Back in September, Nicholas Carr posted a long, highly combustible diatribe invoking Geezuz against AdBlock Plus: the Firefox extension which will stop practically all those revolving, screaming ads (that's one way, my way, of looking at it). Much online advertising is still stuck in the throw-mud-at-wall stage and, sorry, but I can't read when I have intense visual or auditory distraction. So, like a few other useful extensions (list in right-hand column), AdBlock saves my time and energy.
I explained, at length, how Carr was plain wrong and more than a tad hysterical (although he was timid compared to some hysterics who think it's all about Marxism in disguise). This was simply because it remained and would remain largely a geeky thing. At that point, the only numbers which anyone could source on AdBlock's worldwide usage was 2.5 million, which is nothing.
Because I was reading him again I thought I'd try and find some numbers on AdBlock usage seven months later.
It's now 3 million 'active daily numbers' (where the 2.5 million came from) and probably X3 - 9 million, not-daily, say the geeks who are very excited it's that many. Here's the details.
When Firefox claims it is approaching 20% of worldwide browsers and in a month where China finally eclimpsed the USA as #1 for web users, even 9 million is a pittance.
I suppose getting-a-grip in a follow-up would be out of the question, Nicholas?
What, precisely is the problem with Adblock then? If it's just that it's 'Marxism in disguise', would it not be better if they just removed the disguise and affiliated it with the Marxist political movement?
ReplyDeleteOr was the commenter starting from the assumption that "Marxism is a bad thing"?
In either case, you should be ashamed of yourself. A comment referencing Marxism with a picture of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin). Are you having a problem identifying your leftist icons, comrade?
I assume your tongue is in your cheek, comrade.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any problem with it, I love it, love it. life is full of puppies and chocolates whereas before it was full of ads for cars and mortgages.
The noted Mr Carr has an ongoing problem with beating up hysteria and as for the rest -- some of them want to block Firefox!
Maybe I should put 'threat' in inverted commas :{
As someone with googleads, the point I'd make is that the people who are likely to use AdBlock to block ads on my site weren't likely to click on ads in the first place and therefore it makes little difference to my (distinctly 'minimalist') advertising revenue.
ReplyDeleteBesides which, I use adblock myself. If I find ads are getting on my nerves, I block 'em. If they aren't, I don't... but I don't tend to click on 'em, either way!
Good point! That's similar to what the Oxford Uni. woman was making in my earlier post about privacy.
ReplyDelete