Earlier this month Evan Williams, the CEO of Medium, announced that the company was moving away from the standard online advertising model. The announcement was surprising for a number of reasons. For one thing, the online publishing platform had its best year in 2016, increasing readers and published posts by about 300% and becoming an authority for online news in a year when such authority was in short supply due to inaccurate US election coverage and a flood of fake news. 

February 2016: Million Dollar Spelling Mistake

The next major Windows 10 update will be rolled out to users in April of this year. Known as the Creators Update or Redstone 2, it will incorporate new media tools such as an update to Microsoft Paint allowing users to create 3D models by scanning objects with their phones. The company also plans to address the privacy concerns that have been raised by users, especially when it comes to the operating system’s data collection component which compiles and transmits user information to Microsoft. 

Have you ever searched for a deal on a laptop or jacket and for the following week, all you see are online ads about laptops and jackets? It’s clear to most users that companies are tracking our online  activities. While advertisers use a number of methods to track users’ online habits, one popular method is called a “tracking pixel," also known as a “web beacon.” 

Since ad blocking extensions have quickly become popular, there are aspects of ad blocking software that may not be familiar to all users. For one thing, not all makers of ad blocking software are intrinsically against advertising. Sure, most ads are annoying and software makers want to create the best possible online experience for their users, but free online content could not survive as-is without some advertising.