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Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

venturebeat.com

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Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#41

Post by bane »

eludwig wrote: post #39
bane wrote: post #23

Almost 1500 days ago I made this prediction https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2300123 "(I can't wait for my quad core computer to grind to a halt with dozens of unblockable canvas advertisements wallpapering every website I go to from now on...sigh, the end is near" The death of Flash doesn't necessarily mean a better world.

Question: not knowing anything about browser plugins, will it be possible to build a "Click to Canvas" plugin, similar to the Click to Flash plugins avialable? It seems like anything that can access the DOM can insert stuff into (override) or outright block elements, right?

I'm sure we'll see such a thing. The problem is that it'll just shift to somewhere else in the browser, and killing off all the codepaths that might be doing something to the non-working canvas might be subtly hard.

It'll stay a game of cat-and-mouse for a long time I'm afraid.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#42

Post by s_q_b »

rm999 wrote: post #34
s_q_b wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like you, I don't mind ads per se. I even feel badly blocking them, knowing that I'm depriving a content creator of revenue. But the issues you point out are the very reason I can't have them in my browser. I used a computer without AdBlock the other day, and it was like stepping back into 1999 with every page saturated with the 21st century equivalent of animated GIFs and auto-play MIDIs. An alternative ad network i…

I used to work in the ad industry and deeply analyzed this stuff. There's a lot of unspoken secrets in the industry: 1. The majority of clicks go to flashy, annoying ads. 2. People who click on these ads rarely convert, i.e. sign up for a newsletter or purchase a product. These are probably accidental clicks. 3. The ROI on advertising is often negative. 4. No one cares about any of this because click through rates ar…

Fascinating. Inefficiency, to me, is opportunity (even if it can't always be leveraged.) A fundamentally different ad network is an idea I've been kicking around for a while. Perhaps I should get more serious. Do you know any resources, or any technical information about how people get started in this space?

@ROFISH: Absolutely a hustle business, but the more experienced I get the more I think that applies to 99.99% of businesses.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#43

Post by s_q_b »

zabuni wrote: post #28
s_q_b wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like you, I don't mind ads per se. I even feel badly blocking them, knowing that I'm depriving a content creator of revenue. But the issues you point out are the very reason I can't have them in my browser. I used a computer without AdBlock the other day, and it was like stepping back into 1999 with every page saturated with the 21st century equivalent of animated GIFs and auto-play MIDIs. An alternative ad network i…

This already happens, and people were upset about it. https://adblockplus.org/en/acceptable-ads#criteria https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5995140

Very interesting as well. I had no idea this existed.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#44

Post by bostik »

I'm torn.

On one hand, this means that there will be less flash overall polluting the net. A good thing.

On the other hand, it also means that the polluters have less incentive to actually remove their flash-crap. Someone else will transform their guano into form that is more widely deliverable. A bad thing. Flash will persist even longer.

And of course, flash blocker will now kill less ads than before. Damn.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#45

Post by Springtime »

s_q_b wrote: post #24
akersten wrote: post #4

Shame that I automatically convert all ads to nonexistance. It's too little, too late for rich media/content-heavy ads. Especially in the mobile sector: * Ads are a performance burden on low-power devices * They consume extra battery; power is wasted on superfluous cruft * Bandwidth wasted; especially a concern given draconian data caps * Tracking and privacy concerns Not to mention the fact that ads are a primary at…

Like you, I don't mind ads per se. I even feel badly blocking them, knowing that I'm depriving a content creator of revenue. But the issues you point out are the very reason I can't have them in my browser. I used a computer without AdBlock the other day, and it was like stepping back into 1999 with every page saturated with the 21st century equivalent of animated GIFs and auto-play MIDIs. An alternative ad network i…

> Perhaps what we need is a "ethical ads" network, with strict requirements on what could and could not be done

Personally I don't mind unintrusive (small) static image ads from quality advertisers tailored to the type of audience of the site. A List Apart I can remember having a worthwhile ad network whose ads I've actually been interested in several times in the past (which is very rare). Problem with most ads for me, and the reason I choose to block the majority, is the lack of high quality products being advertised and the fact that the click-through rate is so low the ads rely on other tactics to grab attention, fueling the desire to block them.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#47

Post by s_q_b »

Moru wrote: post #37
s_q_b wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like you, I don't mind ads per se. I even feel badly blocking them, knowing that I'm depriving a content creator of revenue. But the issues you point out are the very reason I can't have them in my browser. I used a computer without AdBlock the other day, and it was like stepping back into 1999 with every page saturated with the 21st century equivalent of animated GIFs and auto-play MIDIs. An alternative ad network i…

Don't feel bad about it. All the small advertisers are glad that you don't view their ads because they know you won't buy from them anyway and would be throwing out money without getting anything for it. Expecting your visitors to look at ads that you get paid for is just another type of fraud by the content-generator against the advertiser. :-)

I've always thought expecting direct revenue from web ads was looking at the problem upside-down.

Nobody purchases directly from mainstream TV ads. The purpose is brand awareness, and sidebar ads have always seemed infinitely more useful to build such awareness among the public.

Optimizing on CTR or impressions just seems like optimizing vanity metrics, because they're easy to measure.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#48

Post by raverbashing »

rm999 wrote: post #34
s_q_b wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like you, I don't mind ads per se. I even feel badly blocking them, knowing that I'm depriving a content creator of revenue. But the issues you point out are the very reason I can't have them in my browser. I used a computer without AdBlock the other day, and it was like stepping back into 1999 with every page saturated with the 21st century equivalent of animated GIFs and auto-play MIDIs. An alternative ad network i…

I used to work in the ad industry and deeply analyzed this stuff. There's a lot of unspoken secrets in the industry: 1. The majority of clicks go to flashy, annoying ads. 2. People who click on these ads rarely convert, i.e. sign up for a newsletter or purchase a product. These are probably accidental clicks. 3. The ROI on advertising is often negative. 4. No one cares about any of this because click through rates ar…

From what I know from people who buy AdWords ads, they manage to get a lower price-per-click and a bigger return by optimizing their campaigns

This has nothing to do with flashy ads, quite the contrary, so it's not only "inefficient ads that nobody clicks"

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#49

Post by s_q_b »

Springtime wrote: post #45
s_q_b wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like you, I don't mind ads per se. I even feel badly blocking them, knowing that I'm depriving a content creator of revenue. But the issues you point out are the very reason I can't have them in my browser. I used a computer without AdBlock the other day, and it was like stepping back into 1999 with every page saturated with the 21st century equivalent of animated GIFs and auto-play MIDIs. An alternative ad network i…

> Perhaps what we need is a "ethical ads" network, with strict requirements on what could and could not be done Personally I don't mind unintrusive (small) static image ads from quality advertisers tailored to the type of audience of the site. A List Apart I can remember having a worthwhile ad network whose ads I've actually been interested in several times in the past (which is very rare). Problem with most ads for…

Exactly. Given the vast series of networks and data miners tracking and analyzing my online interests, why can't a site manage to show me ads that I actually find interesting?

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#50

Post by fixermark »

vitd wrote: post #38
s_q_b wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like you, I don't mind ads per se. I even feel badly blocking them, knowing that I'm depriving a content creator of revenue. But the issues you point out are the very reason I can't have them in my browser. I used a computer without AdBlock the other day, and it was like stepping back into 1999 with every page saturated with the 21st century equivalent of animated GIFs and auto-play MIDIs. An alternative ad network i…

I think that eventually what's happening with TV and radio will happen with other types of media. I almost never watch TV ads anymore. I get more and more content through iTunes, Netflix, HBO, etc. where there are no ads. I TiVo anything I want to watch from the networks (even live events) and skip the ads. For radio, I use Podcasts, iTunes Radio and Pandora, and I pay to not have ads. I use AdBlock on the web, but m…

You're forgetting about the market feedback effect. In a world where most eyeballs are in the paid options, advertisers will find ways to co-opt the paid options. The companies that accept those contracts will have more revenue with which to deliver the same quality at a lower price, and will attract viewership proportionally, etc., etc., etc.
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