What’s wrong with this picture? Maybe nothing, depending on your perspective. It’s just lacking the ads that are normally at the top and the side of the page, thanks to AdBlock software that is readily available for all internet browsers, and now for mobile devices too. Unfortunately, their use is growing, and represents the biggest single threat to the viability of free content publishers, including CC. I hate to have to bring this to your attention, but we’re already feeling the effects, and its scary. Our financial situation is precarious as it is. Fortunately, there is a very easy solution to the adblocking. The rest is not quite so easy.
Every AdBlocking program allows one to “whitelist” designated web sites/domains, which then allows the ads to be delivered, as shown here. I’m not surprised that AdBlock has become more popular, because many site use very obnoxious ads that pop up, move into the screen, cover part of the images, autoplay video without being asked, etc… I’m at the point where I’m tempted to use it myself for some sites.
The whole issue is a very dangerous dance, because as more folks use AdBlock, web sites become more desperate and increasingly use more aggressive ads. And now with adblocking available on mobiles, which accounts for an ever-increasing share of web use, the situation becomes ever more dire. Here’s just one good article that examines the trends and risks for free web media.
It’s also fueling a larger trend in web publishing that increasingly reflects the media world at large: the percentage of web viewing by the largest sites is growing strongly, at the expense of the smaller sites. The web was once the great flowering of a democratic and universal media, thanks to a very low hurdle to publishing. But sustaining it is another matter; the economics of web publishing have always been difficult, but with the consolidation that’s happening along with adblocking trends, it will become an environment increasingly dominated by the large, with many smaller sites slowing down or dwindling away, as has already happened to a number of automotive enthusiast sites.
The stark truth about CC is this: if it weren’t for the fact that I’m not dependent on its income, it would likely have shut down long ago. It’s a full-time job, and more, with highly incommensurate compensation (roughly minimum wage). And that’s only now; the first few years there was almost no income at all. And that’s only when I’m not paying others to help out, which I do to get a bit of relief. Which is a big part of the problem: there’s not enough income to hire anyone on an ongoing basis, since no one else that’s properly qualified is going to be able to do the job for minimum wage, at least not for any length of time. Ideally, there would be at least one full time Managing Editor along with me to keep up with all of the submissions, housekeeping, and creating content. But it’s just not economically possible. And I’m always fighting burnout, given that I have to also keep my other business activities going, although they’ve been neglected.
OK, so much for the pity party. I love CC and want to keep it alive, vibrant and growing. And the revenue from the ads are a key factor. But I refuse to allow obnoxious ads that pop up or cover images, or autoplay, etc.. Our ads never interfere with the reading and images. But that limits the income, especially if they’re blocked.
We get paid by Google Adsense for both showing ads as well as for clicks, which yields more than just showing them. I’m not allowed to suggest that you click ads. But just delivering the display ads provides a substantial part of the ad income, and obviously both revenue streams are killed by adblocking. Our Google Adsense revenue has been stagnant, or worse. And the gap between page views delivered and actual page views has increased, undoubtedly due to adblcking or mobile use with poor ad placements/response.
Newspapers with high quality content are increasingly charging for their digital content, and as an appreciative user of such content, I pay for several of them (NYT, Automotive News, our local newspaper, some others), because quality content is worth the money, and I believe it needs to be supported. I don’t scrimp on the food I feed my belly, or my brain.
I’ve pondered the idea of also charging for CC, but realistically, it’s probably not a viable solution, as the number of subscribers might not make it worth it, or even if it did, it would reduce the overall reach of CC as well as the lively commenting that is a big part of it. I want CC to be available to anyone, and over half our readers every day find themselves here because of a Google search or such.
We do have a Donation button on the right side, and a few of you have been very generous. I really hate to even mention it, because it’s just not my thing to beg, although maybe an NPR-style web-athon is what we really need. But here’s my pledge: all the money that comes in from donations will go towards compensating some of our more needy young writers who work very hard and are trying to leverage themselves into a career, which is a challenging proposition. I want to encourage them, and it does help with my workload. And if there are enough willing to pay a small monthly amount, I would use it to hire an on-going Managing Editor, or a Weekend Editor, or such.
Ok, enough of the dull and dreary side of CC. But we’re sitting pretty much right on the dividing line of what is sustainable long term, and what isn’t. I can’t carry the show myself much longer. It’s a brutal prospect to have to fill up a Calendar seven days a week, or review and edit the posts that have been scheduled. Ask those that have done it before. It’s been almost five years for me, with only a few breaks. Having a healthy Contributor base is a great asset, but there’s always work associated with that too, except for those that have developed to a pro level, which a number of our writers have.
So if CC is to be long-term viable and buck the current trends, which are unfavorable to the smaller, independent web sites, we’re going to have to figure out a solution. Not blocking ads is one helpful part of that, but unfortunately not the whole answer. I’m still looking for that.
I limit my internet usage to a very limited number of webpages, and don’t use AdBlocking. I still remember the last time Paul wrote such an article about keeping CC alive with ads and donations (maybe more than a year ago?). Many of us (me included) had no problem in clicking the ads (maybe not each time we visit the site, but every few days) to support the site. I still do it, especially when the ads are car-related.
I encourage all readers who don’t mind in clicking those ads to do it on a regular basis. Of course, as long as the ads have contents that can make you feel uncomfortable.
Paul, is there a way to request a larger percentage of car related ads from Google?
The sheer variety of ways ads are being seen by people is surprising, but I’m not overly tech-savvy either. Using Safari at home and Chrome at work, I have never had more than the banner, side, and end of article ads. Like many others, I’ve never used an ad-blocker.
For anybody reading this, Paul spends a phenomenal amount of time with this website. Speaking from personal experience, preparing a single article is time consumptive and he is often doing multiple articles of various lengths daily. My first question upon discovering CC was how this man ever left his computer given the volume of content. When I met Paul and Stephanie in Iowa City, I mentioned this impression to them. Stephanie said this perception wasn’t inaccurate and she was quite happy to see new contributors come aboard.
Whatever needs to be done for the site to continue is what needs to be done.
as i wrote earlier, in the interest of fairness, i am no longer adblocking this site. from reading the comments, it appears to me that most of you are not aware of another aspect of internet advertising. the ads are used to build a psycho-graphic profile of each user. google and facebook are particularly adept at this. they do their best to track every site you go to and every search you make. when you click on an ad, they make note of it and add it to your profile. it’s safe to say that everyone who visits this site is listed by google as being interested in cars. by combining that with what else they know about you, they will profile you. that alone isn’t a big deal but they sell this data on the open market to other marketers. they also share it with the nsa. even if you click the do not track box, they track you. maybe you are ok with that but i’m not. again i’m not suggesting that you should block all sites but you should be aware of what it means to surf the web in today’s world.
I share your paranoid delusion… it’s not so much that I think the NSA or Target or McDonalds or any bulk data purchaser is inherently evil, I just hate the premise of the whole thing. 20 years ago, who would have thought that having a shitty credit score would directly effect someone on a job interview? Isn’t that crazy? We’re gonna see more and more bullshit like that as time goes on, no question. I know I won’t be able to avoid having my Google Score (or whatever) assigned, and my lack of participation will probably just make things harder for me down the road, but I prefer to be dragged, kicking and screaming, in the race towards building a better consumer.
try this: clear your cookies cache. then turn on “don’t track me.” now check your cookies. you will now have a cookie from google. what they should label that check box is “only let google track me.” you’d be nuts not to be paranoid in this environment.
I think I’ve already got it set up that way, but I’ll have to check. No Facebook, no ads, stay logged out of Google unless I’m signed into gmail, only buy stuff online if I absolutely can’t find it anywhere else.
For the record, I wanna be clear that I firmly believe Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK, NASA landed on the moon, the Holocaust was real, 9/11 was not an inside job, and that there is no secret reptilian Illuminati conspiracy involving chemtrails and fluoridated water. Data mining is the only thing I’m a paranoid little bitch about.
I undid it but every time a video ad comes on it knocks me off what I’m reading. I’ll pause it then go back, then it starts up again and takes me back to the ad.
Whitelisted!
OK, I turned adblock off on this site. I understand it costs to run a site like this. And advertisers pay by the view and by the click. Unfortunately, while typing this reply, I’ve twice been taken to the MGM Grand at Lost Wages. The screen literally jumps to the ad. Kiindly get rid of that type, they destroy the experience and redefine OBNOXIOUS. Why they are even more obnoxious and annoying than I.
I’m not a freeloader, I pay to several sites, but it’s a two way street.
Where exactly was that ad located? I’ve been trying to hunt it down.
same here. it was an mgm grand video at the end of the “top 10 obscure editions” article.
It starts out as a static panel, at the end of your post before the comments section, about “A Taste of Austria” http://p.foodplanet.kumma.netdna-cdn.com/vod/foodplanet.kumma/IMG/toaposter.gif. I see your frustration now. I’m waiting here for it to happen and, of course, nothing. Ah Ha! It just did. It’s a flash ad (I should disable flash in FireFox), right clicking gives no clue as to where it comes from. Hope this is of some help.
I run ad-block partially as a means of security, partially so websites load quicker, and partially because I just plain don’t like ads.
With smaller, more “indie” sites like these I whitelist them if I like them as I understand the need for ads, they ain’t giants like youtube where one man with adblock means nuttin’ to them.
That being said, CC’s been white-listed on my end.
I dug up an example of what you could setup to support this place. It’s community made even.
This helps support a private website catering to a 150000 strong membership worldwide. No commercial angle whatsoever. Huge hardware costs to run the place and keep people/enforcement of the trail. A matter of organization. Extra work sure but not yours if you do it right.
http://whatstore.portmerch.com/stores/home.php
They change designs now and again to keep it interesting and keep people coming back and re-spend/support.
When I say no commercial angle I mean what.cd itself not this sister site where What sells some gear for actual money ofc.
The ads on this site are completely acceptable, dont pop up multiple times covering text, like on the new york times. I dont use ad blockers because I know free sites are supported by the ads. I guess its because I grew up with broadcast television, so it is kind of expected.
I use Ghostery. CC is whitelisted of course! Love this website and would certainly pay a subscription to keep it going.
Some sites have a little pop-up thing when you first visit that says something to the effect of “We see you have an ad blocker enabled, if you like Curbside Classic please consider disabling it for us, etc. etc.” and a brief explanation like the one above. How about that? After it’s shown one time, or once every month or something, leave it as a tab in the sidebar that’s always there as a reminder, but not really intrusive.
I don’t mind your requesting us not to ad-block. I agree with you on that- hosting is not free, and content takes time and effort that should be compensated for- ad blocking is a form of stealing in my opinion. If someone finds the ads too obnoxious, like on radio and TV you change the channel- and it is up to the content provider to market in such a way to balance revenue with appeal.
But that post you plugged from 4/1/12 that sorta suggested we we click the ads? That’s a horse of a different color. I use Internet advertising for my businesses with me paying a tiny amount for “exposure” (people seeing the ads) and up to a few dollars “per click”. I am willing to pay that much because my ads are highly targeted with a result being that without persuasion a high percentage of clicks are people who want to purchase- or at least very seriously consider- my product.
My product requires people to purchase it regularly- or at least they usually do. Spending a $20-30 on advertising per customer found is fine when I get customers spending $150 a month on my product.
But when you try to get people to click on ad links they are not actually interested in to boost your site revenue… Then you are the one stealing. Not from Google, not from your readers, but from innocent small businesses who like you are trying to honestly make a buck.
If I were to run a parts company for downsized GM b-body’s, this would be a wonderful site for me to advertise on. The demographic is perfect. Your audience would love to know my company exists. But I don’t want Benz fanatics clicking the link- just to get you my per click contribution. They aren’t going to buy from me- and they wouldn’t be interested in my wares. I am paying for something I shouldn’t be.
Find ways to generate revenue, by all means. I have some ideas, although I’d hope you thought of them already- your a bright guy. But please, don’t do it by gaming the ad system!
I’m sure you didn’t think of it this way, because I don’t think your that kind of man. But stealing from legitimate advertisers is exactly what encouraging false clicks is!
I’m not sure what you’re referring to, “the post I plugged from 4/1/2012”. Can you be more specific? Although the date sounds like it might have been an April Fool’s joke.
I have never asked anyone to click on ads, precisely for the reason you have given, as well as the fact that it’s a violation of Google AdSense policy. I’m not going to risk losing AdSense for doing that.
Paul, I love this website and will do anything I can to help it live a long healthy life.
I have a lot of material I would like to contribute, too.
I only recently gave in and installed AdBlocker on my laptop, because I was being driven crazy by ads that were making Firefox on my vintage 2007 Macbook run so slowly as to be unusable. I hate that s**t! But I was happy to disable it for CC after reading your post. I also just sent you a small donation.