Live data from Hacker News

Insane state of today's advertising part 3

plus.google.com

261–270 of 435 posts

Re: Insane state of today's advertising part 3

#261
post #240
post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"And you can't even install ad blockers on the phone." Nonsense. I've been using Firefox + uBlock Origin on Android for years. There are even browsers/add-ons that can disable JavaScript completely, but I find it too much of a hassle.

my mistake, can't edit my comment now. *iphone I mean

"How to block ads on iPhone and iPad"

http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/iosapps/how-block-ads-on-ip...

Re: Insane state of today's advertising part 3

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it was in Google's interests, we'd probably have that already.

Why isn't it? I'm sure Google can make well behaved ads that bring them lots of money. Implementing this would make it even harder for any competition to get a foothold into the market. Now a google ad is treated (by customers with adblock) the same way as the most shitty ads = gets blocked. Maybe if chrome blocked the worst kinds on its own, less people would use adblockers in general. Ad blocking is not a hobby. It…

You can see Google and co stand on ads here [1]. Enforcing Coalition for Better Ads standards were marketed as adblocking is coming to Chrome for example [2] recently.

[1] https://www.betterads.org/standards/ [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/01/google-confirms-ad-blocker-c...

Re: Insane state of today's advertising part 3

#263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Offtopic: The website in your profile http://encona.com/ seems to be down.

Pro tip: not all domain names have an associated website. Mine neither.

Encona is also a very popular and in my opinion delicious brand of hot spicy sauces in the UK.

Re: Insane state of today's advertising part 3

#265
post #76

Awesome to see that subject #1 on HN. At my startup Confiant [1], we block bad ads in stream on behalf of publishers. Cedato aka Algovid aka TLVMedia is one of our prime targets, we block millions of their ad impressions daily. They are essentially buying cheap display ad placements to resell them as fake video preroll ad placements. They sell on video exchanges like AOL's AdapTV and others. To maximize their yield,…

The only good ad is a dead one. With very few exceptions, especially in the consumer space, you won't need advertising if you actually need something. You'll search it out or your friends will tell you what to buy. Advertising serves as a way for the capitalist class to exert veto power over other aspects of society by yanking funding at opportune moments (see the current Google snafu or Bill O'Reilly's departure fro…

> With very few exceptions, especially in the consumer space, you won't need advertising if you actually need something. You'll search it out or your friends will tell you what to buy.

I typically use adverts to help me decide what to buy, but the adverts count as negative points towards the product, because I feel that if a product needs to rely on persuasion techniques, or to bombard my eyeballs all the time (especially if they're preroll-type adverts rather than passive banners) or if they're beside spammy adverts, then the product is likely crap anyway or the company are.

Blame all the spam for this attitude, and all the obtrusive crap that is shown to me against my will each day (it seems that almost no matter where I look, online or physical world, I'm bombarded with someones shitty adverts)

Re: Insane state of today's advertising part 3

#266
post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An anecdote from 2010: my company had racks of Rackable Systems servers. Every month a server went dead- power supply, board or some such. Rackable Systems were unreliable. Then on Slashdot I saw a square ad for IBM System X servers (unfortunately they have been sold to Lenovo a couple of years ago). That somehow made me do research- although I was aware of IBM System X before. Between 2010 and 1013 we bought perhaps…

I won't deny this has occasionally happened to me, but look at your example: it's B2B when my claim is primarily for B2C. B2B ads tend to be more targeted, aimed at corporations, and purchases are for higher dollar amounts. The product being sold was also competing based on build quality, a material improvement. Businesses often make more rational decisions because they can assign someone to do research (like you did…

Yah your argument against adverting is bullshit.

Even consumers love ads.

Did you know that they even pay money because they want ads? Those 900 pages of Vogue that they buy every September, do you think they're filled with articles? Because they're about 870 pages of fashion ads. People specifically buy them because of the advertising.

And did you know Sunday papers are a thing, filled with coupons, that are basically ads?

Sorry, but advertising serves a purpose that consumers actually pay money for.

Re: Insane state of today's advertising part 3

#267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone thinks advertising doesn't work on them. And everyone is wrong.

My claim is that it does work. Astoundingly well. My further claim is that it is not in the public interest.

No shit.

The world isn't your personal charity for you. Advertisers don't owe you anything.

But if you really want to get blown away, it actually does serve the public interest, because it increases commerce, and any sale is an increase in the GDP.

Did you thank advertisers for growing the economy?

Re: Insane state of today's advertising part 3

#268

There is a trivial solution to this problem. If you don't like ads, just start paying for the content. Don't support publishers that use advertisement as their business model. Alternatives exist.

Yes, but then the whole ecosystem is missing micropayments. I subscribe to some sources, but sometimes I just want to read a single article. Would gladly pay 20 cents, if it was a matter of a click.

Re: Insane state of today's advertising part 3

#269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I won't deny this has occasionally happened to me, but look at your example: it's B2B when my claim is primarily for B2C. B2B ads tend to be more targeted, aimed at corporations, and purchases are for higher dollar amounts. The product being sold was also competing based on build quality, a material improvement. Businesses often make more rational decisions because they can assign someone to do research (like you did…

Yah your argument against adverting is bullshit. Even consumers love ads. Did you know that they even pay money because they want ads? Those 900 pages of Vogue that they buy every September, do you think they're filled with articles? Because they're about 870 pages of fashion ads. People specifically buy them because of the advertising. And did you know Sunday papers are a thing, filled with coupons, that are basical…

I think people buy Vogue (and all other advertising-sodden media) despite the ads, not because of it.

Re: Insane state of today's advertising part 3

#270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain why it's a bad thing? From my perspective, I've found various things via advertising that I would have never come across by other means. A lot of people argue that "you'll just search for what you want" except I'm tired of searching for "shirt" and then scrolling for days looking for something that may work. Every once in a while I'm hit with a really good ad, and I'll click it, and maybe even buy.

> From my perspective, I've found various things via advertising that I would have never come across by other means. If you want to make a fair comparison, that should be compared to all the things you didn't find because useless ads took up your time and mental space. Also, whether or not you found something through an ad is not the point; one isn't not going to convince a smoker to quit smoking by trying to convinc…

> If you want to make a fair comparison, that should be compared to all the things you didn't find because useless ads took up your time and mental space.

Why would you save mental space for non-adverised products? Are you supposed to be a product researcher? Is that your job? Is time not valuable for you? Because efficient people buy the first thing they recall, for crap that doesn't matter.

> I've been TV- and ad-free since 2001 (yes, yes, I know: the "how do you know someone doesn't watch TV? They'll tell you"-smugness curse strikes again)

How many newspapers and magazines have you bought that contained ads?

Because your complaint is about user-experience, not advertising.

And yes, the anti-advertising smugness is the worst. Everybody advertises, always have, always will. I mean, you had Roman gladiators in ancient times that were sponsored by brands.

Post reply on HN