One of the most popular internet downloads is from AdBlock or Adblock Plus, software which identifies advertisements and blocks them. When you are confronted with sites that look like Christmas trees, festooned with suggestions for things you have searched (or even already bought) on-line it is tempting to look for a way to be ad-free.
Taglines only carries ads from local businesses who have paid not to support the site, but to support local charities and we do not use "google-ads". But many of the sites and blogs you may visit actually depend on their adverts to keep going, just like old-style printed newspapers and commercial TV and radio. With those media one simply chooses which ones to buy/watch but when surfing the internet it can be annoying to see the same products popping up all the time - we recently bought a couple of small suitcases and every site we visit has seemingly dozens of ads for the same suitcases we bought - and from the same firm. You feel like shouting at the screen "we've already bought them; how many more do you think we need!!!".
So blocking ads is a balance between the genuine need to finance the sites (news sites are vital and need support which comes from ads - unless you pay a subscription (as with The Times) and your ability to browse with serenity. Advertisers will need to come up with more innovative ideas if they are to avoid being blocked out.
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