The Catch-22 of Internet Ad-Blocking

Anyone who remembers the internet of the late 1990's and the early 2000's remembers the prevalence and annoyance of pop-up advertisements when surfing the web.  In fact, some may remember how intentionally infuriating some were, by opening massive and massive amounts of pop-ups all at the same time.  While it took longer than it should have, browsers introduced a feature that gave people the control to decide whether or not they would allow pop-ups.  This feature is still cooked into all major browsers.  The wonderful affect this had was to force advertisers to adopt new principles for advertising on the internet.  It appears we are headed for round 2 of this fight.

Most people would agree that advertising on the internet is at best something to ignore while consuming other content, and at worst an utter invasion of privacy as it tracks my movements and browsing patterns in order to force content that I am more likely to click on (intentionally or accidentally) and is potentially laced with spyware.  The solution that has been adopted by the more privacy conscious for years has been to install an ad-blocker of one form or another.  For people running slower computers, ad-blockers have become necessary in order for their browsing experience not to become excruciatingly slow.

Herein lies the problem.

Everyone consuming content on the internet appreciates quality content that is easy to find and provides interest and entertainment.  In fact, many content creators have been able to make their entire annual income strictly from creating and publishing quality content on the internet.  But if you are not paying for the content when you consume it, how are they getting paid?  That's right, through advertisements; those same advertisements that your ad-blocking software prevents from loading.

Every time an ad-blocker hides an advertisement on the internet, that equates to lost revenue for the source of the content (be it an individual or a corporation).  Unfortunately for the content creators, ad-blocker adoption rates have begun skyrocketing as the general masses recognize that they can enjoy a more pleasant internet experience by hiding those unwanted ads.  What this will ultimately lead to is for the advertisers and the content creators to work together in ways they never have before.

For years, creators could just add a tag to their site that would allow an advertiser to load onto the page whatever advertisement they want based on the computer that was loading the page.  The creator did not have to involve themselves with what appeared or even how it affected the content they published, the paycheck came the same no matter what.

Now, in order for advertisements to avoid the ad-blockers, they need to become more seamlessly included in the content such that it does not set off the "warning:advertisement" flag to the ad-blocker.  YouTubers who have received sponsorship from other companies will include a quick shout-out to the company in their video.  For website publishers, sometimes they will partner with companies to occasionally provide sponsored content that really just amounts to an advertisement in the form of an article.

The bottom line: if you want the internet to remain free, the content creators have to get paid through other means, and advertisements are the officially adopted source of revenue.  I do not advocate turning off your ad-blocker entirely, but if you find yourself going back to the same content creator frequently because you particularly enjoy their work, maybe consider supporting them by allowing their ads to float through.  At least you can take solace in the fact that you've made a conscious decision to do so (rather than being force-fed the advertisements), and you're encouraging the creator to continue making the content you enjoy.