 |
| The advertising industry is very worried about that 0.60% of users that think they can get away from them with adblocking programs on their computers. |
Imagine having a remote control that you could use to blank out billboards and other advertising as you went about your day. That is kind of what internet ad blocking is like.
Ad blocking is the removing or altering advertising content in a web page. This intrusive, unwanted and uninvited garbage takes many forms including pictures, animations, embedded audio and video, text, blinking banners or pop-up windows. It can also employ one of my favourites, auto play, where audio and/or video plays without the user doing anything.
Intrusive advertising is a known problem with most web browsers, and most web users. Recently my internet provider changed from a flat rate to a usage rate. That means that now we pay for the bandwidth to run all the advertising that infects everything on the internet. And there is more of the stuff all the time.
Global ad spending is projected to reach $600 billion US by the end of next year, according to eMarketer. This staggering sum is projected to grow at an annual rate of about five per cent until the end of the decade. A lot of that growth is in digital advertising.
In my old age I am going to freak out young people and tell them that I am so old that I remember a time when the internet didn't have any ads. I would add that I also remember a time before there was such a thing as the internet, but that might be too much for them.
Now whiney advertisers are complaining that they are losing 22 Billion a year by adblocking programs that frustrated computer users are increasingly turning to for some relief. How many internet user's computers do they want to inject with their poisonous propaganda? All of them. 100%.
And they don't want you to have any way of protecting yourself with a propaganda prophylactic.
Amongst other initiatives to "fight back", the industry is asking web owners to only give access to their content if users first disable their adblocking program. "We have ways to subject you to our unwanted mind parasites, whether you want them or not."
Maybe they should have kept quiet - many commenters on an article I read about the issue reported getting adblocker specifically because of the news of advertisers gnashing their teeth at being denied the ability to jam consumerism down their throats at every turn.
People are sick and tired of pervasive advertising, and want it to stop. Therefore - adblocking. It is my computer. It is my bandwidth. I deserve to be my own gatekeeper.
Advertising? No thanks.
Note: Many Adblocking programs can be downloaded for free. Do a search for adblock, read some reviews, then see if such a thing might be for you.
The remote control that blanks out billboards and other visual advertising? Well, that is still under development in the Not Buying Anything research laboratory. It will be unveiled soon... unless Big Advertising gets to us first.
Timely. In the last few weeks I've suddenly had ads for sites I've bought from scrolling down the right side of my screen. I had no idea how that happened or how to stop it, and it was making me feel less peaceful (and a bit angry truth be told!)
ReplyDeleteMadeleine.x
I find it creepy when that happens, even if they are "legitimate" businesses.
DeleteGreat post! I've been using a free adblocker for two years now and it is FANTASTIC!! I honestly don't know how I got along without it. I have found that there are quite a few sites (and blogs, alas) that demand you disable your adblocker before you can access the site. Quite simply, I no longer use those sites or read those blogs. Using an adblocker has freed me from constant aggravating and aggressive advertising. Tough luck, whiny advertisers - the people are striking back!
ReplyDeleteThe industry backlash against adblocking is reaching the point of hysteria. They trying to convince us that blocking is "theft", and that "the internet will end if adblocking continues".
DeleteI say that uninvited advertisements are a theft of my bandwidth. I am already paying for their crap in increased cost for my internet connection. Perhaps that is the wave of the future - forcing people to spend money on things they don't want.
The web browser Opera now has a built in ad blocker, but I've used other free ones out there with good results. It's just been recently that blogs or other sites ask me to disable my ad blocker to continue, I too choose to no longer use those sites.
ReplyDeleteI visit very few sites that include advertising. I think I can ignore unobtrusive ads, but psychology tells us that something still gets in even when we think we aren't processing it. I am happy to see that people are fighting back, as they should. We need more of that.
DeleteMr. Koep(?),
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. I have been reading your blog for months now. As many comment, it feels good to not be alone when it comes to these views and opinions.
I wonder how you feel about anonymizing software such as VPN?
I for one do not appreciate the fact that anonymizing software has been demonized by the view that "only criminals would want to be anonymous." In my opinion being able to surf the web anonymously should be a right. Big business makes alot of profit off of my information. Information that I sometimes dont even know that I am giving away. Your personal information/data is very powerful and should belong to you and you alone unless you expressly choose to share it.
Please continue writing/blogging, its always a pleasure to read.
I don't use a VPN... yet. I am very curious about them, but haven't taken the leap, not being my area of expertise.
DeleteI agree 100% with what you say about the state of the internet today, and how out information is collected, then used against us. Like adblocking, we should be able to have the tools to protect ourselves from unwanted intrusions in our privacy.