2008 Woodie Awards
Tech Talk: What Google doesn't want you to know about ad-blocking technology
Zachary Leahan
Issue date: 9/19/07 Section: Features
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Virtually everyone hates banner ads on Web pages, but few actually do something about it. Imagine fast-forwarding through commercials with a Tivo; it feels good doesn't it? Ad-blocking allows for faster searches, while providing a cleaner layout. Some software can block roughly 20 ads on the New York Times home page, causing the page to load faster because only the story-related images have to load.
"Adblock Plus," one type of software available, is a free add-on for the increasingly popular web browser, Mozilla Firefox. "Adblock Plus" has reached 2.5 million users because it is easy to install and relies on a filter subscription called "Easylist," which will automatically block image ads. "EasyElement" is another filter subscription that will block Google text ads. Since Mozilla Firefox is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, you can use "Adblock Plus" on any operating system. Installation information is readily available online.
Ad-blocking is controversial, especially for free programs such as Gmail, which relies on text-based advertising.
Google, which provides Gmail, wants ad-blocking to remain a niche technology. They don't want this article to be published or ad-blocking to be mentioned on CNBC.
I subscribe to "Easylist" because I don't want to see a flashing "You just won a free iPod!*" banner ad. I don't subscribe to "EasyElement" because I sometimes find the sponsored text ads useful. I praise Google for its delivery of relevant, unobtrusive text ads. It is certainly a matter of taste.
The ultimate irony is that Mozilla, the company behind Firefox, makes money from the integrated Google search bar on the top right of the browser. Mozilla gets paid an undisclosed amount for every search Firefox users perform. On the "Firefox Extensions" homepage, "AdBlock Plus" is featured as one of the most popular extensions. "Adblock Plus" is a major incentive to switch to Firefox. In that regard, Mozilla promotes technologies that lower their revenue.
To cope with ad-blocking software, companies need to protect current business models with lawsuits or counter-technologies, ignore the threat, or create new business models (Google's next venture is office applications). Ad-blocking raises several ethical issues. Well-known blogs cost money to maintain high traffic and are financed through advertising. If ad-blocking has viral growth, it may cause a trend towards donation-supported content or fee-based media like the online edition of Wall Street Journal.
"Adblock Plus," one type of software available, is a free add-on for the increasingly popular web browser, Mozilla Firefox. "Adblock Plus" has reached 2.5 million users because it is easy to install and relies on a filter subscription called "Easylist," which will automatically block image ads. "EasyElement" is another filter subscription that will block Google text ads. Since Mozilla Firefox is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, you can use "Adblock Plus" on any operating system. Installation information is readily available online.
Ad-blocking is controversial, especially for free programs such as Gmail, which relies on text-based advertising.
Google, which provides Gmail, wants ad-blocking to remain a niche technology. They don't want this article to be published or ad-blocking to be mentioned on CNBC.
I subscribe to "Easylist" because I don't want to see a flashing "You just won a free iPod!*" banner ad. I don't subscribe to "EasyElement" because I sometimes find the sponsored text ads useful. I praise Google for its delivery of relevant, unobtrusive text ads. It is certainly a matter of taste.
The ultimate irony is that Mozilla, the company behind Firefox, makes money from the integrated Google search bar on the top right of the browser. Mozilla gets paid an undisclosed amount for every search Firefox users perform. On the "Firefox Extensions" homepage, "AdBlock Plus" is featured as one of the most popular extensions. "Adblock Plus" is a major incentive to switch to Firefox. In that regard, Mozilla promotes technologies that lower their revenue.
To cope with ad-blocking software, companies need to protect current business models with lawsuits or counter-technologies, ignore the threat, or create new business models (Google's next venture is office applications). Ad-blocking raises several ethical issues. Well-known blogs cost money to maintain high traffic and are financed through advertising. If ad-blocking has viral growth, it may cause a trend towards donation-supported content or fee-based media like the online edition of Wall Street Journal.
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