Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5 • Hacker News Board

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#81

Post by philwelch » Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 6:13 AM UTC

dredmorbius wrote: post #68

rm999 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I've concluded that Gresham's Law is among the universals in economics. It joins a very few others, including the Law of Diminishing Returns and the Jevons Paradox.

What about, I dunno, supply and demand, or "people respond to incentives"?

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#82

Post by Lverano » Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 6:17 AM UTC

This is cool!

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#83

Post by Lverano » Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 6:17 AM UTC

This is cool!

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#84

Post by Aldo_MX » Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 7:07 AM UTC

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…

In the mobile apps world, some ad networks (ej. mopub) have a new type of ad named "Native Ad".

With this type of ads you have control on how you display them, and the intended use case is to make the ad look like a part of your application.

This is an explanatory PDF: http://www.mopub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Native_Ads_O...

I believe that something similar is what the web needs.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#85

Post by asdkl234890 » Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 7:20 AM UTC

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…

The problem with ads is that they suffer from the tragedy of commons. Each individual advertiser wants to be more prominent. All together virtually force you to block ads. In special cases, when a third party reviews all ads, as on PennyArcade, the ads tend to be much less annoying.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#86

Post by saraid216 » Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 8:04 AM UTC

hahainternet wrote: post #36

engendered wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android battery life often pales compared to iOS or Windows Phone. Chuckle. And this hilarious astroturfing gets a pass here.

created: 1452 days ago karma: 5273 He's probably not astroturfing, but that doesn't change the fact he's pulling 'facts' out of his arse.

I wonder what the market for selling HN accounts is like.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#87

Post by rurounijones » Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 8:15 AM UTC

Aldo_MX wrote: post #84

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…

In the mobile apps world, some ad networks (ej. mopub) have a new type of ad named "Native Ad". With this type of ads you have control on how you display them, and the intended use case is to make the ad look like a part of your application. This is an explanatory PDF: http://www.mopub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Native_Ads_O... I believe that something similar is what the web needs.

> make the ad look like a part of your application.

That sounds terrible and deceptive for the end-user

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#88

Post by z3t4 » Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 9:22 AM UTC

I've turned off JavaScript in the browser. And only allow it for sites where I really need it.

I though this day would never come.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#89

Post by 72deluxe » Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 9:36 AM UTC

Hopefully they will finally fix the bug in Chrome where sites that require Flash pop up a "this site requires flash! - would you like to install it?" bar at the top of the screen, even though it isn't bundled with the app.

It is particularly annoying considering their own efforts to remove Flash from usage on YouTube, that is, with supporting HTML5 video.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#90

Post by andyhmltn » Fri, Feb 27, 2015, 9:41 AM UTC

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…

>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.

Really? I'm not sure that's entirely true. I don't have adblock on the temp laptop I'm using because I just forgot to install it and I have barely noticed any change in my browsing habits.