Nowadays, you cant go anywhere without someone trying to sell you something and the Internet is no different. Go to pretty much any website on the Internet and you will see an advertisement somewhere on the page. These range from the small and un-obtrusive banner ads, to large pop-up, audio/visual ads. Internet users have voiced their distaste for these advertisements numerous times and some have even installed ad-blocking software so that they no longer have to see these ads. With many websites receiving a bulk of their revenue from advertisers, this ad-blocking may eventually hurt these sites and the users who frequent these sites in the long run.
Just think of a website like Youtube.com. Currently, users who enable ad-blocking software will no longer be bombarded with the video ads that auto-play before certain videos, but at what cost? Some bloggers and web researchers predict that if ad-blocking becomes commonplace on the Internet, websites like Youtube will begin charging their users directly for services. These bloggers have been urging against the use of ad-block and even started campaigns to make it illegal. They cite the obvious ethical arguments against using such programs due to the fact that they rob web developers of useful profits. They also state the fact that although an ad-free web is incredibly user friendly, it isn’t economically viable. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
So what can web developers do to stop users from blocking the advertisements on their sites? With the web evolving the way that it is, sites can now record users’ information to tailor ads directly to them. Advertisements are also slowly becoming less flashy and obtrusive since they have been known to push people away. Once ads become more intuitive and user friendly, they will no longer be regarded as unnecessary spam.