Ad Blockers & Whitelists: A Paradox World

In a world fraught with excessive advertising, ad-blockers allow users a faster, uncluttered experience, while making publishers lose valuable ad money. But a feature within the same software called whitelisting, can prevent blocking of ads if publishers demand. So its important for the industry to move towards more relevant, content-supplementing advertising that users will love,

- Arun Pattabhiraman

LET’S TAKE a walk down memory lane. A few years ago, my experience on the online content train was incredible: a scenic view of the information I was looking for, decent journey speeds, and balanced advertising hoardings that only added excitement to my journey. Time lapse to today, and the moment I open an article, the first obstruction from my target content is the full screen enquiry, “Have you signed up for our newsletter, yet?” (I did. Like five years ago). When I get to start reading the headline, I’m hit with the first pop-up ad, and by the time I close the ads covering the article, I’m in half a mind to move on. Publishers started to go over and above the invisible line of acceptable advertising. Ninety one per cent of people say ads are more intrusive today than they were two to three years ago. Something had to be done.