Ad-sponsored ebooks

[Sweetpea]

No thanks... I'd rather not read the book at all if only an ad-infested would be available. Beside that, how would it work? Would I need a connection at all times or see ages old ads in case my reader doesn't even have a wifi/3g connection?

[Krystl]

What I see as the problem, is that ads start "unobtrusive" at first and then "grow" to capture your attention (yes, they ARE louder on the tv than the actual show). I do not want anything but the book in flow.

The only type of ads I would find acceptable are/would at the end the book (when it goes to sleep, I want my screensaver book cover and not another ad) and directly book-related such as other books by the author/in the genre. I actually welcome that type because a) I can just shut the book and move on and b) that is how I could get to know other related books I may enjoy. An ad about Coke or Kindle accessories--ummm not so much.

About me: I actively decided against an "ad supported" device for that very reason--it is my book and refuge and not my tv.

[michelle2011]

I'm totaly fine with ads in ebooks, if it is a book that I have checked out from the library.

If I buy the book, then I want no ads.



I think it would be great if the Big 6 started their own lending library. Maybe something similar to those Blockbuster Kiosk. You pay a small fee $1 to $3 dollar rental fee. You get to 'rent' the book for 7 to 14 days. And at the end of the rental peroid, the book automaticly deletes. they can even put in ads if they want.

And if you really like the book... you have the option of buying the book before your rental period is up ( something like what Gamefly does) for a discount price.

I know I would gladly pay a small rental fee to read a ebook that my library doesn't have in their collection.

[misling]

I think this option:
Yes, only if ads are placed between chapters and/or at the beginning/end of the ebook
is too broad to answer.

I'd maybe go for ads at the beginning or end, but NOT between chapters. Too disruptive.

No I'd rather check a paper book out of the library, or buy a used paperback. So No.

[ladyplf]

I voted yes because I've been thinking about this idea a lot lately. I love to read, but I don't have the disposable income to indulge in my habit as I would like to. If there was a way to get free legal ebooks I'd hop on it fast, and ads seem to be the perfect solution of slowing down ebook piracy.

I hate ads too btw, but it's just like TV, a sponsored ebook is better than nothing imho. Authors would get paid for their efforts, and readers get access to free materials; who wouldn't want that? And of course those who want to have ad free ebooks just pay for them as usual.

[The Terminator]

Yeah I really don't want ad's to come to books. I've totally changed my mind after thinking about it for awhile.

[QuantumIguana]

Ads in e-books wouldn't slow down piracy. Pirates would still distribute the books. In order to make the books free, the ads would have to be very intrusive, just like with articles on the web.

[sabcab]

My belief is that consumers say they will reject ads until given the option. If it's a good enough price and not overly intrusive, seems like a good choice to have. Probably not for every book, but it makes sense when trying to discover new ones.

[ProDigit]

In short:
NO!
I Hate ads!


I think ads mess up the web.
However, if some kind of adblocker would exist, that would filter out stupid ads, I'd not mind buying the ad version.

In long:
I think ads like on television are a waste of precious bandwidth.
90% of ads can be removed; when ads become more than 50% of the actual usable content, people lose interest. In my case, if ads take up more than 0.5% of the usable content, I lose interest! (and I'm sure many would agree with me).

I don't watch TV anymore because of ads; now tell me how effective are they with me?
Toyota could spend billions on ads on TV and radio, and it would do me nothing! I would not buy a single car from them because of the ads!

Websites/broadcast stations/producers just adding adds; just bother more other people who still are using those media, to take the same actions as I have (namely leave)!

When I buy a book, I will want to read, either a story, or learn something out of it.
I doubt there are many items worth buying when reading a (say non-fiction)story. Now if it's a book about Japanese swordsmanship, for the advanced; the ads connected should be ads of high quality, and rare Japanese swords. Not ads of a major retail store selling lip gloss, or even selling plastic swords,that'd be out of the question.

So your question could be returned to you;
"what kind of ads?"
There are 4 kinds of ads I can think of:
1- Just ads: The most annoying, useless crap that destroys the globe,human intellect, and the net!
2- Specialized ads: Ads that give links very specific to content you're reading
3- Personalized ads: I'm reading many books about cars, but this one book I'm reading is about certain minerals, but I still receive ads of cars in this book
4- A combination of both specialized ads, refined by a personal search pattern; eg: I'm reading up on rare,high quality items. I will want ads of similar items, that are rare, and high quality, perhaps harder to find; but not ads of things I already visited or have been made aware of; neither of similar items that would be too far off price/quality wise.

Seeing these 4 types of ads, I can generally say (since Ebooks get downloaded once, and once on your reader, ads won't get updated, because you're not going to read with the wifi constantly on); I can safely say that 99% of ads are wasted bandwidth, and not bringing up any revenue;and bothering people more than helping them.
I even believe, unless there's some crazy ass adding in books,they will not bring up enough revenue to cover the costs (not only of the ads, but also of the $4 you save on every book).

Let me explain a bit:

Say that we're focusing on personalized ads; leaving general spam out of the question;
I would not want my book to be spoiled with ads that have nothing to do with the story I'm reading about! I would gain no special,real world knowledge of what I'm reading about (like I would not learn where to buy gadgets or items, or links to sites for reading up on things related to my book).

Specially, handpicked ads; ads that will teach the user where to buy specific items that are within the context of the book you're reading up on, could be interesting; ONLY if they are combined with personalized ads.
Meaning,
If I read up on bass guitars, I will probably know about certain commercial brands. I may really love the Ibanez brand, but hate the Yamaha brand. In such case, I don't want to have my book filled with Yamaha items and links!

Such is pop culture, that ads are working for the general flock, that does not know left from right, and accept any discount ad, and care not about certain qualities! But it works contradictory for people who know what they are looking for, and who specialize in certain fields. They will find ads useless, and lagging weeks behind their own knowledge at best!

Eg:
I know about brand Ibanez,and like them. Why would I even need ads of Ibanez?
If there's something I want to know about an item of them,I'll google it!

Quite often when someone does research of an item, he knows in much greater detail, than whatever links the ads are pointing to (because they are general links).
Meaning, If I want a certain type of bass guitar of Ibanez,and regard all the other basses as 'not worthy of my time and attention', I would not want ads of these other basses,even if they are from the brand I'd like.
And if I have a reason to choose a certain manufacturer of a certain item, I may not have any use for ads that show me similar items of other brands, because my personal preference might be with a certain brand, not with a certain type...

This significantly narrows down my interest in ads, to a field smaller than 0.01 to 0.001% of all available ads that could be thrown my way.

Ads are there to help the customer find good items and resources; but with the advent of major retail sites like ebay, amazon, newegg etc, and review sites like cnet and other great review sites,and technology and gadget websites that keep me up to date of the newest of the newest, gadgets, ads generally become useless.

I find ads are largely surpassed by user reviews and major retail sites in this day and age.

The main objective of ads is to connect user interest with websites, and retail stores or outlets where he either will invest some money, or time. If anything within that connection,that chain between buyer and seller is not perfectly aligned, the ad becomes useless.

And unfortunately we live in a society that has not accepted yet,that uncontrolled ads are a waste of precious bandwidth, time, and could work just the opposite direction, resulting in people leaving certain forms of entertainment because of ads.
Websites, then not bringing up enough revenue, will increase ads, making them moving flash animations, that attract even more attention, only to find they work even more in the wrong way.

People connect to websites for their own interest, not their ads.
So with books.

A last argument against ads:
If something is good, inevitably after a while it will gain popularity,and word of mouth will spread the item much better than ads.
Coca Cola, M&M's, Menthos, Tic-Tac, Ajax, Colgate, ..., all those brands don't need to make ads, because after their initial introduction in the seventies and eighties, everyone knows them. You won't see them on TV anymore.
And all of them,would agree that commercials only work in their disadvantage; because they cost money, take up people's valuable time,and really teach them nothing!

So in general, I'd say no to ads; either on websites, tv stations, radio's and even books!

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm looking for option 2.5:

"Yes, only if ads are placed between chapters and/or at the beginning/end of the ebook"

Originally Posted by Pomtroll

I voted yes with #2. BUT only if the ads were at the beginning or end of the book. I really don't want one between chapters.

This! (emphases mine)

[AlexBell]

For what it is worth I will NEVER under any circumstances read an ebook containing ads, or use an ebook reader which shows me ads.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by AlexBell

For what it is worth I will NEVER under any circumstances read an ebook containing ads, or use an ebook reader which shows me ads.

I have books (of the paper kind) that contain ads... Mostly ads of books of the same author that can often be found at the end of a book. And I must say, those I don't mind. They're also static and can help you place when a book was published

Technically speaking, I'm okay with advertising. What I'm not okay with is advertising culture: that mentality where advertising isn't effective unless you've stolen a small piece of the consumer's life and made them feel as though they were kicked in the teeth.

So in reality, I would never go for the advertising supported book -- because you never know what you're going to get ahead of time.

[spindlegirl]

I'd probably be ok with a book that contained an ad IF the finished form was DRM-free and deliverable directly to my home directory in my hard drive and not some silly proprietary app.

Then yes, I'd be exposed to the ads long enough to delete them after editing them out.