behold the third column!
hello. you may have noticed a slightly different look today at Nice Guy World Headquarters. things may look sleeker to you, more compelling, somehow richer. well, yes. i added that column over there on the left and i, being even more of a luddite than Baron Analog von Ludd, am a wee bit proud of my h4x0r sk1llz!!1! actually, it was a fairly easy tweak to the template. i googled "three column blogger template," which led me to a how-to by this guy. thanks, this guy. now you can add a column to without knowing your URL from your XML.
so with a new column, i was in need of piping hot pile of content to stick in there. now, i used to belong to adsense but after six months of posting ads and generating only about $0.013 in revenue, i took the ads down. well, after reading this thought-provoking post by MetroDad, and the ensuing discussion, i put them back up. mostly because i am a dick. actually, i am kidding -- i totally get the inherent distaste people feel about seeing ads on a personal web site. and yes we are an advertising saturated culture and there's an argument to be made that advertising corrodes the soul and gives unicorns cancer.
but what with a new third column, i have a gaping content chasm to fill every day! and these ads are self-generating! and! when i write about strippers, i get ads with titles like "bachelorette girls night" and "get a removable pole" -- which is funny because i know a few people who could stand to have their poles removed. anyway. mostly i added ads because i could use the scratch. i like money and if i can get $.013 for writing about pole-dancing toddlers, then i am clearly ahead of the game. if any of you fine people are disgusted by me, well, at least you have that in common with everyone else in my life.
incidentally, speaking of MetroDad, i had the pleasure of meeting him, Mom-101, Crouton Boy, LoD and Mommy Poppins IN THE FLESH last week for delightful bloggy beers (actually, this having transpired in manhattan, i took it upon myself to have three manhattans before i down-shifted to beer). when a colleague had asked me what i was doing after work, i actually found myself in the awkward situation of having to conjure an answer slightly less geeky than "um, meeting a group of mommy and daddy bloggers who i don't actually know for a drink." so i told him i was off to play Magic: the Gathering entirely in Klingon.
can't wait to do it again.
so with a new column, i was in need of piping hot pile of content to stick in there. now, i used to belong to adsense but after six months of posting ads and generating only about $0.013 in revenue, i took the ads down. well, after reading this thought-provoking post by MetroDad, and the ensuing discussion, i put them back up. mostly because i am a dick. actually, i am kidding -- i totally get the inherent distaste people feel about seeing ads on a personal web site. and yes we are an advertising saturated culture and there's an argument to be made that advertising corrodes the soul and gives unicorns cancer.
but what with a new third column, i have a gaping content chasm to fill every day! and these ads are self-generating! and! when i write about strippers, i get ads with titles like "bachelorette girls night" and "get a removable pole" -- which is funny because i know a few people who could stand to have their poles removed. anyway. mostly i added ads because i could use the scratch. i like money and if i can get $.013 for writing about pole-dancing toddlers, then i am clearly ahead of the game. if any of you fine people are disgusted by me, well, at least you have that in common with everyone else in my life.
incidentally, speaking of MetroDad, i had the pleasure of meeting him, Mom-101, Crouton Boy, LoD and Mommy Poppins IN THE FLESH last week for delightful bloggy beers (actually, this having transpired in manhattan, i took it upon myself to have three manhattans before i down-shifted to beer). when a colleague had asked me what i was doing after work, i actually found myself in the awkward situation of having to conjure an answer slightly less geeky than "um, meeting a group of mommy and daddy bloggers who i don't actually know for a drink." so i told him i was off to play Magic: the Gathering entirely in Klingon.
can't wait to do it again.
posted by mr. nice guy at 10:38 AM
14 Comments:
My entire stance on blog ads has changed as a result of this post.
Why? Because firstly, your description of advertising corroding the soul and giving unicorns cancer made me laugh so hard that I actually fell off my high horse.
Secondly, the ads currently on your site are about exotic dance classes or buying a stripper pole for your home. I've clicked on all of them. The pole is being delivered next week and the wife is signed up for some classes.
Guess having ads on your site worked out well for both of us! We'll have to grab beers again soon.
sir! i am honored and touched. so ... can i get a cut of your ad revenue?
I like to tell people I'm spending the night downloading episodes of "Undeclared" onto my TI-84.
Sometimes, to enhance the effect, I string masking tape across the bridge of my glasses.
Dammit! If you people continue to drink beer without me I will be forced to move to New York.
Sheesh, The Boss Lady gets to watch Pierre pole dancing and all I get is, what, Biblical Prophecies?
I have no problem with ads. Period. The pleasure of reading you is more than enough to merit the "annoyance" of an ad that may not meet my personal agenda. Google ads, though, I dunno. If I blogged at all, I'd probably get distracted by the game of trying to prompt ads for Mormon underwear, or career opportunities for mercenaries, or, uh, uh, well pretty much anything other than vaginal dryness and the Elmo Industrial Complex.
Besides, if I did resent an ad, all you would need to do is include another music file and I'd be in your debt again:) Good luck!
Hi Mr. Nice Guy,
I am glad that you have found my post useful. Would you mind leaving a permanent link to my site in your right column too? That will help more people as well.
Thanks.
Man, and I've been going around bragging about that night as the COOLEST thing I've done since seeing The Spice Girls live. (I think I just got myself uninvited to the next one.)
As for the advertising, I think you've proven that advertising plays a valuable role in society; educating people about important things like body odor and making hard to find products like poles available to the masses. Thank you for ending a decade long guilt complex I've had over working for the man.
I'm with Sarah. I want to have beers with fellow bloggers, too! ;)
Hell, I might have to start a blog just *for* the beer.
By the way, that previous comment I left was brought to you by Budweiser, the King of Beers.
Just found you by way of MD (who passed along that lovely Colbert Report. Sweet.). I'll subscribe to anyone whose little kid gyrated against a pole and licked it. Out of sheer pity. And your ads. I'll click on. Again -- pity.
(Ok, I admit I'm kind of curious.)
I take issue with your statement, Sir. Having worked in advertising for well over a decade, I have only killed three unicorns and indeed the second incident was a tragic accident that could have happened to anyone carrying a storyboard, a set of markers, and a unicorn-seeking missile launcher.
I got no problem with ads. My damn hosting costs a couple hundred bones a year and that's coming outta LA Toddler's college fund, dammit.
Of course, ads do not good on my site because no one visits :)
Ah, Google ads. Three years and 100 dollars later. Who's laughing now Mr. Nice Guy? Ka-ching!
Post a Comment
<< Home