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Wednesday, Aug. 26, 1998
`Ad blockers' are erasing Web-site ads
Net users split on ethics of wiping out source of sites' funding
By TED BRIDIS
Associated PressWASHINGTON -- At almost every Web page Chris Tooley visits on the Internet, the first image he sees is an advertisement.
Animated characters dance across some ads. Other ads, called ``pop-ups,'' spawn small windows on the screen that block part of the underlying Web page.
But even as Madison Avenue spends an estimated $1 billion this year to attract the roughly 71 million Americans on the Internet, some high-tech users are turning to relatively new free or inexpensive software utilities, called ``ad blockers.''
Working with an Internet browser, the programs prevent ads from appearing on a Web page but generally display all the other text and images. Sometimes, the software leaves just a blank space where the ad was. Other times, there's no trace of where it would have been.
It's the software equivalent of fast-forwarding through TV commercials during a recorded sitcom.
``Everybody wants more speed, and the ads do slow down a Web page,'' said Tooley, a 20-year-old computer science major at Northwest Missouri State. ``When you're loading a lot of graphics, it causes a problem.''
Endorsed by some privacy advocates, ad-blockers also often stop ``cookies,'' tiny files that advertisers use to invisibly collect personal details about consumers, such as how often they visit a site and which pages they read.
Internet user Chris Johnson of Perth, Australia, uses a $17 blocker called AdWipe and runs a ``Fighting Internet Ads'' site on the Web. He says the latest ads are especially aggravating because their complexity -- with flashing, animated logos -- causes longer waits, especially over slower connections. Often, the rest of a Web page won't load until the ad does.
And the most complex ads are likely to become more common: Advertisers contend that consumers remember pop-up ads about twice as well as typical banner ads on a Web site.
``The user feels as though he's watching a TV show where the commercials occupy the majority of the time,'' complained Jason Catlett, who runs New Jersey-based JunkBusters Corp., which offers free blocking software.
But, in a dilemma for the fledgling medium, the Internet's growing commercialization is also fueling its growth -- with online ads subsidizing the content of some Web sites.
``This is now a mass medium, and I tell you, who's going to pay for it?'' asked Bob Colvin, who runs Interactive Media Partners, an ad consulting firm in Los Angeles. ``It's not subscription fees, and it sure isn't going to be the government. It's got to be the advertising.''
``Because they're getting it free, are they obligated?'' said Beth Snyder, who writes about online ads for Advertising Age magazine. ``That's kind of a philosophical question. Do you owe anybody anything?''
The point isn't lost on some Internet users.
``It's kind of like a necessary evil,'' said Tooley, the college student, who doesn't block ads. ``Nobody wants to look at them, but no one wants to pay out of their pocket for something. Everyone watches `Seinfeld,' but it wouldn't be there without the commercials.''
Supporters of ad-blockers aren't apologizing. Craig Schmidt of Seattle-based WRQ Inc., whose company makes a new $20 blocking software called AtGuard, defends his product as ``giving the user the freedom of choice to decide.''
``I'm not into this guilt trip,'' agreed Johnson of Australia. ``If you record a TV show, don't you fast-forward through the ads? If people can possibly avoid ads, they do.''
The ad industry isn't exactly quaking in its boots. Catlett estimates less than 1 percent of people on the Internet use ad-blockers, mostly because they've never heard of them or don't want the trouble of downloading the software.
And as faster Internet connections become more widely available, one major draw of ad-blockers will vanish, said Colvin, the ad consultant. When all Web sites download in a flash, who will worry about animated ads taking an extra fraction of a second?
But Barry Jaspan of Internet Mute Inc. said he believes ad-blockers will always find an audience.
``Advertising is a fine thing,'' said Jaspan, who sells a new $20 blocker called InterMute. ``Some companies will do it, others will try to block it.''
And how will Jaspan market his own software?
``I intend to advertise,'' he said.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web