I already have an ad removal pass, it's called uBlock origin.
Haha, precisely. On HN, a common idea is that if companies offered ad-free versions for a price, people would pay. But why would you? You can get the ad-free versions for free.
Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web
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Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web
#72I already have an ad removal pass, it's called uBlock origin.
It's not exactly like torrenting music, but a bit (requires some tech skills, ambiguous morality) And at least in my circle of friends, Spotify pretty much killed that.
Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web
#73Maybe if Google went with "Pay us $10 per month for us not to show you any AdSense anywhere on the web", this would be successful. In this form, I highly doubt it.
> Maybe if Google went with "Pay us $10 per month for us not to show you any AdSense anywhere on the web", this would be successful And more importantly, with the guarantee of "no tracking whatsoever" (rather than just not 'showing' ads). Then, some of my friends would start trusting Google again (and are already willing to pay for something like that).
"I don't trust you! If you let me pay for promise of not tracking me, I will trust you again!"
I don't think trust depends on how much you pay somebody who you do not trust. But I may be wrong.
Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web
#74Everyone is forgetting that Google can provide such tool because of Chrome (60% market share); they don't need to track you. They already are.
Google it's tightening it's grip on the web. Yesterday the announced that they will apply the Better Ad Standard by 2018. They said they'll ban intrusive ads that block the user from the content, ads that play sound automatically, and flashy ads... Now "flashy" is so vague.
Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web
#75I really think a much better system would be for websites to adopt GNU Taler, and allow people to conduct micropayments using digital cash. The system is about as seamless as Flattr, except that the website can actually charge an amount rather than a fraction.
But, most importantly, Flattr guarantees the anonymity of consumers' transactions. So the big G won't have a log of what websites you paid to access.
Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web
#76Wow, how much does this have to do with their announcement to add ad blocking to Chrome (only for other networks ads, I'm sure)? How have they not attracted regulator action yet? You'd think the EU would be all over that kind of behaviour.
Which announcement are you talking about?
Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web
#77Cancelled already:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Contributor
Google Contributor was a program run by Google that allowed users in the Google Network of content sites to view the websites without any advertisements that are administered, sorted, and maintained by Google.
The program started with prominent websites, like The Onion and Mashable among others, to test this service. After November 2015, the program opened up to any publisher who displayed ads on their websites through Google AdSense without requiring any sign-on from publishers.
Since November 2015, the program was available for everyone in the United States. Google Contributor stopped accepting new registrations after December 2016 in preparation for a new version launch in early 2017.[1] On January 17th, Google Contributor was shut down. As of January 17, 2017 8:40 AM no replacement had been announced.
Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web
#78I like the technology and pricing model, but I don't think that it is being put to its best use. I think a better use would be for news sites that require a login to view articles. At present I usually just go without viewing many as I can't afford to sign up to 10 different sites where I might view a couple of articles each week. If I could make a one off payment per article then I'd be all over it.
Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web
#79>a small portion is kept by Google to cover the cost of running the service
This is incredibly cheeky.
Re: Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web
#80You can use pihole or pyhole to just block them for your home, then vpn from your phone. No more ads. Then buy subscription to sites you like. Dont give google a percentage of everything.
The problem is that most (all?) site subscriptions now are all-or-nothing, and even if you do like a site, you probably like several, and paying $10-$30 per month (or whatever) each for even 5 different sites starts adding up real fast. If sites were to offer an "article bank", it might be more compelling: you put in $X and that buys you Y articles, which you can read over the span of days, months, or years. But no o…
Or just buy a games console.
Articles on the internet exist primarily as free entertainment.
If I am going to spend money on entertainment, there are much more fulfilling options.