Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The internet with Ads

After a decade of using web browsers like avant, firefox, and chrome, I have forgot what the "real" internet actually looks like, thanks to ad blocking and no script extensions.  But recently, my adblock chrome extension has been glitchy and only sometimes work.

The vail has been lifted and it is a horrid sight.

I forgot about all the text advertisements on the side of facebook and gmail.  Pop-up ads are as annoying as I remember, when they were the dominate ad platform on the internet.

Even this webpage was a surprise.  I forgot I put a few ads on here.  They are annoying and its not like I have a lot of traffic or clicks on this site, so they are gone.  Plus, they were either about guns/NRA, the GOP, or women.  Imagine that.

Websites that I frequent were crazy, with ads everywhere.  I really do not understand how people browse the internet without blocking ads.  I would lose my mind.  Especially with the shift to auto-play videos.  What is the world coming to?  But, things are changing.

I know, I know, to those of you who say advertisements are how the internet world works and operates.  It is the main revenue generating source of huge companies like facebook and google.

According to a recent study, around 25% of web surfers use ad blocking software.  That's it?  Just a quarter?  People need to see the light.  The light that comes from all the whitespace on websites that were once filled with advertisements.


Monday, October 28, 2013

Expensive companies, but no profits

This seems crazy, that these companies can get evaluated at worths this large without actually making any money.

Here is a link to the WSJ article discussing the possible bubble.