# Ad blocking

Before today’s readings and practical, my Citation Machine looked like this

But after the readings and my practice, the page now looks like this and will continue to look this way.

I always knew that online ads were targeted, which as it turns out, is very important to know and understand while consuming digital media. To me, the idea that a company has my personality completely profiled is terrifying but John Battelle offers a different perspective. Battelle explains that understanding that ads seen online are targeted toward the person, rather than as a “creepy” tactic, will drive consumers to have more control over marketers in the sense that they will need to provide better service, deals, and experiences to stick out. This is a newer perspective I had never considered and may be important to consider before panicking about the idea of user targeting.

I still do not like the idea of companies having a full profile on my activity, like many others I prefer my privacy so I have decided to keep my ad blockers on. It is interesting to note, however, from the readings was the finding that those who have tracking protection tend to spend more online, even with controlled settings considered. Although as the readings continued I discovered that many ad blockers do not fully protect users and many do not explicitly state that for users, which is an ethical issue. Some ad blockers participate in Acceptable Ad programs, which still do not protect you from trackers on your device or the selling of your information to other sites, it is extremely important to download an ad blocker that does not permit Acceptable Ads.

All in all, ads and ad blockers are a very messy situation. The ads track you, so you install an ad blocker, and you are still tracked. There is probably no escape from being tracked, which is why I like John Battelle’s approach to targeted ads so much. As consumers, our information is so valuable, it is worth paying for, why not demand better from companies? Better environmental behaviors, better quality products, better customer service- there are so many ways to turn what feels like having no power into having all the power.