Internet users who have ad-blocking software seem to like it. Check it out on Epinions. Five-star ratings all round, for WebWasher at least. For companies, the benefits are similar but the amounts of time and money saved are much greater. Jeff Angus, writing in Information Week last year, pointed out that every time a worker is distracted, the company loses between 10 and 20 minutes worth of productivity.
Ads are very distracting.
There is a downside, of course. If Internet users aren't looking at ads, then online advertising revenue is going to plummet to unimaginable depths, meaning that most content sites will go bust. It's not that farfetched a scenario. This leaves Internet users with a choice. We can choose to block out the ads and enjoy Internet access that is faster and cheaper.