It would regis

by tbirdz 13y ago

In that case, why not have the ad blocker download the content, and execute the tracking js, but simply not display the resulting ad to the user. It would register as an impression to the ad company, so the content publisher would get paid, and at the same time the user would not have to look at the ad. If you raise the issue of the ad company paying for people who don't watch the ad, just consider the situation of the ad industry in any other media. TV ads? The viewer can easily turn off the TV during the ads, like I do, or change the channel to a channel not showing an ad. The same is true for radio ads. For ads at the start of a movie, you can come to the movie 10-15 minutes late, thus getting there right when the movie starts and skipping the ads, or just wait in the lobby until the ads are over. Magazine ads you can easily skip to the articles and never look at the ads. Even in web ads, you can take my old father's "low-tech" add blocker, a paper cutout he hangs on his monitor that physically block ads in the margin on the side of the screen.

eli 13y ago
All you've done is moved the problem up the value chain. Now instead of publishers losing revenue to AdBlock, it's advertisers. That's not a good solution. Advertisers will very quickly see that their conversion rates are falling and will adjust how much they pay for an impression accordingly. (Not to mention that many ads are sold per click and not per impression.) Changing the channel during an ad is already priced in to the cost of the TV ad. The TV people do studies on how many people change the channel or hit mute. But mostly they don't care because they can see that the TV ads work by how many people call the 800 number or how in-store sales jump after an ad runs in a region. This is especially true of online ads. If you have an online store, you probably don't really care how many impressions your ads have or even how many people click -- your main metric is how much did it cost to get you a paying customer. Ad Block drives that number up whether it loads the ad or not.
- lowmagnet 13y ago
  > Now instead of publishers losing revenue to AdBlock, it's advertisers. But if one simple trick thinks that I'm going to click on their ad, they're simply making a bad bet on me. The problem is striking a balance between ads that are appropriate to a site (based more on site demographics) versus ads that spy on your browsing habits whilst within their ad network fence. I don't mind an ad for adafruit on a diy electronic site. I do mind a dvor knife ad following me around to every. goddamned. site. I. visit.

by tbirdz 13y ago

eli 13y ago

All you've done is moved the problem up the value chain. Now instead of publishers losing revenue to AdBlock, it's advertisers. That's not a good solution. Advertisers will very quickly see that their conversion rates are falling and will adjust how much they pay for an impression accordingly. (Not to mention that many ads are sold per click and not per impression.) Changing the channel during an ad is already priced in to the cost of the TV ad. The TV people do studies on how many people change the channel or hit mute. But mostly they don't care because they can see that the TV ads work by how many people call the 800 number or how in-store sales jump after an ad runs in a region. This is especially true of online ads. If you have an online store, you probably don't really care how many impressions your ads have or even how many people click -- your main metric is how much did it cost to get you a paying customer. Ad Block drives that number up whether it loads the ad or not.

lowmagnet 13y ago
> Now instead of publishers losing revenue to AdBlock, it's advertisers. But if one simple trick thinks that I'm going to click on their ad, they're simply making a bad bet on me. The problem is striking a balance between ads that are appropriate to a site (based more on site demographics) versus ads that spy on your browsing habits whilst within their ad network fence. I don't mind an ad for adafruit on a diy electronic site. I do mind a dvor knife ad following me around to every. goddamned. site. I. visit.