The AdBlock Plus Battle
Like every AdBlock user, I was completely devastated to find YouTube punishing AdBlock users with mandatory long form advertisements on it’s videos. Then, I found the fight back against AdBlock was spreading between the different media websites. Forbes.com among others now don't allow users to enter their site with AdBlock. Unlike YouTube's punishment, Forbes is taking a different approach. With every AdBlock user that turns off their AdBlock for the site, they are able to use a light advertising version of the site for 30 days. Is this a growing trend in online advertisement?
YouTube’s Fight Back?
In December of 2015, AdBlock users found themselves punished on YouTube for refusing to watch their advertisements. Although the company has not come out with a statement, the creator of AdBlock Plus, Ben Williams, claimed the punishment is only the result of a bug in Google Chrome. Seeing as Google is the parent company of YouTube, many have speculated that the “bug” was a very intentional choice by Google to maintain advertisements on YouTube. Either way, the situation proved AdBlock is more of an unreliable service than previously thought. It also opened up the conversation between whether or not AdBlock had moral complications and what companies are doing in response to the program.
Balance Between Preferences
There are two trains of thought in the debate of AdBlock. The first one favors the consumer’s preferences. In general, there is a growing aversion towards traditional forms of online advertisement ( pop-up ads, video, and display). One could argue that because of this aversion, advertisers need to adapt their medium to fit the potential consumer’s preferences. One answer to the problem has been sponsored content creation and curation. This type of advertisement has seen a rise in consumer engagement and click-through-rates.
What It Means For 2016
YouTube and Forbes have taken the other approach. Many companies are fighting back and requiring users to view traditional forms of online advertisement. These companies still believe in their choice of advertising media. Many even argue that to use AdBlock would be “wrong” as it hinders your support for YouTube creators and a company’s content. While only a few companies have started to include this type of website code, I can definitely see it becoming a bigger trend in 2016.
The verdict is still out on who wins the AdBlock debate. 2016 may see an update in AdBlock Plus in which these codes may become obsolete. Or 2016 could see in a takeover of companies requiring users to view traditional advertisements again. What’s your opinion? Let me know in a comment below!
#BigIdeas2016
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501(c)(3) founder building resilient, self-sustaining permaculture communities ?? ?? ??
8 年The age-old debate: happy customers vs nice profits. We can have both. Most modern companies want their existing customers to like them, but need to acquire new ones as well. While I was once a die-hard AdBlocker, my foray into self-employment has revealed to me the other side of the debate. Online ad space has opened the floor for smaller companies to compete with larger ones, and I'm all for Google collecting some browsing data to show me relevant ads through AdSense, for two reasons: 1) I'm always looking for good deals on photo+video equipment, and 2) as my advertising budget grows, I want to be able to reach potential customers and acquire new business—like every business does. As you mentioned, the rise of ad blockers has forced us to question our current online advertising practices, and is helping businesses learn how to better advertise—in fact, it's actually been in our advantage all along ! AdSense has forced the private sector to respond with adequate solutions, such as more attractive (see: ad-light) user experiences, and better content altogether. Healthy debate always leads to improvement. Vive le capitalisme !
Open to any venture that allows me to grow as an individual while helping others.
9 年I have been a user of AdBlock since it was first introduced. I have used AdBlock Plus for quite some time and, regardless of which browser I use, have not faced the issues mentioned in your article. I will continue to utilize Adblock. As a parent, I have chose to raise my children devoid of as much advertising as possible. Although impossible to exclude all advertising, my children have rarely been exposed to such on radio, television or the web. I personally do not care to see advertisements insisting that I need to lose weight, strengthen my abs, or join the latest single site. Despite these ads supposedly being geared towards our viewing history, I have proven this to be inaccurate several times over. I will continue to utilize AdBlock. Although I recognize that revenue comes from these ads, until these advertisements can be beneficial to me in some way, I will not submit myself to being exposed to them.
Digital Marketing Advisor | SEO | Social Media | Lead Generation
9 年There's only one winner on this trajectory - the web user. Fred Wilson's prediction for 2016 of some publishers not seeing 2017 could very well be due to adblocks and the next couple of iterations of what it morphs into. Will be interesting to see who (like Forbes) go on offense and try to take charge of their destiny versus the milquetoast who accept the state of things and learn to live on less and less oxygen.
CEO, Holland Investment Group Inc
9 年Adblock, or someone else, will simply modify the software so that the websites won't know their ads are being blocked.