Ads on TuscanyCircle

Submitted by Wayne on Tue, 2008-12-09 10:12. Technology

I'd like to hear your feedback on the idea of putting ads on TuscanyCircle. I ran a test yesterday with Google's AdSense, putting an ad block on the right (below the Shout Box). It was easy enough to set up once I created an AdSense account. I rather doubt it would generate any serious income; I'd count myself lucky if it ever paid for my website costs.

I know most of my regular readers/users have Firefox and likely AdBlock. I use it myself and had to disable it to see TC's ads. I certainly have no problem with this. While I don't have any problem with advertising, philosophically speaking, ads tend to be mere annoyances to me, so I'm happy to tune them out, skip them, or hide them whenever possible. I wouldn't begrudge others the same freedom.

I've seen lots of articles on the ethics of using AdSense on Christian sites. Most seem fairly neutral about it, but a rare few reject AdSense specifically (because of Google's left-leaning). I've not found any Christian version of AdSense, though, but that would certainly be nicer as far as the content presented in any ads. Advertising itself, though, does not seem to be rejected by Christian ethicists generally.

What do you think about:
- Advertising in general, philosophically speaking?
- Advertising on websites/blogs?
- Google's AdSense?
- Ads on TuscanyCircle?
And by all means, point me to any AdSense alternative with a Biblical bent. Even if I end up not advertising on TC, it would be good info to have.

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One user's response to ads

Submitted by Wayne on Tue, 2008-12-09 10:28.

I heard from one TC user already about the test ads on TC yesterday. He was quite offended by the concept of ads on TC at all, let alone ads I cannot control. This is certainly a fair perspective and good feedback.

Anyone else?

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How AdSense Works

Submitted by Wayne on Tue, 2008-12-09 11:00.

I should say how AdSense works. It scans the site's content and presents ads related to it. TC's ads yesterday weren't too good, but I think that's because it takes time for AdSense to get a "sense" of the site's content. If a related ad is not available, AdSense can be told to serve up nothing or a PSA. (I configured mine to serve up a gray field to make the ad block vanish, if no relevant ads were found.)

In yesterday's test, it seemed most of the ads were related to Tuscany, Italy. I presume this is because it hadn't scanned TC's content yet and was merely fetching ads based upon the site's name. (Nice area, Tuscany, as I understand it.)

So, no, technically I wouldn't have control over what ads were presented. However, they should tend to be related to TC content and therefore applicable. It's in Google's financial interest to do this and avoid revealing their leftist bias. And, of course, users could use AdBlock to nuke it, or I could disable the ad block should Google start serving up garbage. Maybe I could add an accountability link above or below the ad block to report leftist ads. Hmmm...

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Silence

Submitted by Wayne on Wed, 2008-12-10 10:45.

"Out of sight, out of mind." Nobody else has commented, so I've turned the ads back on. Maybe this will stimulate some discussion on the matter.

This will also give me a chance to see just what's being advertised (besides villas and tours in Tuscany).

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More feedback

Submitted by Wayne on Wed, 2008-12-10 12:16.

I've received a little more feedback about ads on TuscanyCircle. Altogether, feedback has been only negative so far (not even neutral), despite the common, easy, and simple ability to hide them (say, using AdBlock). I've also heard philosophical arguments against ads, despite my and others' inability to find any Scriptural principles which may support such objections. Interesting.

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Poor "discussion"

Submitted by Wayne on Wed, 2008-12-10 13:46.

I must admit I was really hoping for some substantive discussion, especially on any Scriptural application to advertising in general or in this context specifically. The best argument I heard was about getting context-driven ads that were promoting that which a blog article was condemning. Such is the nature of ads, of course. To combat this possibility, I even solicited pointers to alternate ad sources (Google's well known for being left-wing), especially Christian ones, but no suggestions were offered. That's not totally true. One reader did suggest I market TC as a vehicle for ads, targeting only those businesses I would want to promote. Of course, this would have been an additional, full-time job for me, to say nothing of the ethical (and subsequent legal) quandaries that would have arisen in my selection of ads.

I find it also ironic that some folks who opposed ads based upon the occasions when conflicting ads would appear (conflicting with the opinions of the blogger) are so unwilling to accept the bitter with the sweet in this free enterprise venture, but they're more than willing to accept ungodly, illegal, and wholly evil traits in political candidates so long as "the other Party" doesn't get their votes. A crappy business here and there isn't going to destroy our culture nearly as much as the morons just elected.

Nevertheless, there are some businesses which I find to be completely unacceptable. It's not a matter of not liking what they do but that they actively and purposely serve evil. I recognize that Google may have no trouble getting into bed with such organizations and routing their ads to my site. To help combat this possibility, I invited readers to response with any offense they may feel from such ads. Admittedly, I published this invitation only this morning, but I had hopes that this would at least partially cover this ethical loophole. The worst part is, there was no discussion on the ethics of this matter.

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Motivations for ads

Submitted by Wayne on Wed, 2008-12-10 14:26.

Of course, my motivation for placing ads on TuscanyCircle was indeed a desire to supplement my income, even if only to pay for my web expenses, without recurring effort which I don't have to spare. I'm a contractor working on the same contract for a few years so far. As such, my income has not increased along with the rising cost of living. As the government continues to steal money from me in the form of inflation (to say nothing of immoral taxation and regulation)--plus the spike in fuel prices this year--I've seen my standard of living steadily and noticeably slipping. My family feels the crunch.

We donate a great deal of our resources to others with no expectation of worldly return. We could easily restore our standard of living--and then some!--by stopping all charity and finding compensation for equivalent investments. Though I'm no fan of ads (personal preference, not philosophical), they seemed a more ethical way to help out in a small way. (Yes, I did significant research--spanning years, in fact--into the ethics of the matter.)

Nevertheless, with universally negative (though limited) feedback, I've retired the modest ad block. I'm not promising not to revive it sometime in the future, at which time users' feedback will be ignored. Smiling For now, though, continue to enjoy TuscanyCircle ad-free.