Matt is in a unique position to write about this debate:
I’m on both sides of this debate.
Let’s get the obvious argument out of the way: if you block ads, you’re depriving sites of revenue they presumably need in order to continue running, and if too many people do that, those sites are likely to go away. The reality is more complicated, but the argument is essentially sound – all other things being equal, and unchanged.
If a site requires you to turn off your ad blocker to view it they just lost this battle. Golden opportunity for websites to rethink their advertising methods. They are mostly wasting their money and our time with the current model. Advertising will always be a good way for the buyer and the seller to get together. Whoever figures out a way to do this properly on the web will do very well.
So we’ll eventually end up with sites that do it for the love of blogging. Not for money.
Like it used to be back in the day.
Actually it was often for money, just with PayPal… back in the day.
Further back than that (like before PayPal).
I’m wondering how much a site makes when I don’t block, and don’t click on any of the ads. I don’t think I’ve ever clicked on an ad on purpose, but I block now, because I can do my daily surf on my iPad for 5MBs that was taking ~40MBs before iOS9…and that’s with now reading some articles, instead of just headlines. I’m using the heck out of the phone on my iPad now.
Very compelling argument. So I subscribed. Only around £3 a month. I’m also subscribed to this here loopinsight. (And its tax efficient too, what’s not to love?)
Supporting independent opinion, well written and well good isn’t a conundrum for me
Turns out, around 57.234% of ads on this here loopinsight have got a click through from me.
Mainly ones that are:
About css
About fonts
About intranets
About design resources
How about you? What ads do you click on the loop?
You have three choices:
None
None more
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No, we’ll end up with sites that can’t do that they do just for love simply shutting down. Sites like The Awl, The Millions, Pitchfork and many more simply cannot run on love. They rely on good writing and professional editing and people simply aren’t going to do that much for zero money. People still have to pay rent and buy food and if they’re doing something else to do that, they’re not writing the stuff you want to read.
Also – if you read a site regularly it is, presumably, because you find that the writing on that site has some value to you. Why are you refusing to compensate people for delivering you something that you value?
Ad blocking didn’t appear from out of nowhere.
It starts with Google and their relentless data mining. It then promulgates this fraud through every other ad management solution out there.
It manifests itself strongly when advertisers think that this “big data” will make their consumerism more efficient.
There needs to be a recalibration regarding what effective advertising does on the web.
Unfortunately, this isn’t going to happen.