What if there was no advertising? | George Nimeh | TEDxVienna

Summary

In his TEDx talk, George Nimeh explores the possibility and implications of an internet without advertising. He shares personal anecdotes about the inception of online ads and his involvement in the industry while acknowledging the challenges and dissatisfaction they present. Nimeh highlights how advertising is fundamental to funding online content yet often disrupts user experience, prompting many to resort to ad blockers. He discusses alternative ways of supporting online content, like donations and storytelling that engage users without intrusive ads, and invites us to imagine a more open, ad-free digital landscape.

Highlights

• George Nimeh's first encounter with online ads in 1994 highlights the history and evolution of digital advertising. 📅
• Ads are often forgotten, and in the vast landscape of the internet, they fail to make a lasting impact. 🌐
• Ad blockers are used by hundreds of millions globally, emphasizing a dislike for intrusive ads. ✋
• Without advertising, iconic locations and websites would look drastically different, with cleaner and more appealing designs. 🏙️
• Alternative funding methods, such as user donations and engaging stories, could replace traditional ads effectively. ⚙️

Key Takeaways

• Advertising is the predominant business model for internet content, but it's flawed and disruptive. 📉
• George Nimeh presents the ad industry's awkward inception and the adverse impact of modern ads on browsing experience. 💻
• Many users worldwide use ad blockers, reflecting a significant dissatisfaction with digital advertising. 🚫
• Alternative models exist, such as donations and storytelling, which can sustain online content without intrusive ads. 💡
• Imagining a world without advertising reveals clearer online experiences but prompts questions about funding. 🤔

Overview

George Nimeh takes us back to the early days of digital advertising in 1994, recounting his first interaction with a banner ad. Despite their initial novelty, online ads quickly became relentless and disruptive, failing to leave a memorable mark on users. Nimeh humorously acknowledges his role in this industry's development while expressing his apologies for what digital ads have become today.

In an age where internet ads dominate screens, Nimeh highlights a growing resistance against them, with 200 million users employing ad blockers monthly. These tools reflect a collective frustration with ads that interrupt web browsing, cost data to download, and invade privacy. Instead of enhancing experiences, modern ads often inhibit them, prompting questions about their sustainability.

Nimeh proposes a digital realm devoid of traditional ads, where alternative models support content creation. He advocates for methods like donations and compelling storytelling that engage audiences without intrusive interruptions. He urges companies to reconsider their advertising strategies, favoring meaningful content over conventional ads to enhance user satisfaction and online enjoyment.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 02:30: Introduction and Early Internet Advertising The chapter titled 'Introduction and Early Internet Advertising' begins with a nostalgic account from the narrator, recalling their first encounter with internet advertising. This was in 1994 when they were 27 years old, and they clicked on a banner ad. However, the narrator reflects on the challenge of remembering most online ads, suggesting that while the act was memorable, most internet advertising tends to fade quickly from memory. The chapter likely continues to explore the evolution and impact of early internet advertising.
• 02:30 - 06:30: Issues with Digital Advertising The chapter discusses the inefficacy and challenges of digital advertising, particularly focusing on the fact that users, including the speaker, often do not click on ads. This lack of engagement is seen as problematic because it threatens the financing of online content. The key concern is maintaining a sustainable income for content creators beyond major tech companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon.
• 06:30 - 10:00: The Impact of Ad Blockers This chapter discusses the impact of ad blockers on the internet's business model, highlighting how newer companies like Netflix, Uber, and Airbnb don't rely on ads. It reflects on the first banner ad ever displayed on the internet by HotWired, now known as Wired Magazine, back in October 1994, marking a significant change in digital advertising over the last 21 years.
• 10:00 - 13:30: Visions of a World Without Advertising The chapter discusses the role of advertising in the digital age. It highlights a particular advertising campaign run by Organic Online, an agency the narrator joined years later, and reflects on the narrator's indirect contributions to the proliferation of online ads. The chapter touches on the collective responsibility of internet professionals, advertising agencies, and marketers for the prevalence of digital advertising, including intrusive tactics like pop-ups.
• 13:30 - 17:30: Storytelling as an Alternative The chapter 'Storytelling as an Alternative' discusses the unintended consequences of an experiment initiated 21 years ago. The speaker apologizes, stating that the original intention wasn't to create the system we have today. The experiment became the norm and is now essential for funding the internet. The chapter seems to reflect on the transition from a mere trial to a fundamental part of internet infrastructure.
• 17:30 - 21:00: Audience Engagement and Support Models The chapter titled 'Audience Engagement and Support Models' explores the improbability of certain events, likening clicking on a banner ad to the rarity of being struck by lightning. It presents this idea as a fact of the current digital environment. The transcript also briefly introduces the speaker's background, mentioning their upbringing in Rochester, Upstate New York, which is notably the home of Kodak—a major player in the history of photography and holder of digital photography patents.
• 21:00 - 24:30: Conclusion and Personal Reflection The chapter explores the theme of disruption in business, with the narrator sharing a personal experience of learning about disruption by observing businesses being driven out of operation. It highlights how looking at historical examples, like Wikipedia and the iPad, can offer insights into present and future technological advancements. The chapter ends with a reflective note on how understanding disruption can be seen as a valuable lesson.

What if there was no advertising? | George Nimeh | TEDxVienna Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] I can still remember my first time it was uh 1994 and I was 27 years old that was the first time I ever clicked on a banner ad on the internet but actually it's not true see the thing is I don't remember most of the advertising I see on the internet
• 00:30 - 01:00 let alone do I click on much and I bet that that's probably the same thing for a lot of you and I think that's a problem it's a problem because if we want to keep the internet full of valuable interesting entertaining and fun stuff to do we need to find a way for people to get paid enough for them to make a living from it and today other than Google Facebook Apple Amazon and a
• 01:00 - 01:30 few of the newbies that are out there like Netflix or Uber uh or uh uh or Airbnb you know apart from those folks for the most part the business model of the internet is broken does anybody know what that is that's the first Banner ad that was ever on the internet it was a a a website called hotwired now it's called Wired Magazine and it was in uh October of 1994 that's 21 years ago and uh uh
• 01:30 - 02:00 along with uh uh that ad they ran a bunch of others and a few from an agency called organic online which I joined a couple years after that so somehow some of this is my fault and uh uh so kind of on behalf of the internet the advertising agencies the programmatic marketers those guys with the popups and all that stuff
• 02:00 - 02:30 I'd like to say we're sorry um you know the thing is it's it's pretty bad right but the thing we didn't really plan it this way it was an experiment 21 years ago we just tried to figure something out we thought hey let's give this a try but somehow it's stuck it became the thing that we need to do it's the way we fund the internet today right the the point is there's about the same uh percent
• 02:30 - 03:00 AG right it's about the same thing right getting hit by lightning and clicking on a banner what was the last time you purposefully did this thing well these are facts right it's fact that is that is the world where we're in this is it so I grew up in Rochester in Upstate New York that's where Kodak is from you might have heard of them they're that little photography company uh that had the patents for digital photography and
• 03:00 - 03:30 sat on them for about 20 years and are currently being uh uh disrupted out of business it's a sad tale but I kind of learned disruption firsthand that way so I guess so somehow for me it's a it's a good thing um but I thought it'd be interesting to look at a couple of other companies to see if the past can teach us something about the present and the future this is Wikipedia in 1874 right look how far it's come from from way back then to today this is the iPad in 1955 and as a little side note when
• 03:30 - 04:00 people tell you that being digital is antisocial cuz you're all head down refer them to this thing it's human behavior it has nothing to do with digital technology it's just the way we way we are right this is WhatsApp in 1944 and if they were eating the notes it would be [Music] Snapchat that's my best joke of the day this is the New York Times in 1996
• 04:00 - 04:30 when I was working there this is the advertising that was on the The New York Times in that time right two little banner ads this is the New York Times in 199 in in 2014 it could be 1994 it may as well be it's 2014 that's the advertising that was on the New York Times at that time one big banner ad kind of reminds you of this right it's where we are it's where we are it's terrifying to me it's hilarious
• 04:30 - 05:00 but it's terrifying there are 200 million people a month using an ad blocker today worldwide 200 million it's it's not a uh there's nothing subtle about this number it's 200 million people going no thank you I don't want this stuff how many how many people here use an ad blocker yeah you're not shy hey that's my point this is my point you don't want it it's growing at 41% a year in Austria 25% of the quality media
• 05:00 - 05:30 websites standard Pressa Etc ker where I had worked um 25% a quarter of our traffic has ad blockers installed on more technical websites or youth websites that number climbs over 30 35 40% that's 40% of your business that just disappears in the advertising and marketing uh business we like to you know we kind of look at ad blocker akin to the same way of the rules of Fight Club the first rule of ad blocker is you
• 05:30 - 06:00 do not talk about ad blocker the second rule of uh uh ad blocker is you do not talk about ad blocker but I mean it's pretty easy right why why not why wouldn't you if the more people learn about this stuff the the more they want to use it because what they get in return is normally crap right so this is Mii chiii try to pronounce that five times fast um I studied him in graduate school he's a Ted speaker you should look him up uh
• 06:00 - 06:30 just not now uh he gave a a great talk on on Flow and happiness and this idea of flow is is a state that you get in when you're in the zone where you're feeling like you know that things are going your way and the internet you you can feel that way when you're involved in something that you like when you're watching a video that you love or reading an article or doing something funny and advertising today Gets In Your Way popup ads unskippable video ads these things that block the flow is
• 06:30 - 07:00 counterintuitive to the idea of having a memorable and pleasurable experience online and that's a fundamental problem with the business that they're in now people hate this stuff and they hate the fact that advertising costs the money if you're on mobile to fix contract it costs you money to download people's advertisements and it also costs you time two things that we're kind of hardpressed for these days in Germany and Austria uh we have a heightened sense of personal data and data protection and that gets in the way and promotes this idea of why one should use an ad blocker I mean the these are the
• 07:00 - 07:30 only cookies third party cookies especially that I think people really want as opposed to being tracked across the internet from 60,000 sources that they have no idea who's doing it and and mobile mobile will be huge right it's it's it's it's 60% of the traffic in the United States 6040 desktop uh 6040 mobile to desktop in Europe and in Austria it's about 50/50 and it's growing and at the moment I can't think
• 07:30 - 08:00 of a single decent uh business model other than some of what Facebook is doing with their little advertising but normal banner ads on mobile suck right when you click on them normally it's an accident right how many of you have accidentally clicked on a mobile ad with your thumb right you're like back back back back back right we have invented an accidental business model and it's not sustainable
• 08:00 - 08:30 it's not sustainable people talk about the digital Revolution I think it's an apocalypse I think we've created an environment that's unsustainable and something needs to change and so it got me thinking if they turn the music up you might even hear it what if there was no advertising wouldn't it be nice turn that up a little be nice so you're Outdoors it doesn't get in your way anymore you look right through it
• 08:30 - 09:00 doesn't get in the way you're off for a stroll you don't get bombarded the spaces are empty the architecture shines through and things are just fine white spaces your days are clear everything is just fine Time Square transformed right it becomes beautiful the New York Times an easy place to hang out no more advertising bothering you the GU The Washington Post the same thing websites that have more advertising than content suddenly become usable again and YouTube without pre-rolls or without advertising
• 09:00 - 09:30 wouldn't that be nice right wouldn't that be [Applause] great somebody sent me this link to depressa here in Austria and I couldn't figure out where the content was I was the chief digital officer at career until September 1st of this year I resigned uh to try to be a little bit better and do this with you toer today um but even where I was working this is the homepage of that website now where where are we what what Have We Become
• 09:30 - 10:00 Arman wolf would you know the same thing I'm sure he thinks the same way but if we get rid of it if we get rid of it all what really happens this is snowfall from The New York Times if any of you seen it it won the Pulitzer Prize a few years ago it's a brilliant piece of work it told the story of a a skiing accident a tragedy actually but in a way that no one had ever really seen before videos interviews infographic graic a beautiful
• 10:00 - 10:30 beautiful piece of work this is the NSA decoded on the guardian have any of you seen this it was such an approachable piece of work again videos infographics interviews with people uh text images an incredible amount of work went into making an incredibly complex story something very approachable and for me it was it was a a fantastic thing I I it got me closer to this issue it brought me an understanding what would happen if the advertising's gone what happens to the social networks that we all rely on
• 10:30 - 11:00 most of whom are ad funded today what happens what happens to the fun stuff what happens to the the cats and the the the the the night shows that we like what happens to even the fun stuff if we can't find a way of paying for it if we can't fund the internet in a way that makes enough money for people who do it but that doesn't piss you all off too much so what if Austria could help solve that problem it got me
• 11:00 - 11:30 thinking in uh uh somewhere around 400 BC Plato said those who tell the stories rule society and it took a couple thousand years but in the 21st century we seem to have figured that out here in Austria Cas in point Felix bomgardner right I had the pleasure of working for Red Bull for a few years of my life and I discovered that in Austria there's a company that figured out that
• 11:30 - 12:00 telling stories was much more fun than doing advertising it works millions of people enjoyed this story told by a brand or Chris Davenport an an off- piece skier who I worked with was a 16-part video series about what it's like to be in Alaska or in South America and Beyond PKS he dumped me out of a helicopter once in order to take a couple of pictures and do an interview uh not another talk and another time or even at career we worked on telling stories across platforms in a different way way that didn't do advertising but
• 12:00 - 12:30 that put storytelling and content in the middle of of the argument so there's ways to do it you just have to look but what can you do what if what if you could help fix this right what happens if the next time you went to Wikipedia and saw Jimmy Wales mug on the on on the on the internet and Jimmy was asking you for five what would happen if you gave Wikipedia five next time they run fund drives every year they need it our kids use it I use it you all
• 12:30 - 13:00 probably use it on a daily basis what if we gave them5 what if Maria poova on uh brain pickings for example anybody know brain pickings here another one to jot down right great great stuff it's it's it's inspiring it's daily it's a lot of work and it's funded by donations you know people reaching out and saying if you love what I do please help us uh do it and I think that's a much better way it's one of the better ways of of doing this or their Shard for example that has
• 13:00 - 13:30 this idea of fair use where you can get rid of the ads if you're willing to pay for stuff and if you're not willing to pay for stuff they say please let us show you the ads it's kind of a fair Arrangement certainly better than some of the stuff that's going on today and in your corporate lives if any of you have the ability I like to kind of look at it like the iceberg 10% is the part that you see it's the tip of the iceberg what would happen if 10% of your budgets if you found a way of clawing that back and telling stories that meant something
• 13:30 - 14:00 to people instead of putting advertising in front of them and being more authentic and saying things that people would want to hear as opposed to just being posters in some places something to think about it's uh you know doctors scientists an astronaut um an over 90-year-old woman who I think everyone wants to be their grandmother um I I I am standing on and a geek you know I I'm standing on the shoulders
• 14:00 - 14:30 of giants today and uh as the son of another Syrian immigrant uh it's been an honor a pleasure and a bit of a dream to be with you here today thank you