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Comment by tonyedgecombe | Hacker News Reader

"Publishers in the beta may create sponsored content on behalf of or in association with brands. For some publishers, Medium will provide paid opportunities to execute high-quality native campaigns on behalf of brands."

I guess this is what happens when we all block ads.

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At least with that model it can't include tracking across sites (if that's how they plan on implementing it). If the ads become too distasteful, then what might be cool is a white/black lister add-on that blacks out links you've blacklisted or only shows links you've whitelisted. As people blacklist, maybe they could opt-in to increment a public counter so companies can watch their numbers fly up when they add that full-screen, 5 second delay ad. I want this now actually, for paywall sites and sites that don't work with ad blockers so I know to not waste my time clicking a link.

I think it's pretty naive to think this wouldn't happen if no one block ads.

This is already all over the place in magazines and newspapers, where ads are not "blockable".

Yeah but for varying reasons, people have blocked these media altogether, so the net effect is the same.

Oh contraire! Ad-blockers already block sponsored content that is inter-mixed with non-sponsored. And because sponsored content generally must be disclosed there's no real way around it from the publisher's perspective.

Yeah. Tbh, at this point, I think sponsored content is here to stay as a serious funding model for publishers. I just hope its well marked.

People have shown they aren't willing [for whatever reason] to buy content with cash directly so the alternative is for it to push an agenda that is paid for with cash.

  I just hope its well marked.

I don't think the future of ads will be well marked -- because being well marked means it can be blocked easily.

I'm pretty sure legally you are required to label sponsored content.

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftc...

That's a really usefully written FAQ. Well done FTC. It gets into a lot of meaty stuff:

> Testimonials claiming specific results usually will be interpreted to mean that the endorser’s experience reflects what others can also expect. Statements like “Results not typical” or “Individual results may vary” won’t change that interpretation. That leaves advertisers with two choices: [...]

Isn't "sponsored content" still required to carry a notice? In that case it should still be possible to block automatically...

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