I’ve installed many extensions(or plugins) since then. Smooth Scrolling, Dictionary add-on, Web Development Tools, Speed Dial…List goes on. But my #1 favourite extension has got to be ‘AdBlock'(Advertisement Block). I’ve been using it since their beta development. Today, it is the #1 extension across major browsers.

Now here comes the irony. Google relies heavily on its advertisements revenue. It’s their main source of income. Forget about the other hundreds of Google Products. Without their advertising service, they’ll be crippled. But the #1 extension on Chrome Web Store is AdBlock. It has always been a puzzle to me. Why would Google allow such an extension in their Web Store?
True enough, in 2013, Google removed ad blockers from their Play Store.

Following the backlash of netizens after, Google used an alternative method.
Google Saved An Estimated $887 Million By Paying Adblock Plus To Show Its Ads

It’s not only Google. Websites, blogs, news platforms these days rely on advertisements as their main source of revenue. That’s when I began to wonder, perhaps Adblock does more harm than good? Yes Internet is the place for free flow of information, but in all these websites, there are teams of people working full-time providing resources to netizens.

Of course, I think everyone at some point in their lives came across websites with horrible ad placements, animated banners and popups screaming for your attention.

I’ve read that some users actually take the effort to whitelist websites which they visit regularly, to support the people who generate the content. I’ve also noticed some websites blocking users from viewing content if they use AdBlock. Whereas some others I’ve seen allows AdBlock, but asks for donation in return to support the continuation of content.

As of this post, a quick look at statistics show that Adblock has blocked a total of 22,511 ads in my browser.

So should you or should you not use AdBlock? Honestly, I think it’s up to you. After all, it’s legal. It’s your computer, your browser, your decision on what you want or do not want to see. As for me, I will continue using it, but will perhaps consider whitelisting websites which I visit often.

Come to think of it, it’s actually like switching channels on television when it’s advertisement time.

There are 144 million monthly active ad block users around the world, a number that has jumped by 69 percent and makes up 5 percent of all Internet users. Google Chrome alone had 86 million monthly active users from the second quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2014, the report said. Men are 48 percent more likely to use ad block software, with respondents from both genders saying they would tolerate ads that are less intrusive than the current variety.

[…]“The thing about advertising is that the end user isn’t part of that contract; the contract is between the publisher and the advertiser,” he said. “And the end user who installs Adblock really isn’t mindful of the fact that they’re impacting the revenue of the publisher.” – ibtimes.com

Paulpular

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