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I've removed all ad network code from my blog

troyhunt.com

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Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#71

Post by vertex-four »

notheguyouthink wrote: post #64
coldpie wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. The problem with current ad networks is twofold. One is advertisers require metrics, metrics require some form of tracking or JS, and advertisers don't trust the ad networks to give accurate metrics, so they require the ability to embed their own JS. This is where you get the app store redirects and malware. Two, ad networks are scummy as shit and don't do any auditing so long as advertisers are willing to pay.…

What about a sort of metrics protocol? Ie, the ad network puts up it's own JS, the advertisers don't get to put up any code. The Networks JS will be configured to optionally call a custom metrics endpoint with some data - ie, the advertisers own servers. Very little trust is needed, and customers don't get crazy JS on their pages. Is something wrong with this model?

The issue is that large-scale advertisers don't actually trust the ad networks - the network could make up data, and has less reason to track fraudulent clicks/etc.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#72

Post by NoGravitas »

GordonS wrote: post #5
pweissbrod wrote: post #3

The advertisement he refers to was a plain text bar at the top of the page with no tracking nor any distracting visuals. And when you scroll down into the article it disappears. I dont see any problem with this kind of innocent unobtrusive level of advertising and frankly wish he kept it for his own financial gain and others used it as a model.

He still has this sponsorship message (which I am also totally fine with), but it seems to be blocked by uBlock Origin, if you are using that?

I'm using uBlock Origin; after the previous article was published, I whitelisted this site.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#73

Post by jasonlotito »

skykooler wrote: post #59
bazillion wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I built what I believe to be the most sane way to "advertise" something: Let people buy directly from an image. This solves the problem of people not interested in the content, because of its unobtrusive nature -- if they don't hover over an item within the image, it's as if the "advertisement" isn't there. Check out my demo (desktop only) at http://www.worldlifestyle.com/testpost My website which you can sign up for…

It also looks like a lot of extra work per image to set up all the regions.

Not a lot of extra work when compared to the amount of work that goes into existing advertising campaigns.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#74

Post by jerf »

rtpg wrote: post #24
alkonaut wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think charging money (paywall, donations) is the only acceptable way for sites that can't do "big player" ads such as finding sponsors or having native advertising.

Patreon has proven itself to be a good model for a lot of bloggers out there with the right kind of following. The main issue is that to replace all advertising revenue across the board, everybody would need to pitch in something like $150/month. I like paying for things to get rid of ads, and I'm not even sure I'd make that commitment.

Where is your $150/month coming from? I'm not convinced the average user is worth that much in ads per month. The numbers I've seen coming out of Facebook put it in low-single digit dollars per month per user for Facebook, and I would tend to imagine they're getting more out than many rather than less. But, honest question, if you've got a good source on that I'd love to see it.

(There's also the fact that the utility of ads is fundamentally bounded by what they can make you spend. By their nature, the amount someone is willing to spend to remove ads and the amount of money ads can possibly be making on the person are probably held more tightly than you might expect, due to the underlying third-factor of correlation with the amount of money the person in question can spend.)

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#75

Post by bazillion »

jameskegel wrote: post #69
bazillion wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I built what I believe to be the most sane way to "advertise" something: Let people buy directly from an image. This solves the problem of people not interested in the content, because of its unobtrusive nature -- if they don't hover over an item within the image, it's as if the "advertisement" isn't there. Check out my demo (desktop only) at http://www.worldlifestyle.com/testpost My website which you can sign up for…

Stunning, I'll admit, but this can't be an easy or lightweight solution to implement, I'd imagine. Kudos either way, there aren't too many things that immediately made me lean toward the screen like that.

Thanks! It's not lightweight -- the average script include I have right now is around 280k. I'm going to be able to reduce it in the next few months to around 150k, I believe. Once downloaded, the processing of it itself is not too intensive.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#76

Post by jasonlotito »

overcast wrote: post #32

So as long as you've got a huge enough following, that is willing to pay for anything you give them, it should be no problem. Not realistic for majority of sites. Reminds me of big musicians, giving their new album away for free. After thirty years of making millions. Very poetic.

If you don't have a huge following, if you don't have a huge audience already, what kind of money are you really making with an advertising network?

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#78

Post by imgabe »

fiatjaf wrote: post #4

Ok, you have a sponsorship model that works because you're probably very famous. That doesn't solve anyone's problem, because almost no one is famous. How can we replace ad networks with something better and saner?

Do ad networks work for anyone who isn't "famous" in some sense? Making money with advertising requires a sizable audience any way you cut it.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#79

Post by icebraining »

dbg31415 wrote: post #45
ambirex wrote: post #10

Except that he is still using Disqus, which is free to use because they have moved to ad supported model (for the most part). Even if he isn't running the ads, they are using the script to track users across sites and then feeding that into ad networks.

An alternative to Disqus. * Discourse || https://www.discourse.org/ * Embedding Discourse Comments via Javascript - howto - Discourse Meta || https://meta.discourse.org/t/embedding-discourse-comments-vi... EDIT: Love the instant downvotes without any comments on why. Downvotes are totally helpful and not the least bit petty and stupid. I have 2 client using Discourse on their production sites and it works great.

Dunno why you were downvoted. I dislike Discourse, but it's open source, and even the hosted version has a business model not based on ads.

Re: I've removed all ad network code from my blog

#80

Post by chriswarbo »

jerf wrote: post #38
lazyjones wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How can we replace ad networks with something better and saner? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flattr Not enough traction? Someone has to start using it, people will adapt...

That use case seems to have been entirely superceded by Patreon. The fact that it isn't quite identical, well, that's part of why it has been superceded by Patreon. But both Flattr and Patreon miss the relatively involuntary nature of ad networks. Certain things can not count on being supported by eager contributors, and need to more-or-less force themselves in to somehow earn revenue. I'm not all that perturbed by s…

> Mostly we're wandering around hither and yon, not showing any site loyalty.

I agree with your main point, but to clarify: Flattr was specifically designed for this sort of one-off usage. Clicking a Flattr button doesn't subscribe to anything, it just adds that person/site to a list on your Flattr account. At the end of the month, your money is divided evenly between those on the list, then the list is cleared.

You can set up subscriptions on Flattr, which sounds more like Patreon's model, but the default mode is for one-off drive-by donations. Flattr subscriptions are just an automated way to click a Flattr button once a month.

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