Tech Talk: Beware the Native Ad Infestation
This article was first published by dmcityview.com Whenever a new website pops up and becomes super popular, eventually everyone asks the same question: How does this site make money? Usually sites first make it online with minor personal investments followed by private investors, but all investors want a return, and more likely than not that means advertisements. Though most people often tune out the ads, a festering type of advertisement can camouflage itself in the content a person actually cares about. This infestation is known as native advertisements. All Internet users have seen them hiding in plain sight — in search results, Facebook newsfeeds, Twitter feeds, even CNN’s main page — posts and links that look like normal content but are actually advertisements. Some say “sponsored” or “promoted,” but others are not so aptly defined. Google was even sued into fine-print labeling their native ads. Regardless, though, they often prove to work. Currently reaping roughly $2 b...