Dear fellow blogger: ads

I like how you write. I like what you write. I like the layout of your blog. I want to read it.

But then you have gold ads. They're automatically generated, I know. Google is only making ads that fit your audience. You probably didn't choose to show gold and account ads, but you are anyway.

I'm not going to be clicking on them or buying anything. So despite seeing them I'm not making them any money. Does this mean I'm not encouraging them? Well by reading, I still am.

For every visitor, that's another hit on the blog, making it just a little bit more appealing for advertisers. And for you. I don't know if the adds go by number of people who click the ad, number of people who see the ad (visitors to blog), or some combination or something entirely different. But I suspect that the second one: visibility, isn't insignificant.

When I visit, it encourages ads. After all, what company isn't more eager to get ads to high-hit sites? They will want even more. The direct clicks might be low, but that's not the entire purpose of the ad. It's also to remind us over and over that we can take the easy way out, just hand over the credit card. It's so one day we get sick of grinding for this or that vendor mount and remember that website that we saw a dozen times before.

What I'm trying to say is, I want to read what you have to say, but your ads turn me off.

I usually don't see them since I run noscript and adblock, but often I use computers scattered around campus. And then I see them in all their shiny, glittering, corrupting glory.

Is it worth the tiny bit of ad revenue? I wouldn't mind a few extra bucks, but is that bit of money worth alienating people? Is it worth being one tiny part of the gold selling empire? Is it worth playing a little tiny insignificant part in some kid getting his account stolen?

No.