Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Adsense: How to lose friends and alienate people


Well, perhaps I overstate the matter. I merely find advertising on blogs rather intrusive and, to be honest, a trifle tacky. Does the Mona Lisa punt coca cola? Would she be the same if she did?

So you want to make a few cents from my visit to your page and you don’t mind defacing it with advertising? Why should it bother me? It doesn’t all that much, but I’m inclined to see it as a bit of a prostitution of art type of thing – and I don’t like advertising. Have you noticed?

A blogger I follow was remarking that he got $6.66 from his adsense over a month. Geez! Talk about selling oneself cheap! Talk about selling one’s readers cheap! By all means: place me in the hands of big business, but let it be for at least thirty pieces of silver.

Then of course, the ads can’t help detracting from the content. I read a very touching post by a blogger who wrote of his mother’s death years ago and how he realized for the first time how much his dad loved her and next to it, was a ‘Sodastream’ advert advertising twenty-five flavours.

Incongruous. I couldn’t resist commenting about the soda stream. It begged to be commented on. And he’s got the money from google – all few cents of it – to compensate, so I don’t see why he should be offended – plus I’ve just plugged soda stream, both on his blog and mine. Please remember that there are twenty-five flavours.

Today's pic: something cool.

Note: The above post is my opinion. I'm unlikely to change it, but I accept that its just opinion. Given that I'm the one its writing and I'm the one with the opinion, it is also infallibly correct - even if you don't share it - which is your lookout, and therefore just as correct as mine.

7 comments:

  1. It looks like a hand reaching up through the waves!

    And, I have ads on my blog. I probably intend to keep them there, but it can't offend many people since you're one of about 5 who read my blog. Oh wait. I have to take my kids to daycare.

    Also, you posted this at 3:27am!!! Geeze Louise!

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  2. 666 - that's the devil's payout. This post actually makes me want to turn the ad thingy on just to see what kind of ads I'll draw. My google mail's ad banners are always about healthcare and bankruptcy.

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  3. My feelings about the whole ad thing are very similar to yours MM, it's just that you are able to say it so much better.
    If someone wants to put ads on their blog, I'm not offended, it's their choice to make. However, I do make judgments, right or wrong, based on their choice. My visits there do feel less important to me as a reader.
    Keep telling it like it is MM!
    Grant, you should do some sort of study! Could be fun.

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  4. I couldn't agree more. A blog is about the writer, their thoughts, views, in a sense who they are on a certain level, what do ads have to do with it. Takes away from the blog and the person. Not to mention it clutters an otherwise nice design on many I have seen.

    Nice post love the pic...

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  5. I'm with you on the ad bit, although I follow a blog that has quite a collection of them. I take it as part of a persons right to do as they please on their blog, and I can always choose not to follow it. I agree with PAMO...it's easy to make judgements of a person by their choice of ads, without knowing whether the judgements are right or wrong. I always like you saying exactly what you feel. Makes you stand out among the many.

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  6. I tend to agree with you but I am gulity as charged as I have a "tiny" ad on my blog. Forgive me.

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  7. MAS: Agh, I'm not offended by ads as such, and I like your writing. Just throwing the cat among the pigeons really.

    Grant: You'll attract ads about bunnies for sure, so it might be worth doing!

    PAMO: Yes, I blog for the love of it - and so do you. I don't want my readers to feel that I'm only paying attention to them because I want the money - and anyway, it doesn't look like all that much money unless you've a madly popular blog.

    TK: ... and you know about nice blog design! You've a great sense of aesthetics among your other qualities - the ones that make me read what you write!

    CW: I seem to remember your writing something about being completely oneself on one's blog and that being why you use a pseudonym. Ditto. We are at one!

    Israel: Et tu Brute? Kidding: its quite unobtrusive. I'll have to hunt for it! :)

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