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Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web

contributor.google.com

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Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web

#153
post #69
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to my first search result [1], average CPC is 2.04$ with 1.16% CTR. Say you see 200 pages a day, 2 ads each. You end up at 9.5$/day. https://www.hochmanconsultants.com/cost-of-ppc-advertising/

Shouldn't you multiply by your specific click through rate? For many people, this is 0.

This is certainly relevant to the ad-blocker debates. Counting up "lost revenue" at all-user clickthrough rates is a fairly dirty trick when people running adblockers almost certainly have exceptionally low clickthrough rates.

(It's a lot like the creative accounting around media piracy, actually. Assuming that 100% of people who pay $0 for a torrented movie would have paid $10 instead is absolutely deranged.)

Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web

#154
post #13

Don't know, feels a bit like ransom when coming from Google, not the publisher.

I think that the ideal here is that something like this manages to supplant AdSense as Google's main actual business.

But the issue is that for AdSense, Google solicits ad buyers, removes scams, and distributes traffic. If you're paying to not see ads, it's unclear what good Google is doing compared to just paying the publisher.

It's not zero-value, since the transaction costs of paying every publisher are crippling. But there's no definitive reason to look to Google for this value.

Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web

#155

I've been participating in Google Contributor since it's inception, this is like the 3rd relaunch of the service. I have no doubt it will fail just like the past iterations because the fundamental flaw is that Google is the heart of the system and they're unwilling to extricate themselves from it. I don't think this type of service is the way forward and the solution will not come from Google or any other ad provider…

I came here to say "bwahahahaha" but this is so much better. Thanks.

Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web

#156
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So who pays for the servers?

Enthusiastic individuals. I personally have content which I host on Digital Ocean droplets and which do not generate any kind of revenue for me.

But then it's not free. It's just that somebody else is paying for it. And that quickly becomes hard, when your readership grows. Especially if you are just starting out. Even Wikipedia was at first sponsored by a private, for-profit organisation.

Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web

#157

I've been participating in Google Contributor since it's inception, this is like the 3rd relaunch of the service. I have no doubt it will fail just like the past iterations because the fundamental flaw is that Google is the heart of the system and they're unwilling to extricate themselves from it. I don't think this type of service is the way forward and the solution will not come from Google or any other ad provider…

I think the whole "fill up a digital wallet with cryptocurrency" thing is what Brave is (was?) attempting but without much success. I do think it's the future, they just took the wrong approach (Replacing others' ads with your own IS going to create bad blood no matter how you spin it) and were too early for it.

Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web

#158
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Enthusiastic individuals. I personally have content which I host on Digital Ocean droplets and which do not generate any kind of revenue for me.

And who pays for the investigative reports? Who pays for the academics who spend their lifetimes researching the field we're reading about? Who pays salaries so the best people can make a living doing what they're truly great at? Who makes enough money to get big and old enough to gain a reputation? Without which, the news is a hail of unsubstantiated bulletins from semianonymous writers, a wilderness of mirrors and…

Oh, come on man, the academics should would for kudos. /s

Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web

#159
Then naturally, as soon as I try to sign up for it, I get told "Contributor is not yet available in your country" as it seems to be US-only at the moment.

That's okay, uBlock Origin with its whitelist I compiled with sites I know won't violate my browser with ads is still available in my country.

Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web

#160

I've been participating in Google Contributor since it's inception, this is like the 3rd relaunch of the service. I have no doubt it will fail just like the past iterations because the fundamental flaw is that Google is the heart of the system and they're unwilling to extricate themselves from it. I don't think this type of service is the way forward and the solution will not come from Google or any other ad provider…

> Any payments to avoid ads served by these companies would require compensating all of these companies

I think you misunderstood how this iteration of Contributor would work; the publisher integrates Google's contributor code in such a way that if you pay them, they don't show you any ads, no need to worry about the ad ecosystem.

> People want to maintain their privacy

I will start believing this when people start acting like it rather than just saying it. I would be surprised if the group of people who care enough about their privacy to do anything about it is above 1% of internet users in the US.

> It's easy to envision a system utilizing a crypto currency and a digital wallet held by your browser

Brave is really killing it with their user numbers, right?

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