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Ad-blocking technology is finally taking off in the general population. In the US 15% of internet users have installed an ad-blocker, but among people born after 1980 the number is closer to 30%.
One American journalism startup thinks they have a business model that doesn't depend on advertising -- Low volume, high-quality, hyper-local investigative reporting intended to appeal to passionate citizens that are especially engaged in their community. Will it work? They claim to be close to achieving their budget targets after just a month of operation.
The startup is in Tulsa, about as far away as you can get from the stereotypical centers of innovation and journalism like Silicon Valley and New York City. Is the mainstream of internet development so addicted to advertising and Big Data profiling that they are unable to see opportunities that exist outside of their filter bubble?
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by Appalbarry on Sunday May 31 2015, @05:07PM
In the US 15% of internet users have installed an ad-blocker, but among people born after 1980 the number is closer to 30%.
I remain highly skeptical of that claim, much less the claim that some 40% of German users have adblocking installed. Until I actually see "a large analytic firm ...release disturbing figures on the state of the ad blocking scene" I call BS on those numbers.
Nonetheless, I think that you need to offer content that is very specialized, original, and unavailable elsewhere if you hope to make paywalls or subscriber support work. Maybe The Tulsa Frontier can make it work, maybe they can't. Locally The Tyee [thetyee.ca] seems to keep going, and is doing exactly the same kind of work.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 31 2015, @08:11PM
Why would you only trust people whose paychecks are dependent on their ability to make scary headlines with data that has not been reproduced?