scratch-mark

About the Advertisements

May 6, 2011|Richard Nikoley||

I get  kick out of them when I look at them

I also get a kick out of readers who keep bringing up the fact that they go counter to the posts. Some think it’s a "good idea," dripping in sarcasm. I suppose I should take comfort that some percieve my little ‘ol blog as so influential that my having Google ads that run the other way from my theme is tantamount to Pepsi sponsoring a diabetic clinic.

For those unfamiliar with the process; or who, smartly, don’t even look at them, Google places ads on the right sidebar and I get paid some pennies, either because of someone clicking on them, or simple impressions, i.e., I get paid a pile of pennies when 1,000 people have "seen" the ad.

You know, I’m a pretty principled guy and I usually go to the underlying core of a thing rather than bother about manifest details, but I just get a kick out of the ads.

It just strikes me as funny as shit when I do a post about raw vegans and voila, there’s ads about the latest and greatest in raw vegan land…or, a post about how pizza will eventually make you a fat ass gets ads for Pizza Hut, Round Table, et al. Posts that mention "diet" get the latest in dietary self immolation.

In the end, it’s kinda like a talk radio station I used to listen to back when I was ignorant enough to think that tuning into the "news" was tantamount to having a decent perception of what was really going on. This station, during election season, would have political ads from candidates that were so counter to the theme and market and demographic of the station that they were just funny. Many times, the hosts would mention this:

If they want to throw their money away, let’s let them.

Indeed. I don’t have time to police every purveyor of crap-in-a-box-or-bag. And I also don’t think my readers are idiots. The ads help with the significant costs of maintaining this site with a high-end commercial provider so that it serves up what it’s supposed to 99.9% of the time and when it doesn’t, I have actual email addresses to real individuals who will get their asses out of bed at 3am to make sure I’m serving up.

I also note that complaints about the ads never seem to correspond to notices of recent donations….

Richard Nikoley

I'm Richard Nikoley. Free The Animal began in 2003 and as of 2021, contains 5,000 posts. I blog what I wish...from health, diet, and food to travel and lifestyle; to politics, social antagonism, expat-living location and time independent—while you sleep—income. I celebrate the audacity and hubris to live by your own exclusive authority and take your own chances. Read More

22 Comments

  1. Janey on May 6, 2011 at 11:20

    I didn’t know there were ads here. Until just now, that is.

    • Janey on May 6, 2011 at 11:21

      Oh, there they are. I’ll start clicking whenever I visit. 🙂

  2. Jake on May 6, 2011 at 11:25

    Yeah, I’ve been reading the site for about 6-8 months and have never noticed them till my tweet yesterday…

    I just find the HCG ones amusing…and wonder why people want to put themselves through that. Yes Richard, they are allowed to go to hell in a go cart, I just think it’s more of a high-speed train =)

    I just find paleo easier than the alternatives. Hence why I’m here, instead of taking drops, counting my calories, or in a weight watchers support group.

    • Richard Nikoley on May 6, 2011 at 11:27

      Jake: the pertinent part is their OWN gocart.

      • james on May 6, 2011 at 23:27

        Go carts are awesome. Especially with aftermarket topends, pipes, and carbs.



      • Curmujeon on May 7, 2011 at 08:37

        WOW, I missed the Oprah Network go-cart give-away! Are they going after the adolescent male demographic now?



      • Jake on May 7, 2011 at 22:33

        Doubtful, though I’m sure a giveaway like that would increase the viewing audience. You lost me at the part about daytime talk show and Dr. Oz being a prominent part of the show. *sigh*. If I had a penny for every stupid piece of advice he gave I would be a millionaire several times over…



  3. Mimi (Gingersnaps) on May 6, 2011 at 11:53

    Sort of like in the Book of Enoch — the angels take Enoch on a joyride through Paradise and he notices that the place of punishment is right next door, so the people in Paradise always remember how good they have it.

    Heh, the ads always gave me a chuckle.

  4. Jasen on May 6, 2011 at 12:52

    I too have noticed thes ads and never gave them much thought. I read this blog for its awesome fucking content. It has literaly changed my life. I agree with Richard. If these morons want to throw there money away let them. Fans of this blog are not a bunch of mindless kool-aid drinkers and can dicern for themselves if they want to click on these ads.

  5. alex on May 6, 2011 at 14:31

    My Ad block plus eats all the ads so I just get to see your lovely posts.

  6. peter on May 6, 2011 at 15:37

    So you get money when we click? Then i shall click every time i come to your site. Cheers for the great posts.

    • Josh on May 9, 2011 at 10:03

      Per Google TOS Richard is not allowed to endorse your proposal. But I am. Go for it! Plus, if you click on the Amazon links at the top, then buy ANY product, he’ll get a better kick back.

  7. Laurie D. on May 6, 2011 at 15:43

    I ignore all of the ads on all of the blog sites. The only thing I find annoying about them is that they tend to delay the loading of the blog, especially if they are WordPress blogs. Not sure why. But it is annoying to watch the beach ball spin until the damn ads show up, so I can scroll through the rest of the post.

  8. Nigel Kinbrum on May 7, 2011 at 03:29

    I use the Adblock Plus and NoScript add-ons on Firefox. I don’t see any advertisements. Also, pages load much faster as I’m neither downloading nor running unnecessary crap.

  9. Kevin Hughes on May 7, 2011 at 09:11

    I think I’ve been reading this blog for 3 or so years, and have not noticed the ads other than to give them a cursory glance. I have also not noticed the request for donations. Because of the value I get from the blog, I’ll make periodic donations and make a point of clicking on the ads from time to time.

  10. Kevin Hughes on May 7, 2011 at 09:13

    OK, where’s the freaking donation button?

    • Richard Nikoley on May 7, 2011 at 09:33

      Ha, well shit on me! Looks like the last time I moved things around I blew up the donate button and hadn’t noticed. I’ll fix that later. Thanks.

      • Kevin Hughes on May 7, 2011 at 16:22

        Vegan webmaster?



  11. Phocion Timon on May 7, 2011 at 10:07

    Ha! It is to laugh.

    I’m 60 years old and since TV came out back when I was a kid, my mind has gotten to the point I actually don’t see advertisements, either on the internet, in print, or on the television or hear them on the radio. I can watch an entire movie on TV and not be able to tell you of even one single advertiser. Cool, huh?

  12. Phen on May 7, 2011 at 10:07

    http://www.boingboing.net/2011/05/07/vegan-tattoo-is-prob.html#comments

    I read about this and could think of no finer place to to post my amusement.

    Enjoy

    Keep up the excellent and inspiring work everyone!

    Stephen

  13. TJ on May 7, 2011 at 23:36

    I live in Ukraine, and my Google ads are location rather than content specific.

    No vegan shit or packaged crap; just a bunch of “Bon Prix” clothing ads full of hotties…

  14. Paleo Josh on May 17, 2011 at 16:48

    You can work in ad words to optimize the ads that are on your page.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.

YouTube1k
YouTube
Pinterest118k
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
40
45
Follow by Email8k
RSS780

Post Topics