What's The Big Fuss About Apple Ad Blockers?

As avid consumers of new media, it’s hard not to love the ad blocking features Apple has worked into iOS9, and the clever ad blocking apps that are selling like hotcakes on mobile app stores everywhere. But content publishers are claiming that ad blocking is tantamount to taking the bread out of their mouths, and warn that ultimately you and I will suffer as great content— traditionally funded through ad revenue, will no longer be viable to produce. Meanwhile, it doesn’t help that fake media traffic schemes— powered by bots, are eroding the confidence we all have in the internet’s ability to deliver an efficient and integrous way for advertisers to display ads to targeted audiences. In this week’s discussion, Tefo Mohapi and Andile Masuku weigh the pros and cons of ad blocking, and discuss how this might shape the future of advertising on the web. Publishers will no doubt need to tweak their business models if they are keep the lights on. It will be interesting to see whether these developments lead brands and publishers to look to native advertising to save the day. Also in this week's African Tech Round-up, all the week's biggest news from across Africa: -- South African JSE-listed tech firm, Altron is poised to sell its Autopage subscriber base for an estimated $108 million, -- Ethiopia rings in the New Year with the launch of Chinese-built light-rail system, -- Groupon is to withdraw from Morocco as part of its global rightsizing efforts, -- MultiChoice throws disgruntled Kenyan DSTV subscribers a bone by adding more channels to its "Compact" offering, -- Kenyan ISP Zuku is keen to woo customers to subscribe for its video-streaming service, -- A major survey reveals that there is a growing cyberbullying epidemic among South African teens, and -- Infamous South African Twitter personality, @PigSpotter's identity has been revealed. Additional Music Credits: Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0