Ads, ads everywhere! We simply cannot avoid the presence of advertisements no matter where we turn to, although some of the ads we have seen in the past are really cool. Since one is unable to escape from the presence of ads, why not embrace them instead? Ads on the computer are nothing new, and we now have word that Mozilla Firefox’s New Tab page will soon feature paid advertisements. This is a slight paradigm shift for sure, considering how New Tab pages have remained ad-free before. What you see above is not the real deal, but rather, a mock-up from Mozilla themselves that depict how it intends to incorporate sponsored sites into its New Tab page, so that new users will find their first experience more useful. Oh yeah, it ain’t all that altruistic either, as it opens up the door to make some money on the side as well.
The sites depicted are not the real partners on the Directory Tiles project. Mozilla hopes that these ads will be part of an attempt that will help connect new browser users to sites which they might actually find relevant. Known as Directory Tiles, this particular initiative will offer a combination of sponsored sites, popular sites that are based on the user’s geographic location, as well as Mozilla ecosystem items which will fill in blank New Tab pages. This means the nine empty boxes on a new New Tab page will take some time to fill in.
Fret not, sponsored tiles will be clearly labeled as such so that you know what you are getting into. There is no word as to when Directory Tiles will be introduced, although Mozilla intends to parade them to new Firefox users, “as soon as we have the user experience right.” [Press Release]