Ads suck.
Well, let’s be fair.
Most ads suck.
There’s always that exception-to-the-rule piece of content that is just so well done that we can’t help but love it. But generally, ads suck.
They clutter up our desktop and mobile experiences, and they annoy us and startle us with unexpected pop-ups.
Sometimes they may even start speaking or start playing music randomly, and we must drop whatever we’re doing to stop their reign of terror. And then, they aggressively drag us to places unknown if we accidentally click them.
And… ads are getting scarier.
These days, if you look at pair of shoes online and don’t buy them, they will actually stalk you. You may not even be able to close your browser without them following you around and continuing to track your every move.
Creepiest of all, they know where to find you next. They’re waiting for you. They know what you wear, what you like to eat, what problems you have with your boyfriend, what you struggle with, and even where you live…
These details about your browsing habits are often collected quietly as you surf the web. They’re used to generate a consumer profile to predict which ads you will most likely respond to. Then, the ads begin their subtle subconscious mission of getting you to buy, buy, buy…
One day, fed up with these stalker ads, someone brilliant did something. Something drastic, but something necessary.
They built a product that blocked ads, and there was much rejoicing.
The AdBlock Movement
While many online are celebrating their new-found browsing peace, many others are terrified.
Online publishers lose money when their ads are blocked by readers.
Think about it.
How many blogs or news sites do you pay to access right now?
The trends are dire for publishers: 51 percent of premium publishers expect ad block rates to reach more than 30 percent in three years. And Brendan Riordan-Butterworth, Director of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, says the AdBlock Movement is the “biggest boycott ever.”
Even the advertisers admit they’ve gone too far this time.
Shit is getting real for advertisers and publishers, and they need some solutions — fast.
We can do better.
Publishers deserve better. Content creators deserve better. We deserve better.
But value begets value, and that’s what we’re forgetting. If we are getting value from online content, then we need to be fair about giving value back, too.
It’s the right thing to do.
So, where’s the middle ground between the extremes of AdBlock and full-on ads?
Many publishers today are responding to the movement by experimenting with a combination of messaging, locked content, and even outright AdBlock circumvention.
For example, Forbes pleads politely with us to turn off our AdBlock when we visit their site. They even offer up a “lighter” ad experience for us to enjoy.
If we choose not to turn off our AdBlock, we are restricted from viewing the site.
The most popular solution so far is ad block circumvention, with 64% of U.S. publishers indicating they’ll implement this approach.
What about paywalls?
Some select publishers are seeing success with paywalls and digital subscriptions, but they’re usually publishers with large, established reader bases and top-notch “exclusive, unique, authoritative, high-quality content”, like The New York Times.
Publishers generally feel good about the idea of people paying to access their content: 76% of them expect this to happen via subscription models.
Unfortunately, smaller publishers may not have enough readership volume to duplicate the success of larger publishers. So, it is clear that subscription models are still missing the mark, due to at least a few more issues:
- You’re not going to subscribe to every site you read. That is too expensive and time consuming.
- If you’re anything like us, then you probably read many sites randomly or infrequently. Perhaps a link takes you there, or a friend shares it with you, or you’re just browsing. Why would we pay for premium access to sites that we may be visiting only once?
- Recurring billing is a turn off for many people, and a pain in the ass to manage.
Given these restrictions and limitations, and the lack of other suitable choices, most consumers will probably still opt-out of subscription models and stick with AdBlock’s functionality.
And we’re back to where we started.
So Now What?
It’s safe to say there are a few things we can all agree on:
- We need a cleaner Internet experience.
2. People who create content we choose to engage with online deserve compensation.
3. Choice and fairness are important values to build on for whatever solution we choose.
Maximizing choice, fairness, unobtrusiveness, and value is the right way forward.
Enter Micropayments
Micropayments have long been touted as a solution to the content monetization problem.
The value of micropayments is incredible. While an individual may only pay a few cents here and there, this effect can be amplified by tens of thousands of people. Those few cents contribute to making a substantial impact.
We are seeing a creative explosion in the way we value content online with emerging technologies like Bitcoin. If you tell someone to pay $35 per month for a single site, they may not be interested, or have the money to spare. But if it is broken down to $1 a day or less, then it instantly becomes more affordable and accessible.
As we’ve seen from Apple’s success with iTunes, people will make small purchases for high quality content if they feel like they’re getting their money’s worth. And often, they don’t want the whole package, they only want a small piece of the pie.
So why buy the whole pizza, when you only want a few slices?
The same goes with content.
Breaking down payment options into smaller pieces — using micropayments to access them — can help us move out of the extreme AdBlock Movement and into the Fair Value Trade movement.
So, what can you do to be a part of this movement to revitalize the web?
Try out what other people are building and see how you like it. There are already solutions: check out TinyPass, Cleeng and ChangeTip Contribute.
Brave, a new Bitcoin-enabled browser that seeks to “fix the Internet”, was also announced recently. And then there’s DATT. Both look promising.
Give feedback on the product.
Use services that enable you to thank or support content creators directly, like Patreon, Flattr or ProTip.
The perfect product will be an intuitive, easy-to-use and convenient way for us to pay fair amounts we feel good about for content we enjoy, in an ad-free experience. Keeping the cognitive load low, or even non-existent, will be essential to success. I suggest we start experimenting with all of these solutions and compare the strengths and weaknesses of each.
The ultimate solution will be solving the problem at an infrastructural layer — allowing our computers to send (earn) and receive (buy) information, etc. without us even knowing it, totally eradicating cognitive load completely.
So, for all of us interested in the future of the Internet, let’s get our hands dirty. Our efforts will be rewarded with a cleaner, less obtrusive browsing experience, and a new wave of content creators who are incentivized to deliver quality content that we all enjoy.
It’s worth it.
