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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

#51

Post by samsolomon »

s_q_b wrote: post #42
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…

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%…

I think this is something that has already started playing out with designer and developer oriented networks like The Deck and Fusion Ads. Better design, standardized rules targeted towards specific groups.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#52

Post by TD-Linux »

itsjareds wrote: post #17
vitno wrote: post #3

why swiffy? Why not use Shumway? Is this just a case of "Not invented here" syndrome?

On a related note: can someone explain the advantages of Swiffy over Shumway? Upon first glance, it looks like Shumway has the ability to translate Actionscript to Javascript and the Flash visual elements to HTML5 elements. Whereas with Swiffy, the SWF is just converted to what's basically an animated SVG. What would make Swiffy more attractive for Google to use over Shumway if Shumway seems to be a more complete sol…

Shumway is a very heavyweight dynamic recompiler and includes a complex canvas/webGL rendering engine. Shipping it just for an ad is a bit much.

Naturally, Swiffy's method is quite limited in what Flash features it can support, but that's OK for its purpose.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#53

Post by eludwig »

bane wrote: post #41
eludwig wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Good points. Thanks. I guess it's inevitable given the free (as in, subscription free) nature of web content. Heck, even paying a subscription to the NYT doesn't opt you out of seeing their ads, unless you take matters into your own hands with something like AdBlock.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#54

Post by ROFISH »

s_q_b wrote: post #42
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…

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%…

The opportunity is more in the network than the tech. For something like this to work, you have to convince both site owners and advertisers to use your network. (Not that it's a bad idea, but it's like 97% hussle and 3% tech problem.)

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#55

Post by towelguy »

bostik wrote: post #44

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.

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

That was my concern too, but I guess the only difference will be you'll have to block a bunch of scripts and images instead of blocking just one flash file.

Why does it matter that Flash persist if it's being converted to html5 on the fly anyway? By the way, the swiffy service Google offers has a extension to Flash (the authoring tool) so it can output html5 directly.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#57

Post by stevesearer »

s_q_b wrote: post #42
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…

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%…

The only real way I'd get on board with a network is if they had access to relevant advertisers in my particular industry that I didn't already have.

I've chosen to direct sell advertisements to companies in my site's industry which takes a lot more work than handing the reins over to a network or dropping in a widget, but the results are definitely worth it.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#58

Post by clarry »

woodchuck64 wrote: post #56

Speaking of ads, what can block that obnoxious "THE BEST OF VB, DELIVERED" that pops up like a visual air horn just as you're starting to grasp the content of the first paragraph?

Since I didn't see such a thing, I'm betting it's NoScript.

HTML5 and Javascript are cancer..

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#59

Post by pacofvf »

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.

" when action script will easily be converted to html5, then all mobile apps will finally move to the cloud"

that thread is a gold mine.

Re: Google now automatically converts Flash ads to HTML5

#60

Post by pjbrunet »

s_q_b wrote: post #42
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…

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%…

All you need is a niche market and your first advertiser. Then start contacting the publishers in that space. You'll need somebody to help the publishers embed the ad codes. A decent developer could track everything or you could just use Google Analytics or some other commercial tool. Most publishers are willing to try something new, but consider the ad inventory is worth much more to Google (Adsense) because they have a ton more advertisers bidding on the inventory and they're tracking people's interests and so forth.

On the one hand, Google completely ignores 99% of its publishers. On the other hand, the bigger publishers receive advertising proposals all day long every day. So yes the advertiser can contact the publisher directly, they don't really need you, which (last I checked) is against the Adsense/Adwords TOS.

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