SCN: Ads

[Steve]

x-no-archive: yes

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(Stefanie Olsen, News.com, excerpts)---Dusseldorf, Germany-
based MediaBeam...said it's testing a product that aims to detect 
ad-blocking software and charge the people using it a fee to view a 
Web site's content. The product, called AdKey, is scheduled for 
commercial release by November.  

MediaBeam's announcement highlights fears among publishers of 
a consumer backlash against the moneymaking efforts that many 
sites see as necessary for survival amid a downturn in the 
advertising market. Numerous Web operators have added fees to 
services and content that were previously free, while others have 
opted for more intrusive forms of advertising.  

Analysts said the introduction of software such as AdKey may 
spark a series of evasive moves by anti-ad software makers and 
Web publishers. As Web site operators employ software to block 
the blockers, ad filtering companies will most likely develop 
workaround solutions to the technology.  

"What we have here is the escalation of the arms race between 
consumers and advertisers," said Jim Nail, an advertising analyst 
at Forrester Research.  

For their part, ad-filter makers said they do not believe their 
products have had a significant effect on the bottom lines of Web 
publishers; rather, their filters have become a convenient 
scapegoat for deeper problems in the online-advertising market.  

"Let's face it, online advertising isn't exactly keeping publishers 
flush with money, and some might understandably be feeling 
emotional about the shortfall," said Jason Catlett, president of 
Junkbusters, which offers free ad-blocking software. "But if people 
are determined enough to filter ads, then they're unlikely to cough 
up money to pay for content. Economically it's pretty irrational for 
publishers to erect these barricades."  

MediaBeam's Beckhert said he believes there is a large market for 
his company's software, starting with his own company's Web site, 
DirectBox.com. Beckhert estimates that 10 percent to 20 percent of 
DirectBox visitors use ad filter Webwasher, produced by a German 
spin-off of computer company Siemens. The free product receives 
about 2,000 to 5,000 downloads per day globally.  

Industry executives estimate that the population of Net surfers 
using ad-blocking software is in the range of 2 percent to 5 
percent. Software developers for Webwasher and AdSubtract, two 
popular ad-filter products, claim millions of users worldwide, 
including many who signed up this year.  

Most ad-blocking software works by selectively loading graphics 
on a Web page. For example, an ad filter can screen out graphics 
based on their dimensions, often standard banner sizes, or by 
blocking the delivery of graphics served from common ad-network 
domains such as "ad.doubleclick.com."  

AdKey operates from the server side through HTTP, by detecting 
whether the graphics queried for an HTML page have loaded 
properly. If the graphics have not loaded, the page can deliver a 
notice that prevents the Web surfer from viewing the page. Web 
publishers using AdKey must enhance their pages with special 
AdKey commands to classify content of the site.  

MediaBeam is planning to license AdKey, a plug-in for Web 
servers, to corporations using Microsoft's Internet Information 
Server and Linux Apache, among others. Although the pricing 
model has not been set yet, Beckhert said that it will most likely 
cost companies $5,000 for the application.  

Ed English, CEO of AdSubtract maker Intermute, said other 
publishers have tried to block visitors who use ad filters from their 
sites. The technique others have used is to drop a JavaScript code 
on the surfer's Web browser to detect whether all images were 
loaded. If not, a message pops up asking visitors not to screen out 
ads.  

"We've created workarounds to such problems, so it could escalate 
into a cat-and-mouse game," English said. "But consumers are fed 
up with a lack of limits and restraints of what the online advertisers 
are doing."  

Horst Joepen, president of Webwasher, says that MediaBeam's 
software lacks teeth because blocking Internet ads is just one of 
Webwasher's functions. The free version of the tool, which has 
more than 5 million users, is an attractive marketing instrument to 
lure corporations to Webwasher's content-filtering application, 
which brings in most of its revenues, he said.  

"Webwasher is not an anti-advertising technology; it's pro-user self-
determination," Joepen said. "At the end of the day, they can still 
make up their mind to see ads or pay for content by choosing the 
sites they visit."  

Thomas Matheson, president of...Guidescope, shares the view 
that filtering is a secondary consideration.  

"The real issue is not whether people are filtering ads. Why worry 
about what 5 percent of the population is doing when most of the 
ads are being ignored?"  


Copyright 2001 CNET Networks Inc.





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