They do not really hate my kids, of course, but as the community of AdblockPlus users continues to swell there’s no sugarcoating the fact that this Firefox plug-in and its ilk hold the potential to put my family — including the most adorable set of 6-year-old triplets you’ll ever meet — out of house and home.
Yes, this is personal and that’s hyperbole (I hope) but the topic also seems an appropriate one for the first afternoon back after Labor Day because at its root — granted, from my perspective — is whether my labor will continue to bear fruit. For it is advertising revenue — increasingly online advertising revenue — that pays the salary that keeps those kids from having to huddle under a highway overpass. (Hey, I was going to go for the Oliver Twist imagery before remembering that would put me out of the picture.)
AdblockPlus does what the name would imply — it blocks ads — and, according to what I’ve read, it does so with ruthless efficiency. AdblockPlus works only with Firefox (although similar plug-ins for IE exist) so this debate has so far been relegated largely to the fringes of the Internet world, if an estimated 2.5 million AdblockPlus users worldwide can be considered a fringe. Noam Cohen of The New York Times yesterday brought the issue to a wider audience.
The larger importance of Adblock is its potential for extreme menace to the online-advertising business model. After an installation that takes but a minute or two, Adblock usually makes all commercial communication disappear. No flashing whack-a-mole banners. No Google ads based on the search terms you have entered.
From that perspective, the program is an unwelcome arrival after years of worry that there might never be an online advertising business model to support the expense of creating entertainment programming or journalism, or sophisticated search engines, for that matter.
For now, however, the big players have decided to ignore the phenomenon. Neither Google nor CNN.com, for example, would comment on ad-blocking programs, which can also be added to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7. (The Internet Explorer add-ons are not necessarily free and do not necessarily work as seamlessly as Adblock Plus working with the open-source Firefox browser.)
Whether this means curtains for my kids’ curtains is open to speculation, especially seeing as how last time I checked I was still drawing a paycheck. Author/blogger Nick Carr does not see imminent loss of employment for this dad (have I mentioned that they’re adorable?). Carr did, however, pluck out of the Times story a gem of an observation regarding the titanic business forces maneuvering behind the scenes here.
The most interesting aspect of Cohen’s article is that one company with a big stake in the ad business, Microsoft, did choose to offer a comment – and it’s a fascinating one. While carefully avoiding any endorsement of ad-blocking plug-ins, Microsoft also carefully avoids any criticism of them.
In a statement, Microsoft spoke of its success in permitting third-party developers to “add value to the browser experience through the creation of add-ons.” The statement continues: “The range of add-ons available does include ad blocking software. It would not be appropriate for Microsoft to comment on the merits or demerits of a specific add-on, or group of add-ons. Provided they have not been designed with malicious intent and do not compromise a user’s privacy or security, Microsoft is pleased to see new add-ons that add to the range of options that users have for customizing their browsing experience.”
Microsoft’s laissez-faire attitude may seem surprising, but it reflects a cold strategic calculation. Microsoft knows that ad blockers pose a far greater threat to Google than to itself. As they say: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Some who liken blanket ad blocking to theft are taking extreme measures to block AdblockPlus. And one can guess that Google has an army of code warriors at work fashioning countermeasures.
It’s easy to understand the popularity of AdblockPlus in that far too many Web sites treat their visitors as muggers treat their victims: with a knock on the head. Pop-up blockers I can abide … and do use.
And I’m no lawyer so I’ll pass on the legal issues involved — except to say that I’m skeptical of the theft business.
But this still leaves the matter of the implied contract between the publisher and the consumer, the same implied contract that has made publishing profitable throughout modern times: You can read our stuff in exchange for at least tolerating the ads.
AdblockPlus users give that implied contract the implied finger.
OK, so if we’re not going to call blanket ad blocking theft and we are going to absolve AdblockPlus users of actually hating 6-year-olds, what rhetorical weapons are we left with that might convince or shame a meaningful majority to resist the shunning of banner ads altogether?
Here’s my try: Using AdblockPlus is like showing up at a potluck supper empty-handed: No respectable host will turn you away, but don’t expect a warm reception and don’t be surprised if you’re not invited to the next party.
