Tuesday 15 November 2005
ad-free blogs, a dying breed
ad free blog *saying no to corporate advertising*
I'm seeing less and less ad-free blogs these days, as Google Adsense is very popular... though of course I find Google ads to be potentially very dodgy...
(link via wish jar journal)
I don't really have a problem with advertising on blogs, in general, depending on the blog, the type of advertising, the manner in which the advertising is done, and the products or services advertised.
Of course it concerns me that someone claiming to have a personal blog, might be corporate sponsored, and might be getting paid for what they write, and not just displaying a button, banner, or link -- in that their content might actually be the advertisement, but not clearly defined as such. And I'd consider that dishonest. I would also find it disingenuous if someone was writing to please their sponsors.
Though I'm sure that's not too common, especially among your 'average joe' bloggers.
One of the reasons I choose not to use Google Ads is that I would be concerned about having ads to companies I wouldn't necessarily recommend, or might actually be opposed to, randomly thrown onto my site.
But more concerning is the stories I've heard where Google Ads have displayed things on sites, related to the content, but embarrassingly inappropriate to the content.
I could just imagine Google Adsense inserting ads specifically targeting germaphobes for products containing triclosan on my posts about adveritising taking advantage of germaphobia & people with OCD and the potential hazards of triclosan!
wish jar journal: the greater cost
Comment Posted by: Leafy: "I used to belong to an eating disorders support group on a popular website. Each page had random ads that would come up - including many many ads for diet and weight loss products. The ads were dangerous triggers for a group of people who were doing their best to overcome body image issues. The moderators of the support group had no control over the advertising and eventually the group shut down."
I could just imagine a site, containing information on people seeking help for alcoholism, sporting ads for vodka & beer...
wish jar journal: the ongoing debate
Comment Posted by: Helen: "I had google ads for a while. One day I wrote about a town here in NZ that eliminated plastic bags from shops. A collective called the 'bag ladies' sewed lots of plain calico bags and distributed them to all households. People were asked to bring their calico bags, or their own plastic bags or boxes. The whole town got behind it. It is a very inspiring story. Anyway, the next day the google ads on my page were for plastics companies and plastic bag manufacturers! Yeeeeikes! I felt so humiliated and embarrased. There I was encouraging people to think about their plastic bag usage, and diminishing plastic and packaging...and the ads on my site were in direct contradiction!
I'm reminded of the story of how National Geographic had this big issue declaring evolution a fact of science, and then on their web site version of the article, they provided links to creationist stuff, and a link to a forum where people could debate against what they said was a proven fact.
(See nonist - ape shit)
I assumed that the web producers for National Geographic, trusted to handle the web site, were simply ignorant of the issue involved.
Clearly anything automated, or where you trust someone else to decide what's going to be displayed or advocated on your site, is potentially detrimental to your content.
Of course I don't think that makes all advertising bad, in general. I link to Amazon.com sometimes, but more because I like & use Amazon.com myself regularly, and I have very specific control over what items I choose to recommend.
posted by Chloe | Tuesday 15 November 2005 12:37 AM
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