Who is Farhan Lalji?

I’ve been using Firefox for more then 5 years. It’s a phenomenal browser. And it’s gotten better with every version. Five years ago tabbed browsing was a revelation, four years ago I discovered the web developer toolbar, three years ago it was the delicious extension, two years ago the IE tab, and this year the world clock plug-in have made my browsing experience soooo much better, not to mention making more efficient. There are a ton of extensions I use and enjoy using. But nowhere on that list is ad blocking. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the pop-up blocking. Heck I work for a company that makes money from advertising. I understand the importance for publishers to make money from advertising. But if something is harmful to the user experience people will create a work around. I believe that pop-up blocking technology is probably why we see so few pop-ups online today.

So I was really annoyed to come across a site called, whyfirefoxisblocked. Personally, I think ads online should try and add value. They should be targeted and as unobtrusive as possible. If they’re not then users have a right to make their experience better.

I hate to break it to the geniuses who developed whyfirefoxisblocked, but people who have full on ad blocking software on their machines are probably less likely to click on ads anyway! So by blocking these users you’re most likely just hurting usage numbers not bottom lines.

Blocking a browser that MAY be used to block ads is like Petrol/Gas companies blocking the use of electric cars from driving through malls. Eventually the mall loses footfall. And that’s what I believe is going to happen here. Instead of people linking or digging or talking about the content on whatever site, and thereby increasing the total number of users and potential add clickers, users will just avoid the site.