Nothing of quality in life is free. Most would agree with this statement. When it comes to the Internet, we have a wealth of knowledge available at our fingertips, information that would have required the investment time and money to acquire just a few short decades ago. In order for us to be able to maintain this availability, sometimes we have to pay a price.
Advertisers are simply trying to get their product name out in the public, and the five seconds it takes to close an ad is worth the time you save in having to make phone calls or travel to the library to acquire information you need. Besides, you may be exposed to products that could prove useful.
Effect on Publishers
Ad blocking doesn’t just negatively impact the businesses paying for ads. Those who are publishing information and elearning development online have costs that must be accounted for. For example, consider a typical e-commerce site, one many use often for the convenience it provides. Among the costs incurred to provide this option include:
$3,000 for real-time credit card processing
$3,000 for email processing and shopping cart
$2,000 for job listings
$2,500 for press releases
More than $2,000 for corporate calendars and rolodexes
Up to $10,000 for congressional lobbying
When shopping online, it can be all too easy to overlook these costs which can quickly add up in excess of $20,000. Unfortunately, one report indicates that ad blocking has resulted in the loss of more than 9 percent ad revenue on U.S. publishers. Even worse, those truly innovative sites that attract tech-savvy readers stand to lose as much as half of their ad revenue. As the trend in the use of adblockers continues to increase, many of the websites we enjoy will face financial disaster.
Costly Consequences
We all enjoy the Internet. It’s a place we can access information and entertainment quickly, efficiently, and at a low cost. It’s marked by its democratization and availability of vast choices. However, those sites which aren’t subsidized by television or print are the most likely to be forced to shut down.
When this happens, web users can expect their costs to rise as content that used to be funded by advertising revenue will then have to be compensated with user fees on things that used to be free. Even worse, this could even force many industries to seek regulation, and this would result in legislative power over the world wide web. Before installing an adblocker, consumers should consider the unintended costly consequences of this technology.
