About The Independent Web

What we now know of today as the "independent web" is the evolution of the core ideals that gave birth to the modern Internet; a culture of collaboration, driven by the ethics of sharing. Long before big media turned its focus to online possibilities, the early users of the independent web defined the rather unique values that have resulted in the likes of FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, and more. It's an evolutionary brewery of free expression, ideas, methods, and cultural transformation that is driving the new economy. From small hobby sites to angel-funded new media endeavors, the independent web is our most fertile source of new thinking.

Among the most important web sites that make up the independent web are the myriad of small to large online destinations that focus on user-generated and user-directed content. Ranging from places where people can share photography tips to controversial forums that focus on provocative (and sometimes unsavory) ideas, these web sites are the foundation of an earth-shattering revolution of communications and sharing. Our inherent yearning for unfettered free-expression, on a global scale, has finally been realized.

Keeping Corporate Media In-Check

Thanks to the independent web, we now have the means to keep the mainstream media in check. Millions of unrestricted voices now have their say as a counterweight to the select-few voices of the more powerful media corporations. Exaggerations and errors of omission are simply no longer possible. The user-centric culture of the Internet demands accuracy and integrity from big media, and the independent web is their platform.

But for all the evolutionary and revolutionary ideas born of this historic collection of minds, there remains a singular weakness, limited sources for the monetization of all these efforts. While many very-small sites can exist on the credit cards of their hobbyist owners, the majority of independent web sites have grown beyond such scale, and require thousands of dollars a month to pay their hosting and technology bills. While new concepts and revenue models are emerging, to this day, the only viable revenue-generating option for independent web sites is that of third-party ad networks.

Third-Party Ad Networks

For independent web sites, third-party ad networks function as an outsourced advertising sales and fulfillment department. Thousands of relationships are formed with a host of advertisers and advertising agencies, a task well-beyond the handful of people that typically run independent sites. This economy of scale makes it possible for thousands of different ads, all with their own schedule and budget, to be placed and ad revenue earned. Most of the ad networks utilize tracking cookies that retain anonymous non-personal data, but enable the tracking of the sites you visit and the ads delivered, so as to improve the mixture of banner ads seen.

The legislation proposed from Representative Boucher will, in its current state, eliminate third-party ads from independent web sites, thereby killing the only viable source of revenue. If that were to happen, those ad dollars would shift to the remaining big corporate media web sites who all have sufficient in-house technology and sales forces to accommodate direct relationships with advertisers. With one fell-swoop of legislation, the Internet would witness a seismic shift of catastrophic proportions, silencing the independent spirit that birthed the web, and giving an overwhelmingly unfair advantage to big media.