brainwidth

Ken Fisher of Ars Technica on How Ad Blockers Hurt Revenue

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:13:43 -0600

Ken Fisher of Ars Technica on How Ad Blockers Hurt Revenue:

From Gruber: “I have no easy answer, but I will point out that there’s no inherent reason why ads have to be something people are tempted to block. It’s not enough to ask readers not to block ads — you’ve got to work hard at providing ads that readers actually enjoy, or at least aren’t tempted to block.”

If publishers realized that and stopped the “Punch the Monkey/Bin Laden/political figure” then maybe they’d see revenue go up.

This is such an interesting problem. I use an ad-blocker and have for a very long time. It makes my internet experience a lot quieter, and it bugs me when I have to use a browser without one. I spend quite a bit of time on Slate, and when you have to visit that page without an ad blocker, man is it obnoxious.

That said, the ad blocker does it’s magic on every site I visit, so any ads that are caught by the filter subscriptions I have are just invisible to me. I don’t ever think “well, I should look at the ads on this site just to see if they’re not the same as every other site serving doubleclick (etc.) ads”. I treat any ads that are caught by blocker as equivalent to shoot the monkey or teeth whitening ads.

I don’t think that’s fair, but at the same time I don’t think that subjecting me to 75 ads per page is particularly fair, either.

Gruber also linked to Rob Sayer at Mozilla talking about why people use and like ad blockers. In the article he suggests that more careful attention to the ads being served (i.e., fitting the ads with your content rather than using a syndicate like Doubleclick or Federated Media which just throws ads out there). But the problem there is a logistical one. How do individual sites negotiate for ads, how do they assure themselves they get the best rate possible, how do they even get in contact with people to convince them to place ads?

Are ad networks like The Deck the answer (looking at kottke.org I see that deck ads are not blocked by my filters, which is something)? And how does that type of system square with larger sites that currently serve many more (and more intrusive) ads?

Who, me? Just wearing my awesome shirt with a complete map of...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:26:50 -0600

Who, me? Just wearing my awesome shirt with a complete map of human chromosome 1 on it, no biggie.

Your shirt is invalid.

(via eyeonspringfield) Bob: Oh Cousin Merle, really! Cecil:...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:02:34 -0600

(via eyeonspringfield)

Bob: Oh Cousin Merle, really!

Cecil: Now, now, you know Cousin Merle ain’t been quite right lately.

I've got a hot date tonight

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:34:27 -0600

I better not have shaved my legs for nothing!

kellydeal: The Hold Steady // One for the Cutters // Stay...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:30:06 -0600

kellydeal:

The Hold Steady // One for the Cutters // Stay Positive

If you’ve seen “Breaking Away” you know this one’s not about teens with razors.

Also, harpsichord! (A lot of people hate it, I do not).

My favorite song on a fantastic album!

The Mountain Goats - Up the Wolves I’m gonna get my self...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:59:30 -0600

The Mountain Goats - Up the Wolves

I’m gonna get my self in fighting trim
Scope out every angle of unfair advantage
I’m going to bribe the officials
I’m going to kill all the judges
It’s going to take you people years
to recover from all of the damage

jamiek: Merlin has talked about this before, and I don’t have...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:36:54 -0600

jamiek:

Merlin has talked about this before, and I don’t have much to add. I’ve long since removed Lifehacker from my feeds, but every now and then swing by to see if I’m missing anything.

By and large, I’m not: just posts about programs to make you more productive or make your desktop prettier or “streamline” your chores.

But let me say this: if the amount of time it takes you to fold your laundry or hang your shirts and pants is the only place you can find to trim, you’re doing all right. And if you think that those extra seconds are the only thing holding you back from being better at whatever it is you do, you might need to step back and examine things more closely.

Since I send my laundry out like a bourgeois pig, can I parlay that particular tip into the nest “4 Hour Workweek”?

pocketcontents: pufflepie: snuff-d-rooster: theangryprojecti...

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:37:33 -0600

pocketcontents:

pufflepie:

snuff-d-rooster:

theangryprojectionist:

ronniebruce:

Dread

asspee

suicide

lust

crush

Bail

This is what I think about when I'm bored at work waiting for a new software release to test

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:20:21 -0600

Cyanide is a chemical compound that is so named because it’s used in blue dyes like Prussian blue.

Cyanosis is a medical term for a blue coloration around the extremities or lips deriving from a lack of oxygen.

Both words derive from the Greek kyanous meaning “blue”

Cyanide is also a poison that binds to hemoglobin in the blood, preventing oxygen from binding and suffocating it’s victim.

Because of the way it acts, cyanide causes cyanosis.

But the two words came about independently and just share their connection to kyanous because of a coincidence.

Weird.

yodelmachine: reagank: This is why I love Tumblr Seriously!...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:50:07 -0600

yodelmachine:

reagank:

This is why I love Tumblr

Seriously! The geography’s insane. It goes Poland, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Venezuela, Africa, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon… and then Switzerland.

What the most northernmost Nazi place you’ve got?

This is why I love Tumblr

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:29:03 -0600

This is why I love Tumblr

Three tunnels?

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:09:20 -0600

I have to admit, the cats digging three separate tunnels was industrious, but they really should have spent some more time on the rest of the plan. German army outfits don’t help you blend in these days, and their fake passports are awfully clangy and jammy.

My cats have been digging more than usual lately

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:07:33 -0600

I wouldn’t be too worried, but I keep hearing them purring the march from The Great Escape. Weird.

Joel Johnson - Why I'm Funny

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:43:32 -0600

Joel Johnson - Why I'm Funny:

Depressing and fascinating.

luckyshirt: The Clash - Train in Vain I was in a bar a couple...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:58:10 -0600

luckyshirt:

The Clash - Train in Vain

I was in a bar a couple weeks ago when this song came on.

Almost everyone was mouthing the words and staring into the middle distance.

It’s that kind of song.

It belongs on The Ark when we flee Earth.

The Clash. REALLY obscure, luckyshirt.

Obscure’s not really my thing. Good music is, though. And every damned time I’ve been at a point in my life where everything is changing and exciting and unclear, I’ve gone back to The Clash.

I only own two band shirts. They’re one of them.

50 States Ordered by Penis Size

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:29:23 -0600

Alright, I’m a nerd, but I think this data would be fascinating to analyze statistically. A simple rank-ordering like this doesn’t actually tell you very much (hell, the difference between the top and bottom could be as little as a few tenths of an inch, and I would bet that for any two states next to each other there’s not a statistically significant difference in mean length (i.e., if you did the sampling again you would find that their orders could well be reversed).

aimee-b-loved:

plaidlemur:

New Hampshire

Oregon

New York

Indiana

Arizona

Hawaii

Louisiana

Massachusetts

Alabama

Washington

New Mexico

California

Arkansas

Nevada

Virginia

Tennessee

Illinois

Oklahoma

South Dakota

Georgia

Pennsylvania

Mississippi

Michigan

Florida

Rhode Island

Kansas

Maryland

Minnesota

Vermont

Connecticut

Wisconsin

New Jersey

North Dakota

Idaho

Texas

Missouri

Montana

Ohio

Nebraska

Colorado

Maine

North Carolina

Delaware

South Carolina

Kentucky

West Virginia

Alaska

Iowa

Utah

Wyoming

Guess where I’m from.

VIA

Let’s see…

Texas makes sense. Why else would they need all those guns? Overcompensating, much?

In all fairness, it is cold in Alaska.

Suddenly, the popularity of Iowa-grown corn makes a lot of sense.

Also, I’d say “Fuck Mizzou”, but you wouldn’t feel it anyway.

West Virginia is also the third fattest state, which means a lotta fellas must have Dickidoo Disease.

And Fin.

Gene Lamont runs over Jim Leyland's foot with golf cart | The Detroit News

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:45:36 -0600

Gene Lamont runs over Jim Leyland's foot with golf cart | The Detroit News:

sloganeerist:

You guys, baseball is here!

Oh, man, running over Jim Leyland’s foot is a bad idea. He’ll probably use Lamont as his personal ashtray for at least the remainder of spring training.

yodelmachine: GPOYW: This Is What I Look Like When I’m...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:45:19 -0600

yodelmachine:

GPOYW: This Is What I Look Like When I’m Concentrating Real Hard On Typing With Mittens On edition

OK, it’s adorable how you’re concentrating so hard your tongue is sticking out the side of your mouth.

Just a selection

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:53:00 -0600

reagan is the red dragon
reagan is sane

http://www.googlism.com/who_is/r/reagan/

GPOYW Fuck Cancer Edition

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:25:43 -0600

GPOYW Fuck Cancer Edition