potentialgeek - 2:54 pm on Dec 11, 2007 (gmt 0)

If you block an advertiser you have to provide a reason why you are blocking them. Google then sends that reason to the advertiser.

This could open a can of worms. But it's probably still worth the risk, because of how many blocks are currently preventing ads from being seen.

I've asked for this new Google plan in the past, but I'm a little surprised Google is actually going for it.

Until now there's been a "firewall" between advertisers and publishers. We have lived in two separate worlds. No communication, etc. Completely impersonal.

When you start the new platform, where you reject/accept, and give reasons why, some people will get pi$$ed off. In some cases it could even lead to sabotage if rejections are flippant.

But let's hope those are the rare exceptions and for the most part everyone conducts themselves in a professional manner. After all, in the real world, there is communication between advertisers and publishers, submission of ads, discussion of rates, brokering deals, etc.

It's easy to imagine if Google opens the door to communication between advertisers and publishers, further communication could be taken out of Google's control, leading to side deals and even direct advertising, i.e., taking Google completely out of the equation. Which of course is currently a TOS violation.

Not everyone is going to be content to discuss ads by email within the confines of Google's new system. You can bank on that--especially when the amount of money involved is significant.

p/g