Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was an agreement between media companies and consumers. In exchange for free programming, news, information and entertainment, consumers would agree to read, watch, see, hear, notice, or, in some cases, mostly tune out, commercials. It was the way things worked. It was all neatly tied up in a bow and both sides clearly understood their roles.

The Big Change - The Internet and Ads

And then in 1994, the World Wide Web happened and the game changed. But for a while, things didn't change that much. People still read physical newspapers and magazines, listened to car dealers scream at them on the radio, watched commercials during their favorite TV shows and glanced at billboards as they drove by. OK, that last thing, miraculously, hasn't really changed, but it's pretty much the only thing.

After that period of calm, say around 1998, everything suddenly went nuts. Life as we knew it moved to the Internet-everything we did personally and professionally. And along with that, brands and their ad agencies followed with SEO-focused websites, banner ads, pop ups, pop unders, slide ups. slide overs and myriad other marketing mechanisms.

And people clicked. Believe it or not, click through rates of 10, 20 and 30% were the norm. Semua orang senang. Banners were cool, interesting and worked! People clicked and clicked and clicked.

Until they didn't.

Another Big Change - Social Media

Everyone began to freak out. Brands wondered how they'd reach consumers now. Publishers, both online and off, wondered how they would survive. Consumers figured out how to rid the Internet of all those pesky banners with ad blockers. And let's not forget what the DVR did to TV commercial viewing.

Then, right around 2004, Facebook became a thing-a very big thing. And along with it, Twitter, Foursquare, MySpace (yes, MySpace was once a big deal), Friendster, Digg, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Blogger, Tumblr, LinkedIn and many more.

These new social media sites made people and brands happy, and still do in many cases. People could post pictures of their every move and get attention! Brands could "interact" with people like actual human beings! Most interaction between brands and consumers took place under the organic structure of the social network untainted by blatant, paid advertising. And then, just like the demise of the banner, it changed again. Sponsored writing is also a best way of content marketing, some of the websites allow to write sponsored article cost.

The social networks, funded by over eager venture capitalists, suddenly woke up and thought, "Oh no! We have to make money! How are we going to make money? Oh yeah, advertising." And then, all over again, the social web was infiltrated with advertising. And people were disgruntled; in fact, a recent Harris Poll found that 75% of Millennials and members of Gen Z hate ads in their social media feeds.