Ads in the deep hole of the Internet

I love word games. I could get super lost in them and be perfectly content.

I remember when Zynga began in 2007. It was the first company that really figured out the next game industry. First computers and then the new frontier of our phones. Putting these games on Facebook sealed the deal. That was of course until Facebook realized how much money they were making on their platform.

The good old days when founders were creating new platforms that would eventually be rebuilt again and again and again and again over the next decade. Besides their companies, they spawned entire industries in the tech world. It was fun. There was a real game element to it.

There is a formula to sell your product in the world wide store of the Internet where your customers are eyeballs who might be excited and click through.

As I spent a part of the weekend attached to a game online where I flatly refused to pay for any coins but to see how far I can get without ever being stumped is a game in itself. What was amazing is the ads. I figured out how to get rid of them and you had to do it every time one popped up but you get into the rhythm.

After watching the ads, and for what its worth, whoever wrote the code to figure out how to put ads on those platforms, is clever. It is an oversaturation of nonsense that at some point works enough to be part of the plan. It is everywhere and it is overwhelming. It just doesn’t seem that innovative any more. Back in 2007, it was if we were so clever and changing everything. Now it is just a formula.

My question is what is the next thing? I kind of feel like the game is up.