It’s time for time-funding
A simple solution to our complicated relationship with ads online
There’s been an interesting debate unfold the last few weeks around ad blockers. “Debate” feels a bit like the wrong word because there seems to be so much agreement on the big picture. We’re all pretty much in agreement that:
- ads (online and on our phone in particular) can be intrusive, irrelevant, and creepy
- free and open access to content is a good thing
- creators of content should be paid something so they’ll keep making the stuff we like
- creators’ revenue model is based more on quantity of viewers instead of quality
- micro-donations aren’t likely to catch on the short-term
So, we’re left with the big hairy problem that ads online stink, it’s easy to block them, so we often do, even though we know that creators we care most about are getting a raw deal. How can this be solved?
We all possess something of value — our time.
Not to be overly cliche, but our time and attention is the ultimate scarce resource. There’s only so much of it and it’s fleeting nature means it gets even more valuable as time goes by.
In the content ecosystem, we, the consumers of content, bring two resources to the party: our money and our time. Creators of content will accept either of our resources, just as long as they can use them to pay the bills and keep creating. Advertisers are willing to pay for our time. Through some internet black magic process, our time is packaged up, annuitized and sold, somehow resulting in money being sent to creators.
It’s our lack of control of the process that’s led us into the mess we’re in. Lack of control over when ads takeover our screens. Lack of control over the types of ads we see. Lack of control how our personal information is used to show us ads. Lack of control over who’s making money from the ads we see.
What if we had full control over ads?
Not the off-or-on control we have with ad blockers. What if we were able to say, “Ok, I’m willing to a watch an ad, but only if it’s going to benefit a creator I care about. Oh, and it still has to be worth my time, so…who’s willing to pay the most for my time or show me the most interesting ad?”
That’s a scenario where you’d have full control. Would you do it?
Here’s how it will work.
Watch one ad a day.
Proactively go out of your way to watch one ad a day (I’ll tell you how below). Pick an ad that looks interesting and watch it to directly support a creator you care about. We call this process “time-funding”, and it may be way the solve the pickle the web is in.
You may be thinking, how is one ad a day going to make a difference? This is where power in numbers really pays off. Think of a creator you enjoy. Maybe it’s a YouTuber, maybe a journalist, Viner, blogger, gamer, artist, photographer, musician, SnapChatter — anyone that creates content you appreciate. If 10% of the creator’s followers chose to watch one ad a day, the creator would make 10x more than the amount they could make with ads the old way.
Take control of when and how you watch ads.
If you have a way to control your own “ad time”, you’ll be creating a resource which you control the value. How would your behavior change if you knew you could watch an ad and earn a creator $0.25 or $1? Or even $15? Maybe you’ll decide your time isn’t worth watching ads, so you’ll directly fund content yourself. At least you’ll the have all the information and control to make that decision.
All of this starts with a transparent place you can trust. A place where you can watch one an ad a day and know precisely why you’re seeing a a particular ad and who the ad is benefiting. Our company, Tad, is building that place, but we need your help.
Pledge to watch one ad a day.
Will you pledge to watch one ad a day to support the content you most appreciate?
If so, submit your email below. Your show of support will help us attract the best creators and advertisers to Tad — provide you with the best ads you’ll want to watch. We’ll never share your email address. But, we’ll keep you updated on our progress and let you know when you can start watching one ad a day.
Fewer, better ads that respect our time and fund the content we care about — support Tad to make it happen.
Comment on this post, follow us @GiveaTad, and spread your pledge to watch one ad a day.
Tad is an app that allows us to time-fund creators we love. A tad here and a tad there is all creators need to keep creating amazing content. A beta version of Tad is available in the App Store and Google Play. Our first full version of Tad will launch soon.
