“The ad blocking paradox
As web ads get more and more closely targeted to the user, more and more users are choosing ad blockers and tracking protection tools such as Disconnect and Ghostery. According to a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, most US users “are not okay with online targeted advertising.”
Targeted ad proponents tell us that ads are getting more personalized and relevant, so why isn’t blocking going down instead? Why aren’t users saying, “There’s a magic machine in a data center that will only show me ads for stuff I really want to buy? Better turn off the ad blocker!” In another survey, 66% of adult Americans said they “do not want marketers to tailor advertisements to their interests”, and when the researchers explained how ad targeting works, the percentage went up.
The Apple Safari product page treats the browser’s tracking resistance as a benefit.
The web pages you visit often leave cookies from third-party websites. These cookies can be used to track where you go on the web, target you with ads, or create a profile of your online activities. Safari was the first browser to block these cookies by default. And by default it also prevents third-party websites from leaving data in your cache, local storage, or databases.”
Why does the biggest, best-run company in information technology, the company that inspires more marketing people than any other, just assume that people don’t want web sites to “target you with ads?” Apple could easily implement more tracking than other browsers. Why don’t they? Why doesn’t Apple’s browser “help you connect and share with your favorite brands”?
The reasons are complicated, but they’re connected to why ad blocking is finally taking off.”
This is just the beginning of a ~5700-word article at zgp.org about various forms of advertising and our responses to it.
I found the article, and comments, via metafilter.com.
It seems that zgp.org is a site that really doesn’t you to visit its home page. OTHO, Google-searching for [zgp.org] lists many interesting-looking advertising-related articles. Here’s one, and a new word: malvertising.