"Ad Blocking" Apps?

[jyl]

What do we think about "ad blocking" apps?

I've never used them. But apparently hundreds of millions do.

Do they really meet a need? How do they work? Are they easily evaded, by the ad delivering companies? Is there an ethical issue here?

[HardDrive]

Yeah. There is a big ****** problem here. Everyone who is blocking ads is paving the way for an internet where nothing is free. People can't be bothered to see an ad on a FREE webpage, so they block it. Boy howdy is that going to come back and bite people in the ass.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Yeah. There is a big ****** problem here. Everyone who is blocking ads is paving the way for an internet where nothing is free. People can't be bothered to see an ad on a FREE webpage, so they block it. Boy howdy is that going to come back and bite people in the ass.

Most add blocking software, goes much deeper, and keeps your personal info from being sent out. Its not like a magazine add that simply is put before your eye. If it were, there wouldn't be the demand for the software.

[jyl]

How does the app know what is an ad and what is not an ad?

I assume the app looks for links back to Google (or whatever company is serving up ads). I also assume that if the ad were served up from the website's own server, the app would not block it. So can't Google simply have the website run some code that fetches ad content from Google, hosts it on the website's own server, forwards a click to the company that placed the ad, and reports the click to Google?

Presumably it might be harder for Google to track users as they move among millions of websites so ads might not be able to follow us from site to site, or be prompted by our browsing, but that's awfully creepy behaviour anyway. If I'm viewing a bike website, I'm okay with seeing context-relevant ads for bike gear, but I don't like seeing ads for diabetic stockings because Google has decided, based on my other browsing history, that I'm diabetic.

[dennis in se pa]

Funny how Google lives on ad revenue, but their Chrome browser automatically installs ad blocking software on my computers.

[Brando]

I already pay for internet access. Plus if I'm running a website it costs me money to serve content/the service/whatever.

I understand on the content provider side why ads are lucrative - but the payout is a pittance. Usually that are calc'd at CPM for impressions and a different rate on CTR. If you subscribe to a display network you agree to their market rates and don't get to set any preferred placement prices.

Most times they're not worth it. Others are more successful with better targeting/retargeting.

However... as the person browsing I block as many ads as possible. I use NoScript, Ghostery, and AdBlock Plus.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Yeah. There is a big ****** problem here. Everyone who is blocking ads is paving the way for an internet where nothing is free. People can't be bothered to see an ad on a FREE webpage, so they block it. Boy howdy is that going to come back and bite people in the ass.

Not really. The people who block ads are the same people who are not susceptible to ads in the first place.
In 20 years of internet, I have never clicked on a random banner ad in my life.
Now that I have ad blocked, I click on the same number of ads: Zero.
Think of it as a Nigerian spam blocker. If I saw the spam, I still would not be wiring money.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Not really. The people who block ads are the same people who are not susceptible to ads in the first place.
In 20 years of internet, I have never clicked on a random banner ad in my life.
Now that I have ad blocked, I click on the same number of ads: Zero.
Think of it as a Nigerian spam blocker. If I saw the spam, I still would not be wiring money.

This.

I never did click on an ad or reply to spam. I see unwanted ads as nothing more than spam. I own a dvr to skip the ads. Same reason.

[widebody911]

First off, what platform?

The technical side:

On my PC, I run firefox and uBlock. I used to use AdBlock Plus, but their business model turned was to get a huge installed base, and then shake down advertisers to let their ads through. Brilliant from a capitalist standpoint, but not really something I wanted to be a part of. I also use NoScript. Between these 3, I have a pretty much annoyance-free surfing experience.

On my Android phone, I run the AdBlock Plus app (because that's the best one available right now). It requires your phone be rooted; it installs itself as a proxy and blocks ads at the connection, so you don't see most in-app ads as well. I also use FireFox for Android along with the adblock extension.

[widebody911]

The socio-economic side:

There has been a lot of debate in recent years about the effect of ad blocking. Google "effects of ad blocking" for some interesting reading. There's a bunch of interesting articles linked here: https://adblockplus.org/blog/the-devastating-effects-of-ad-blocking

OMG - these people who provide content need to get paid! Why do you think you deserve it free?. Yeah - no. In my experience, very little content is actually original. A huge percentage of websites simply slurp and regurgitate content from other sites to try and generate pageviews. Same thing on YouTube - any popular video is going to get copied to a zillion other "channels" by people hoping to ride the ad-serving gravy train.

Secondly, and which is actually firstly, advertisers got greedy and blew it with obnoxious ads. Pop ups, pop unders, auto-video, auto-sound, animation - all that Bravo Sierra just has to go. Some ad delivery systems are poorly disguised malware.

Lastly, there is a special place in hell for the person who came up with the advertising CAPTCHA. If I were to meet the person who came up with this, I would literally kick them as hard as I could in the gonads. Repeatedly. Until I collapsed from exhaustion. Or ecstasy. Whichever comes second.

[Brando]

Originally Posted by widebody911

[...]OMG - these people who provide content need to get paid! Why do you think you deserve it free?. Yeah - no. In my experience, very little content is actually original. A huge percentage of websites simply slurp and regurgitate content from other sites to try and generate pageviews. Same thing on YouTube - any popular video is going to get copied to a zillion other "channels" by people hoping to ride the ad-serving gravy train.[...]

Nailed it. See sites like Buzzfed, 9gag, I F***cking love science, live leak, best vines, etc.

They do not create anything original. Their sole purpose is to take 'good' content and place it on their sites, get the impression revenue.

A good explanation here.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by widebody911

Lastly, there is a special place in hell for the person who came up with the advertising CAPTCHA. If I were to meet the person who came up with this, I would literally kick them as hard as I could in the gonads. Repeatedly. Until I collapsed from exhaustion. Or ecstasy. Whichever comes second.

You might feel differently after watching this

[jyl]

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/technology/personaltech/ad-blockers-mobile-iphone-browsers.html?referer=http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/01/business/cost-of-mobile-ads.html?_r=0

On popular news sites, 40% to 80% of the data your phone downloads is the ads.

Blockers speed site loading, reduce data usage, and slightly improve battery life.

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by jyl

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/technology/personaltech/ad-blockers-mobile-iphone-browsers.html?referer=http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/01/business/cost-of-mobile-ads.html?_r=0

On popular news sites, 40% to 80% of the data your phone downloads is the ads.

Blockers speed site loading, reduce data usage, and slightly improve battery life.

Like with most features, iOS is behind Android, but they pretend they invented it when they finally catch up.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by Brando

Nailed it. See sites like Buzzfed, 9gag, I F***cking love science, live leak, best vines, etc.

They do not create anything original. Their sole purpose is to take 'good' content and place it on their sites, get the impression revenue.

A good explanation here.

I shut down face book, as most of it was filled with these leaches, often through paid placement when a friend liked their leaching click bait title. It was an over run.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by jyl

Blockers speed site loading....

Not always.

Iframe irony: Adblock Plus is probably the reason Firefox and Chrome are such memory hogs | ExtremeTech

[Steve Carlton]

This just showed up on Time Magazine:

How Apple's iPhone Ad Blockers Could Change Web Economics

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

You might feel differently after watching this

That was amazing. Thanks for posting it!