I had a little extra time the other day and I decided to check out some of the crazy add-ons for the Mozilla Firefox application. (If you don't already know it, Mozilla's Firefox is an internet browser like Safari or Internet Explorer that is open source, meaning new capabilities can be created and shared by a community of users).

There were some cool extensions. One made it so I could quit and save my previous browsing session. Another made it so my entire browser could have a Biblical-theme.

But the best and most dangerous extension by far is the Adblock Plus extension. This add-on not only blocks pop-ups, it prevents advertisements from loading on any website you view. Myspace, blogs, and news sites, all with faster loading times and no annoying ads giving you cognitive dissonance.

But non-product web-based enterprises make all their money through ads. Sites that charge for some content, such as the New York Times, are increasingly allowing free access because of ad revenue. So if we can Tivo out ads on our internet browsers, the potential for robust web content, which comes with good funding, could be severely compromised. Which may not be such a bad thing, considering the poor quality of that robust web content. Case in point, this blog. (Note: Please click one of the ads at the right! I make 10 cents a month off of those!)

Labels: advertising, firefox, interface, web