So I wager some of you, particularily users of Adblock may have heard or are starting to hear of a new campaign that Adblock is running, the self-contradictory "AdBlock is buying Ads . . . for AdBlock!" campaign.
If you haven't seen it already I've already launched a forum topic about the whole "Pay2Sub vs Adblock" contraversy on this site, if you're interested in it at all, here's a link. I figured since I posted about adblock in the first place I might as well post my thoughts about the latest news as well.
So if you don't know what this campaign is about, basically Adblock, which is strictly an Anti-Advertisement addon for most internet browsing software has initiated a campaign in which they want you, the user, to contribute financially towards buying ad space. $25 grand is their starting milestone. $50 grand will allow them to buy a billboard in Times Square, $150 grand will get them a full page spread in the New York Times and $4.2 million will get them TV time during the 2014 superbowl.
Here's my thoughts. Currently I use Adblock. I'm not ashamed of it, I don't look down on others who use it but I don't encourage others to use it. Why don't I encourage others to use it? Well here's the thing guys. The more people use Adblock, the more it becomes a problem for websites, or rather a bigger problem. I'm going to use Blip as my primary concentration for getting my point across. Recently, Blip has started to include blocks on adblock on their videos in order for you to start disabling it. This is done by stopping you from watching a video if it detects adblock and forces you to wait 60 seconds in silence while this message stays on screen. (It used to be 90 seconds.)
Why do this do this? Because Blip is small. Small in comparison to such sites as Youtube, Vine and other video-streaming websites and Adblock became a problem for them. Sites like Blip and Hulu have decided that they can't afford to allow the sheer volume of users to use Adblock and stop them from making money from potential advertisements.
So what will happen when you see the big billboard in Times Square?
Adblock says this.
I respectfully disagree. I say it'll be more like this.
If more people switch on to Adblock, more people will want to use it, and if more people want to use it, it'll become a bigger problem for youtube. If sites like Hulu, Blip and the like can force you to not use it, then sites like Youtube will destroy users from using it.
As for their tiers... Well if people are stupid enough to want to fund their super bowl advert, just because someone has 4.2 million dollars doesn't mean they're going to get an advert. Companies have been turned down for advertisements even when they pay more money. Can you really see them being approved? Remember the starving African kids people. Put your money to better uses.
Let me level with you guys... As an adblock user I appreciate that people don't want to see advertisements all over the internet. I appreciate that ads that turn themselves on and sound off without provocation is obnoxious, it's annoying and it's down right invasive, especially when sites give load-out priority to advertisements before their own content. But you see, this campaign, as good as it's intentions are, will make this worse.
Websites aren't forced to roll over and watch as their users turn off their ads. I believe they actually allow you to because they may feel as if it's not big enough of a deal to put man hours or money into countering the addon, however if the users increase and the problem grows bigger, I also believe that websites won't take it anymore. They'll develop counters like Blip has, they'll force you not to use it and they'll downright punish you for using it like blip has and they have more resource and ability to counter the addon than three college kids working off donations do of fighting it.
I don't believe the internet should be used to the level it has for advertising. I believe that content comes before commerce and for sites like youtube I stand by that by disabling adblock so the content makers can make money doing what they do.
I don't believe people should be persuaded to use adblock. I think they should discover, install and use it off their own volition and the less people know about it the better. An anti-advertisement campaign may have good intentions but will only exist to do more harm. Advertisements will always exist and a campaign isn't going to change the minds of the millions of companies that advertise on the web or off it.
I don't support this campaign, but I still support the personal use of adblock. I just don't endorse it.
If you haven't seen it already I've already launched a forum topic about the whole "Pay2Sub vs Adblock" contraversy on this site, if you're interested in it at all, here's a link. I figured since I posted about adblock in the first place I might as well post my thoughts about the latest news as well.
So if you don't know what this campaign is about, basically Adblock, which is strictly an Anti-Advertisement addon for most internet browsing software has initiated a campaign in which they want you, the user, to contribute financially towards buying ad space. $25 grand is their starting milestone. $50 grand will allow them to buy a billboard in Times Square, $150 grand will get them a full page spread in the New York Times and $4.2 million will get them TV time during the 2014 superbowl.
Here's my thoughts. Currently I use Adblock. I'm not ashamed of it, I don't look down on others who use it but I don't encourage others to use it. Why don't I encourage others to use it? Well here's the thing guys. The more people use Adblock, the more it becomes a problem for websites, or rather a bigger problem. I'm going to use Blip as my primary concentration for getting my point across. Recently, Blip has started to include blocks on adblock on their videos in order for you to start disabling it. This is done by stopping you from watching a video if it detects adblock and forces you to wait 60 seconds in silence while this message stays on screen. (It used to be 90 seconds.)
Why do this do this? Because Blip is small. Small in comparison to such sites as Youtube, Vine and other video-streaming websites and Adblock became a problem for them. Sites like Blip and Hulu have decided that they can't afford to allow the sheer volume of users to use Adblock and stop them from making money from potential advertisements.
So what will happen when you see the big billboard in Times Square?
Adblock says this.
I respectfully disagree. I say it'll be more like this.
If more people switch on to Adblock, more people will want to use it, and if more people want to use it, it'll become a bigger problem for youtube. If sites like Hulu, Blip and the like can force you to not use it, then sites like Youtube will destroy users from using it.
As for their tiers... Well if people are stupid enough to want to fund their super bowl advert, just because someone has 4.2 million dollars doesn't mean they're going to get an advert. Companies have been turned down for advertisements even when they pay more money. Can you really see them being approved? Remember the starving African kids people. Put your money to better uses.
Let me level with you guys... As an adblock user I appreciate that people don't want to see advertisements all over the internet. I appreciate that ads that turn themselves on and sound off without provocation is obnoxious, it's annoying and it's down right invasive, especially when sites give load-out priority to advertisements before their own content. But you see, this campaign, as good as it's intentions are, will make this worse.
Websites aren't forced to roll over and watch as their users turn off their ads. I believe they actually allow you to because they may feel as if it's not big enough of a deal to put man hours or money into countering the addon, however if the users increase and the problem grows bigger, I also believe that websites won't take it anymore. They'll develop counters like Blip has, they'll force you not to use it and they'll downright punish you for using it like blip has and they have more resource and ability to counter the addon than three college kids working off donations do of fighting it.
I don't believe the internet should be used to the level it has for advertising. I believe that content comes before commerce and for sites like youtube I stand by that by disabling adblock so the content makers can make money doing what they do.
I don't believe people should be persuaded to use adblock. I think they should discover, install and use it off their own volition and the less people know about it the better. An anti-advertisement campaign may have good intentions but will only exist to do more harm. Advertisements will always exist and a campaign isn't going to change the minds of the millions of companies that advertise on the web or off it.
I don't support this campaign, but I still support the personal use of adblock. I just don't endorse it.
