I’m having a hard time relating to, or even understanding, this: a popular blogger throwing in the towel because advertisers were taking over.
The idea of a sponsored blog is alien to me. A blogger is an individual with something to say and the time and energy to set up a domain and website, right? True, some bloggers put ads in their sidebars, looking to earn a few pennies from readers who click through, but many resist the temptation and don’t have ads at all.
Apparently, over time this woman’s super-popular blog became dominated by a corporate sponsor, to the point where the sponsor was telling her what to write. Somewhere back along the line, though, she’s the one who invited that sponsor on board. She made a bargain with the devil and … well, we all know how that story ends.
My favorite blogs are the ones with no ads. No ads doesn’t necessarily mean those blogs just got started and have only a few readers; some ad-free blogs have been around since the blogosphere’s big bang and have legions of loyal readers: Digby’s Hullabaloo, for example; Unfogged, Mimi Smartypants … I could name dozens off the top of my head.
Not that my blogs are in that league, but I don’t have ads either. I’ve been blogging for more than a decade now and have never been tempted. I bear the cost of putting what I write online, but it’s a small cost. I may not have legions of readers, but I have some, and once in a while they tell me they like what I write (and when they don’t, too).
I blog because it makes me happy. Isn’t that enough?
Thank you for not falling prey to a Faustian deal.
Indeed!
The way most news and pop culture websites have gone, with popup ads that block content until you click on the small X (which is often cleverly hidden), with embedded videos set to full volume, is another subject altogether. I don’t know of any bloggers who have those sorts of ads on their sites. Blog ads are normally not intrusive, but maybe I need to get out more.