The obvious problem with Capitalism is everyone wants to sell you something. Think of the serenity and lack of labor required when not fighting said system…
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Thanks!
Thee bottom banner that started popping up in the last couple of days was particularly annoying because it was overlaying the buttons and I needed to close it in order to do anything. Installed ABP, now no ads at all.
I think that is called shooting yourself in the foot BB, you made the ads so annoying that I spent the effort to nuke the lot. Well done!
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Which they also managed to do when they briefly implemented the failed Google Contributor platform, a 5 cent per page view fee (including refreshes) or allow ad scripting system, that required consent to be tracked by Google.
I’m still mystified as to what suggested to those in charge that the failed Google Contributor platform, which only allowed per-page fees and not monthly subscriptions, was the best way forward. It seemed to be a response to the increased use of ad blockers that Cory mentions in the OP, but one that I suspect had the unintended consequence oft making people dial up their blockers even more or eschewing BB altogether rather than signing up.
Clearly the issue of making a living on the internet without falling prey to the metrics that would lead one down the path of click bait posts and user hostile ads and tracking is a challenging one. I think that behind the scenes of the discussions about how to run BB would be fascinating and informative for people who read tech news and commentary sites such as BoingBoing, but even good people like those who make BB are more eager to talk about what other business do than about what their own business does.
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I’ve never understood that about tracking for products - sure, If I’m buying a fridge, maybe I haven’t purchased it just yet. But an adaptor? It didn’t take me a week to decide. Now you’re advertising me things I laready have.
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It really wouldn’t, and that’s part of the problem.
I know it’s difficult to understand, but Boing Boing wouldn’t be here as an independent publisher if we did anything differently than we are, because of the very monopolistic and oligarchic forces controlling revenue streams for independent publishing.
And in large part because we help educate folks on the benefits of adblockers, we are cut-off from the very revenue source needed here disproportionately more than others. And no, before you ask, the most successful online membership program ever for an independent blog would not come close to covering costs here. We’d very much like to do it as a service to readers who wish to browse without ads, but the very act of creating such a system requires a significant outlay of funds to begin with.
Do you wonder why there are so few independent news blogs anymore? Go read the article again. Realize who controls the purse-strings here.
I’ve partnered with the Authors as Sysadmin for sixteen years, and I can say without reservation that they would - to a person - jump on any real opportunity for an alternative revenue stream that was less invasive. One does not currently exist at the scale of BB. So, here we are.
The answer is simple. We’d very much like to continue to be a brand, thank you.
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Yes, that is one of the real tragedies of the on-line economy. It largely punishes virtue and rewards aggressive behavior, and it is potentially ruinous to resist those carrots and sticks. IIRC there were some posts a while ago about how the content of BB’s posts made it difficult or impossible to use Google’s ads, leading to self-censorship which I got the impression wasn’t enough. And I also got the impression that putting the comments system on a separate domain was in part an effort to make the post page content more friendly to the “good” ad networks. But that’s speculation on my part.
But I do think the behind the scenes rationale and details would be fascinating, if also sad. I think you may underestimate what I find fascinating. (For example, I used to read Groklaw religiously, including the legal filings, even though I am not a lawyer. What is quotidian to you can be fascinating esoterica to others. And, as you note, BoingBoing’s survival to date is rather notable.)
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Coming soon: Web pages which present as EME elements, rendered server-side and streamed to the browser. Ads included, of course.
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To quote Seanan McGuire: “I just bought cat food. Now is not the time to advertise cat food to me. Now is the time to advertise kitty litter.”
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That would be an absolute nightmare to link to or share on social media and if you don’t allow that, you might as well not publish at all.
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