Photo: Thom Stratton
Dale Dixon's column in today's Idaho Statesman discusses privacy online by calling attention to the prevalence of context-sensitive advertising. Conduct an internet search on Michael Jackson, he offers as an example, and the next site you visit will likely include advertising for some product by or about Michael Jackson.
Dixon is not the only one who has noticed. In a recent seminar Jeff Parrish, founder of myReMa.com, challenged attendees to mention going someplace for the weekend on a socia media site and see if they don't start seeing advertising on that site pertaining to their stated destination.
Advertising has evolved in recent years to become one of the primary sources of revenue online. Websites primarily make money by selling things, charging subscriptions, collecting and selling data, or by selling advertising space. Selling advertising space has become arguably the easiest revenue model to adopt. From the smallest blog to the largest news site, it has become nearly as easy as point-and-click to start selling advertising space.
Not everyone is happy about this, however. Some just find ads annoying, even though online is only the latest platform to be taken over by advertising. Consumers are bombarded with advertising from a myriad of sources each day. If anything internet advertising has become less annoying as software has made pop-up ads literally disappear.
Others, more understandably, are concerned about privacy and find it discomforting to find their every move being monitored, even if only to serve up advertising specifically tailored to their interests. Dixon's column speaks to this concern, and addresses how online marketing associations are working with the Better Business Bureau to police themselves and to be more open with consumers about how their information is used online.
On the other hand, many consumers feel that online advertising and information gathering just comes with the territory and is an acceptable trade-off for getting free content. If faced with a choice between paying a subscription or viewing advertising, many of them would choose the advertising. And while some sites such as the Wall Street Journal have been able to successfully charge subscriptions, other sites like Pajamas Media, are struggling with the same revenue model.
What is certain is that online advertising is not going away any more than advertising in newspapers, on television, or on bus benches is going away. Anywhere a consumer's eye may linger for more than a moment you can bet someone is going to try and use to sell something to that consumer. The internet is just another of a long line of advertising venues, and it won't be the last.
How do you feel about online advertising? Would you be willing to pay subscription fees in order to avoid it? Are you concerned about the amount of information being gathered when you surf the web? Add your comments below!
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