Anghus Houvouras on the fight to keep film sites free…
Allow me to wax nostalgic for a moment. It was all the way back in the year 2000 that I began writing about film online. Inspired by a half-dozen film sites that I enjoyed, convinced that I had something to add to the conversation. It was a lot of fun. I got to work with some awesome people who went on to become really good writers. Though the site never did achieve any kind of notoriety, it was fun. That’s pretty much been my creative compass since I first put pen to paper: If it’s fun, it’s probably worth doing. Unless you find hunting people for sport fun or screaming “Fire” in a crowded movie theater after greasing the exits with canola oil. Or if you enjoy going to target and recording lewd messages in the toys with voice chip technology. Like the time I picked up a toy parrot at Target, pushed the button, and it said “Make sure to wash your asshole every day!” That’s not fun. That’s just the product of a socially malevolent malcontent. I’m sorry… where was I? Right, the internet.
Over the last 16 years I’ve written a lot of columns for different websites. And if we’re being honest, it’s more for pleasure than profit. I never made a mint sharing my opinions online, not that it mattered. Like I said, the compass I chart my life by is based on personal enjoyment. I still enjoy sharing my opinion and hopefully starting a conversation on movies, television shows, and other pop culture happenings.
The landscape has greatly changed since the dawn of the 21st century. I’ve watched websites come and go. Sat by and watched as small sites get gobbled up by larger ones, strong individual voices absorbed into media conglomerates, and good websites plunge into obscurity. The only constant is change, and in the world of online media that constant is an exhausting cocaine fueled evolutionary speed run that would leave The Flash gasping for breath.
The latest threat to internet film sites is the Ad Blocker. That spectacular piece of code that allows users to browse sites without being interrupted by sponsored content. While it’s hard to argue the efficiency of Ad Blockers, it’s beginning to impact websites. Not the large media conglomerates, mind you. Though I’m guessing there is probably fat being trimmed because of it. It’s the modest sized websites that are feeling the pinch. That collection of film fans who have banded together to give their own spin on the world of entertainment. The other day, Flickering Myth EIC Gary Collinson remarked on the high amount of traffic the site was getting one day and what percentage was using Ad Blockers. Apparently on any given day, nearly 20% of all visitors are using an Ad Blocker. That means a fifth of all readers are blocking ads and therefore those articles do not receive any revenue. On one particular day recently that number was as high as 40%. That number is only going to increase. We’re on an inevitable path where the majority of those surfing the web will be using some kind of technological work around to avoid ads. So I’m just going to say it.
You might want to turn off your Ad Blocker.
I know what you’re thinking. I’m guessing it’s a few words that rhyme with “Duck” and “Moo”. Or maybe ones that rhyme with “No”, “Buck”, and “Door Elf”. Or even a severely angry few that are thinking about words that rhyme with “Click”,”Uh”, “Grapple”, “Cup”, “Floor”, and “Grass Mole”. Do you kiss your Mom with that brain?
The internet is great because it supports a wide variety of voices. Ad revenue is a necessary factor in monetizing those voices. And, no, it’s not about the money. Not for me. I’d stand on a soapbox shouting my innermost feelings on a movie in the gutters if need be. But there are those who benefit from the fraction of a penny that each article view brings. I understand the apprehension to paywalls and other services that cost money. But the sites providing free content rely on the ads. The fact that a growing majority of readers can’t even be bothered by a banner ad or the occasional pop up to read hundreds of hours of film commentary is bordering on the obscene.
Hell, you don’t even need to turn off the Ad Blocker for every site. But the websites you enjoy and the writers whose voices you appreciate: turn off the Ad Blocker and give them the opportunity to keep writing those columns, publishing those reviews, and wildly speculating about the plot to the latest comic book movie.
It’s the least you can do until Trump becomes President and craters the world as we know it or the Chinese take over and imprison any film site not approved by the Government.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker and the co-host of Across the Pondcast. Follow him on Twitter.
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