Is the value exchange fair?
On the surface, sure. Asking people to look at a few ads in exchange for access to free content isn’t an unreasonable request. Otherwise, they’d have to open their wallets and pay.
But the digital advertising industry’s definition of the value exchange also includes the collection and use of consumer data. And there’s an argument to be made that a material distinction exists (or should) between trading attention for free stuff and having one’s activity tracked online.
It’s a valid contention and a topic worthy of debate, says Vegard Johnsen, chief product officer at eyeo – the parent company of Adblock Plus – on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
Here’s another question, though: Do people generally get free things in return for nothing?
“Well, no,” Johnsen says. “We go into a shop and we give money in return for goods – [and] the internet isn’t really that different.”
What is different is a person’s level of awareness about the currency they’re typically using to facilitate an online value exchange. (You know, that well-worn adage: If you’re not paying, then you are the product.)
One purported solution is to ask for consent, although that can get out of hand pretty quickly, as anyone who’s been pestered by cookie pop-ups knows.
“Look at GDPR,” Johnsen says. “When you give people choice, which is mandated by law, what you get is a plethora of really annoying questions.”
Eyeo’s whole schtick is predicated on the notion that people aren’t inherently opposed to advertising and sharing data; they just want to be treated with respect. This idea is borne out by the actions of its user base, which overwhelmingly opt to allow sites to serve them ads that meet the Acceptable Ads standard for being non-intrusive.
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“People are not against ads,” Johnsen says. “If we look at our users, 94% choose to leave Acceptable Ads on, even though they have an option to turn it off.”
Also in this episode: Why Johnsen moved from director of product management at an advertising juggernaut (Google) to a startup dedicated to ad blocking and filtering, YouTube’s recent crackdown on ad blockers, eyeo’s still controversial reputation in the advertising industry, the sneakiness of smart TV data collection and racing lemons in New Jersey.
