[Discuss] ad supported apps

[tmetro+blu at gmail.com (Tom Metro)]

Kent Borg wrote:
> I wish there were a finer-grained permission that was "serve ads" and
> not "use internet connection freely".
> 
> ...Google would have to define it (and maybe run a proxy...

We saw this problem solved in the mid to late 90's when ad supported
freeware on Windows was getting off the ground. Many applications used
the same ad serving libraries tied to a common ad network.

I don't know for a fact that Google doesn't provide libraries and an ad
network for app authors, but I haven't yet ran across any evidence of
such. If so, that seems like a huge missed opportunity for Google to
make a commission on Adword sales.

They could have provided a background ad service that would nicely
aggregate demographic details about the user, and maintain a cache of
fresh, relevant ads, ready to be served up to any app that participates
in the program.

Instead there seems to be a hodgepodge of mobile ad networks pushing
really low quality, irrelevant, and often intentionally deceptive ads.


So had Google created the infrastructure for this, and been generous
enough to allow for alternative ad providers to be installed in
parallel, you would then be able to grant net access permission to a few
ad services, while the client apps would not need any special permission
at all.


However, my expectation is that we're going to see fewer and fewer ad
supported apps that just slap a small banner someone on the UI, once the
statistics for how well such advertising pays. My expectation is that it
is extraordinarily ineffective.

Apps that make money from advertising do so with "take-over" ads, like
the full screen video commercials you'll see on Rovio's Angry Birds.

A more tolerable version of this would be sponsorships. Say a VoIP app
sponsored by a VoIP service provider. (Aside from games, many apps will
have complementary commercial services or products as potential sponsors.)

A bit more work for the developer, but more relevant and profitable ads.

 -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/