{"id":61986,"date":"2015-09-25T12:41:09","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T04:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=61986"},"modified":"2016-05-31T10:30:19","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T14:30:19","slug":"ad-blockers-rise-as-ads-annoy-bog-down-websites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/09\/25\/ad-blockers-rise-as-ads-annoy-bog-down-websites\/","title":{"rendered":"Ad blockers rise as ads annoy, bog down websites"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Shutterstock<\/a>
(Shutterstock image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2013 When you visit a website, you often find yourself waiting and waiting for advertisements to load. Video starts playing automatically, and animated ads jump in front of what you were there to see. The seconds tick by.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t have to be this way.<\/p>\n

There are easy ways to block such annoyances, and Apple is now permitting apps that block ads in its Web browser for iPhones and iPads.<\/p>\n

All this might help users navigate, but it also threatens the livelihood of websites and publishers that depend heavily on advertising revenue \u2013 companies like Google, Hulu and The New York Times. While the rise in ad blocking isn\u2019t causing panic yet, publishers and content creators are watching.<\/p>\n

Already, some websites are taking steps to reduce the annoyance so users won\u2019t turn to ad blockers. They are also subverting the ones out there to make sure they get paid for delivering news and entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is possible to be too alarmist about ad blockers, but it\u2019s a very real phenomenon,\u201d said Joshua Benton, director of the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one thing if just 5 percent of iPhone users install an ad blocker; it\u2019s another if 80 percent do, Benton said. If today\u2019s ad practices get too annoying, he said, they could disappear just like pop-up windows, which many browsers now block automatically in response to consumers\u2019 annoyance with them.<\/p>\n

Over the years, websites have been more aggressive at delivering ads that break through the noise and target specific customers more precisely. But websites are also filling unsold ad space by turning to ad brokers to deliver pitches that are less and less relevant.<\/p>\n

Every little bit can slow down or freeze your browser.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think publishers got very out of hand in terms of what they put on,\u201d said Dean Murphy, 28, a Yarm, England, app developer who responded by creating Crystal, a $1 ad blocker for Apple devices.<\/p>\n

Craig Smith, a 47-year-old website developer in Musselburgh, Scotland, said Twitter started showing him ads for adjustable waistband trousers not long after he and his followers discussed about how ridiculous his grandfather\u2019s trousers looked in a photo.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden you\u2019re getting hammered with stuff you\u2019ve got no interest in,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just makes the whole browsing experience really unpleasant.\u201d<\/p>\n

PageFair, a firm that seeks to counter ad blockers, says worldwide usage of ad blockers grew 41 percent from last year to nearly 200 million people. That\u2019s 6 percent of Internet users worldwide, including 16 percent in the U.S., 37 percent in Greece and 25 percent in Germany. PageFair estimates these tools will block nearly $22 billion in ad revenue this year and $41 billion next year.<\/p>\n

The threats to websites are about to get bigger. The ability to block ads, long available on traditional computers, arrived on Apple\u2019s mobile devices with a recent software update, iOS 9. Apps with these capabilities \u2013 going by such names as Purify Blocker and Blockr \u2013 quickly became top sellers. These tools affect only the Safari browser and won\u2019t block ads inside apps such as Twitter, Facebook and Apple\u2019s own News app.<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s Android system also allows ad blockers in Web browsers such as Firefox, as long as they don\u2019t affect unrelated apps.<\/p>\n

Many websites already have countermeasures for ad blockers.<\/p>\n

Hulu, for instance, simply replaces commercials with an unskippable message prompting you to turn your ad blocker off. Or, you can pay Hulu $12 a month to go ad-free.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, some companies are paying developers of ad blockers such as Adblock Plus for the right to bypass them. Companies that benefit a lot from search ads, like Google and Microsoft, pay for the privilege, the Financial Times reported. Microsoft declined to confirm the report. Google didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment, although the list of Web addresses that get a pass includes many from Google. Hulu declined comment.<\/p>\n

All this raises questions about the role of ad-blocking companies. Ad blockers streamline the user experience without contributing back to the digital economy, even as they seek to make money by charging websites for the right to nullify their impact. Smaller websites can get a free pass from ad blockers, but only if they forego revenue from video ads or other display ads deemed intrusive.<\/p>\n

Perhaps there\u2019s another way \u2013 a truce, of sorts.<\/p>\n

Some companies are trying to create a smoother experience to get at the root cause of consumer frustration.<\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s News app, Facebook\u2019s Instant Articles and SnapChat\u2019s Discover all seek to speed up online journalism and cut back advertising, while sharing revenue with news outlets.<\/p>\n

The New York Times has ads in Apple News, but it\u2019s looking for ways to make them less obtrusive. For instance, the Times says it\u2019s selling ads by time of day and encouraging marketers to tailor their messages accordingly, like making ads that help readers prepare for the day in the morning, but entertain them at night.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post has been testing whether visitors with ad blockers installed would respond to being redirected to a page that asks them to pay for a subscription. And on Tuesday, the Post said all of its articles will be available through Facebook\u2019s new service for \u201clightning-fast\u201d reading, sharing and commenting from Apple devices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe market wouldn\u2019t be robust for ad blockers if some ads weren\u2019t intrusive, creepy, hold you hostage or slow down your experience,\u201d said Jed Hartman, the Post\u2019s chief revenue officer. \u201cEverything should be on the table: fewer ads, different types of ads, no ads.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the industry group Interactive Advertising Bureau is pushing for \u201cviewable\u201d ads that load only when that part of the page is visible. That way, marketers don’t pay for ads that aren\u2019t seen, and sites should load faster.<\/p>\n

Randall Rothenberg, the group\u2019s CEO, called ad-blocking practices \u201cdefinitely immoral and unethical,\u201d yet he acknowledged that consumers turn to blockers because they are fed up.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsumers are speaking and you\u2019ve got to listen to them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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