Geekzone and Adblock

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#361543 2-Aug-2010 13:10

Again folks, notice I am not even pushing the subscription. While nice, doing it would look like "he's trying to sell something"

The reality is that we'd make more from ads per user/month than from subscriptions.

As for numbers, check my last blog post for some interesting "sizing" http://www.geekzone.co.nz/freitasm/7346

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#361676 2-Aug-2010 15:45

freitasm: From Why Ad Blocking is devastating to the sites you love (Ars Technica):

That article always kind-of reminds me of the tv executive that (with a straight face) said: People who go to the bathroom during commercial breaks are "stealing TV".

There are some interesting parallels between consumption of different various digital media eg: tv, video and web content.

Tivo and MySkyHD are devastating free to air tv because people record their favourite shows and skip the ads etc.

Well the fact is impression based advertising was always built on a house of cards (peoplemeters and ratings are a farce).

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
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#361680 2-Aug-2010 15:47

Hmmm. No, and there's a comment in that article exactly about this.

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raab

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#361682 2-Aug-2010 15:47

I'll always use an adblocker. I have a choice whether or not I watch ads on TV just like I have a choice whether or not I want to see ads on your site.

I've seen sites actually restrict entrance unless you disable your adblocker, in that case I just refuse to visit the site.

freitasm

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#361684 2-Aug-2010 15:50

And that's fine. But while I can present a good case for having ads (we need money to pay for the infrastructure, distribution, etc), there isn't a good case to simply block ads, except for "I recognise you have costs but I refuse to do my part and contribute to it by simply not blocking your ads".

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#361699 2-Aug-2010 16:13

People don't block ads because they begrudge you covering your server costs and making a living, they block ads because the ads are annoying/distracting.

A lot of ad scripts block and delay rendering of the page because they are very poorly coded.

If you had a advertising policy like say stackoverflow (3 ads max per page, no flash/animated/silverlight ads at all) I'd reconsider adding geekzone to my whitelist.

http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/03/responsible-advertising-feed-a-programmer/

Also have you considered the unintended consequences of this forum post and your blog post? More people you'd never heard or bothered with ad blocking might install an ad blocker and give it a try!

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Edwood

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#361704 2-Aug-2010 16:22

I'm a low status GZer. I have 69 posts, and 2 friends... and I don't even think twice about 'doing my bit' by turning off my adblocker.

I can't believe there are people who use this site umpteen times a week who are not willing to do likewise... (or pay $7 a month for a subscription).

oldmaknz

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#361713 2-Aug-2010 16:28

If it were Google text ads I'd happily unblock but those big flashy ads are terrible. You won't lose any income from me, anyway, as I never click ads (unless you are paid based on views, in which case, only text ads please).

freitasm

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#361715 2-Aug-2010 16:30

maknz: If it were Google text ads I'd happily unlock but those big flashy ads are terrible. You won't lose any income from me, anyway, as I never click ads (unless you are paid based on views, in which case, only text ads please).

Ads are paid on a mix of CPM (Cost per thousand impressions) and CPC (Cost per click). Text ads are only paid by click, image ads are in general paid by impressions.

CPC is relatively very low in revenue. I recommend you read the link to Ars Technica, but I will post here again:

"There is an oft-stated misconception that if a user never clicks on ads, then blocking them won't hurt a site financially. This is wrong. Most sites, at least sites the size of ours, are paid on a per view basis. If you have an ad blocker running, and you load 10 pages on the site, you consume resources from us (bandwidth being only one of them), but provide us with no revenue. Because we are a technology site, we have a very large base of ad blockers. Imagine running a restaurant where 40% of the people who came and ate didn't pay. In a way, that's what ad blocking is doing to us. Just like a restaurant, we have to pay to staff, we have to pay for resources, and we have to pay when people consume those resources. The difference, of course, is that our visitors don't pay us directly but indirectly by viewing advertising."

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1080p

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#361791 2-Aug-2010 18:12

While I appreciate that you need to pay for the site I am also aware of the malicious activity that often occurs through advertising on websites, especially the flash and other animated ones.

Not long ago the JB Hi-Fi website was blacklisted because the server its advertising came from had been compromised and malicious code inserted.

I know, as sysadmin, you are able to guarantee the security of this site but can you do so from the dozen or so advertising servers which GZ draws from?

I prefer my PC to remain virus/trojan etc free. The occurrence of an advertising server being hacked is not often but enough to force me to take precautions.

As an aside, who likes having all of the advertising cookies downloaded to their PC anyway? I prefer to remain as anonymous as possible to advertisers who simply attempt to mine data.

freitasm

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#361798 2-Aug-2010 18:19

1080p: While I appreciate that you need to pay for the site...

Why not go for a subscription then? As I said, I don't want to push the subscription or people will think it's a commercial thing. However if you have problems with the ads in particular, but still feel strongly enough to "appreciate"...

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oldmaknz

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#361846 2-Aug-2010 19:33

Loving the giant message plastered across the header complaining about my adblock.

Edit: Nevermind.

Lias

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#361857 2-Aug-2010 19:44

freitasm: Imagine running a restaurant where 40% of the people who came and ate didn't pay. In a way, that's what ad blocking is doing to us. Just like a restaurant, we have to pay to staff, we have to pay for resources, and we have to pay when people consume those resources. The difference, of course, is that our visitors don't pay us directly but indirectly by viewing advertising."

I think of the analogy as being more like a food bank. They are diseemintating information out of the goodness of their hearts, but rely on donations & sponsors to exist., but most of the people consuming their services are not going to be donating.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup. Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#361927 2-Aug-2010 21:27

c71931f:
maknz: If it were Google text ads I'd happily unblock but those big flashy ads are terrible. You won't lose any income from me, anyway, as I never click ads (unless you are paid based on views, in which case, only text ads please).

+1

Did you read the part where I explain there are more than one type of ads? Ad revenue is not only from clicks. Just showing the ad is enough, depending on the ad type.

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Detruire

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#361948 2-Aug-2010 21:50

I've disabled Adblock on this site on my desktop (which I use most often), but not on my laptop.

I find the flash/animated ads and the ad in the first post annoying, and will probably turn adblock back on when we leave big time. (Although I may spend a minute or two and attempt to whitelist the Adsense ads)

I don't spend enough time on this site that I feel $7/mth is worth not having the ad code served to me.

rm *

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