Browser Offers 'Brave' Solution To Ad Blocking, Will Cut Users And Publishers In

14 replies
Wow, I was already excited about this browser before this news...

Browser Offers 'Brave' Solution To Ad Blocking, Will Cut Users And Publishers In 01/20/2016
#blocking #brave #browser #cut #offers #publishers #solution #users
  • Profile picture of the author Synnuh
    As I'm an AdBlock user that just got done complaining about the massive amount of advertising on some websites, I think this is going to bomb.

    I mean, what internet user wants to have their browser blast them with ads? When you're already dealing with publishers doing it?

    Sure, they can sign on a ton of publishers, but I can tell you I won't use the browser. It's even more intrusive than the sites I just got done complaining about.

    “Basically, we’re just dropping money on them to the extent that users visit our system,” Eich explains, adding that Brave’s goal is not to become a new ad blocker, but to give users control over the advertising experience and enable them to become explicit stakeholders in underwriting their favorite publishers.
    I already have control over the advertising experience. It's called AdBlock and it's got a purpose. Firing off a few pennies to users every time they get force fed advertising isn't going to make people flock to their browser.

    I can't believe some developers (obviously many, and with a lot of money) actually think users want to be bombarded by ads, and will change up their browsing habits to go to a browser that forces ads down their throat.

    If it is as speedy, and state of the art as they say, it will only be a matter of time before AdBlock is implemented on it, too. Then what have they achieved?

    Ad blocking estimated to cost publishers nearly $22 billion during 2015.
    There are now 198 million active adblock users around the world.
    Ad blocking grew by 41% globally in the last 12 months.
    US ad blocking grew by 48% to reach 45 million active users in 12 months up to June 2015.
    UK ad blocking grew by 82% to reach 12 million active users in 12 months up to June 2015.
    Those numbers aren't going down, anytime soon. The developers are 'Brave' for thinking they can change the landscape.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve L
      Originally Posted by Synnuh View Post

      As I'm an AdBlock user that just got done complaining about the massive amount of advertising on some websites, I think this is going to bomb.

      I mean, what internet user wants to have their browser blast them with ads? When you're already dealing with publishers doing it?

      Sure, they can sign on a ton of publishers, but I can tell you I won't use the browser. It's even more intrusive than the sites I just got done complaining about.



      I already have control over the advertising experience. It's called AdBlock and it's got a purpose. Firing off a few pennies to users every time they get force fed advertising isn't going to make people flock to their browser.

      I can't believe some developers (obviously many, and with a lot of money) actually think users want to be bombarded by ads, and will change up their browsing habits to go to a browser that forces ads down their throat.

      If it is as speedy, and state of the art as they say, it will only be a matter of time before AdBlock is implemented on it, too. Then what have they achieved?



      Those numbers aren't going down, anytime soon. The developers are 'Brave' for thinking they can change the landscape.
      Good points made. I guess time will tell!
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  • Profile picture of the author Van Dam
    I don't mind banner ads on sites but I hate popup ads and especially the ones that autoplay videos with sound. I find them very intrusive. It's things like that that led me to using ABP.
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    • Profile picture of the author ED1190
      Originally Posted by Van Dam View Post

      I don't mind banner ads on sites but I hate popup ads and especially the ones that autoplay videos with sound. I find them very intrusive. It's things like that that led me to using ABP.
      This.

      Banner ads are more than fine to me, but popup ads and autoplay videos with sound are annoying as hell, and the reason I use ABP.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Look at the number of people who are willing to pay good money to get rid of advertising, both online and offline. People pay every day to eliminate ads from streaming TV, Internet radio, web browsing and more.

        Do they really think that those people will go back to drowning in ads because the browser maker will give them "probably not enough to pay for a free dinner"?
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  • Profile picture of the author irawr
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Steve L View Post

    Wow, I was already excited about this browser before this news...

    Browser Offers 'Brave' Solution To Ad Blocking, Will Cut Users And Publishers In 01/20/2016
    One of these days, a court is going to rule that ad blockers are illegal. Which, they should be. Every blocked advertisement is theft.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by irawr View Post

      One of these days, a court is going to rule that ad blockers are illegal. Which, they should be. Every blocked advertisement is theft.
      Then those same courts are going to have to rule against mute buttons and fast-forward functions on video recorders. My bet is that the anti-ad blocker crowd is going to have a hard time selling the notion that people don't have the right to decide what appears on their computers, radios and television sets.

      About the only recourse I see in the foreseeable future is technology which allows content to be blocked when ad blockers are present, much like content lockers that already exist.
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      • Profile picture of the author Synnuh
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        About the only recourse I see in the foreseeable future is technology which allows content to be blocked when ad blockers are present, much like content lockers that already exist.
        1320video.com already does that. They've managed to make their YouTube videos look like ads, so when I land on their site I've got to disable Adblock on the page, before I'm able to view the video.

        Then my browser slows down and I'm cussing, trying to catch the back button in between one of their massive scripts loading. They didn't get my ad / page views anyways, so I think they shot themselves in the foot with that one.
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          Originally Posted by Synnuh View Post

          1320video.com already does that. They've managed to make their YouTube videos look like ads, so when I land on their site I've got to disable Adblock on the page, before I'm able to view the video.

          Then my browser slows down and I'm cussing, trying to catch the back button in between one of their massive scripts loading. They didn't get my ad / page views anyways, so I think they shot themselves in the foot with that one.
          I never said it would be a good solution. Only that people who make statements like "every ad that gets blocked is theft" would have the option of locking up the store.
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      • Profile picture of the author irawr
        Banned
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        Then those same courts are going to have to rule against mute buttons and fast-forward functions on video recorders. My bet is that the anti-ad blocker crowd is going to have a hard time selling the notion that people don't have the right to decide what appears on their computers, radios and television sets.
        The critical difference there would be that you are operating your own property.

        A publisher does not grant any rights to the ad blocker company and they manipulate the media without permission.

        If I had a site with substantial traffic, say 100k UV/day, I would detect the blockers with a script, and display a polite message saying that they were not allowed on my site with a blocker enabled.

        Obviously any publisher has the ability to do this and some do. I'm sure they would be pretty upset if they found out a blocker was circumventing their countermeasures.

        Some of the companies allow the publisher to pay a fee to be white-listed, which I would absolutely never pay personally.

        I hope you can see why there needs to be a law that defines what is and isn't allowed.
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        • Profile picture of the author Synnuh
          Originally Posted by irawr View Post

          The critical difference there would be that you are operating your own property.

          A publisher does not grant any rights to the ad blocker company and they manipulate the media without permission.

          If I had a site with substantial traffic, say 100k UV/day, I would detect the blockers with a script, and display a polite message saying that they were not allowed on my site with a blocker enabled.

          Obviously any publisher has the ability to do this and some do. I'm sure they would be pretty upset if they found out a blocker was circumventing their countermeasures.

          Some of the companies allow the publisher to pay a fee to be white-listed, which I would absolutely never pay personally.

          I hope you can see why there needs to be a law that defines what is and isn't allowed.
          I'm not following, and I hope you don't take offense to what I'm about to say.

          If I saw your site getting 100k views a month, and you were rejecting people from being a part of it because you couldn't serve ads, I would spot the opportunity to push you out of the market and use your stance against ad blockers as the publicity to do it.

          Then I would still run advertising, and not give a damn about people using Ad Block because I'd still be making more money than you were -- since you banned a majority of your users with dictatorial advertising guidelines.

          Advertising isn't something companies should be able to force on users. Users should be able to opt out -- whether that means Ad Block, opting out of the ads, or just not visiting the site.

          Take 1320video.com for example. I won't go to their site anymore. Anytime I see one of their boosted posts in my FB feed, I'll waste the time searching for the video title on YouTube, then watching it there, ad free.

          In the digital landscape, there's too many options to force your advertising on people -- especially by law.

          You're not modifying the code on the site, only on your end. Even then, no code or media is actually being modified.

          As far as I'm aware, the only thing being modified is your own HOSTS file, located on your hard drive. That's a file you own and would be illegal if another company modified it without your permission.

          Any time an ad serving URL is called, the HOSTS file redirects the calls back to the localhost (127.0.0.0), where the media doesn't exist -- so it doesn't get displayed. You're never even making a connection with the ad serving server, so there isn't anything to modify. It's like a 404 error, every time an ad is trying to be displayed.

          I'm definitely not following along with how it should be illegal for you to block advertising, or a written law that you have to let advertisers and publishers force ads down your throat.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve L
    Personally, I'd like to see something like Protip.is take off instead of having content creators rely on ads.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nate92
    My opinion on "AdBlocking"?

    It doesn't affect my business at all really. I just don't use ads. The only time I "advertise" on my website, is with a picture banner. AdBlockers do not block pictures. So if you put up a picture on your site, it will see it as standard content.

    Then you simply link that picture to your affiliate product or your own product.

    When people come to your site, whether they have an AdBlocker or not, they will still see a relative product, because you should only attract targeted traffic. Because they have an AdBlocker, most other sites don't get their offer in front of them.

    But when they see your offer, it's almost like yours is unique to them, so you may have a higher chance at succeeding with a sale to those viewers.

    Don't take this as fact, but this is what I've noticed in my business and asking for feedback from my users on my websites.

    Most of them didn't even realize that my ads weren't blocked and that they just clicked to the offer thinking it was interesting, without being annoying.

    I personally do not mind banner ads at all really. In fact, I enjoy seeing them work, and how I could use them.

    However, I do hate the popups that lightbox my entire screen, without allowing me to exit without signing up, or making me feel like an idiot by clicking the link that says "No thanks, I'd rather not know how to enjoy my life..."

    If you have been to a lot of sites that have these pop-up ads, you know what I'm talking about. Any marketer who uses a belittling attack on their readers obviously aren't creating a website for their readers experience, and don't want to build a relationship with any new visitors...
    Signature
    "I'm not crazy, I'm motivated!"
    I'm giving my SP Affiliate Revolution training course to Warrior Forum members! Enjoy! (Affiliate Marketing Video Course)
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve L
    Just to be clear, this browser initially blocks all forms of advertising on a website, including banners, pop-ups, tracking pixels, malware, flash cookies. Even various types of ad tracking.

    Then, using ad-targeting service Sonobi, the browser then serves different ads in some locations. “We block trackers, that’s a big win compared to the status quo. We also block eyesore ads that won’t be replaced (think of those parasite pictures in image grids at the bottom of pages),”

    (Even then, you can bypass the ads as a user by topping up your bitcoin wallet integrated into the Brave browser. In which case, the websites you visit will get microtips automatically.)

    Brave offers webmasters a new revenue stream that could be more profitable. Eich told Media Post that ad revenue will be automatically split four ways; 15 percent each will be distributed to the user, Sonobi, and Brave, with 55 percent going to publishers.

    Source
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