About two weeks ago, I received the following email:
**From:** “XXXXXXX XXXXX” <XXXXXX@google.com> > **To:** <sean@conman.org> > **Subject:** Google partnership > **Date:** Wed, 9 Mar 2005 14:50:48 -0500
Hello Sean,
Google is interested in advertising on your website, the Boston Diaries. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss further.
Below is an example of two of our current blog related sites.
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000073035159/ [1] (text ads running vertically)
www.tommcmahon.net [2] (text ads running at bottom of page.)
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
XXXXXXX
> * * * * *
XXXXXXX XXXXX > Google Inc. > 1440 Broadway > New York, NY 10018 > (212)XXX-XXXX
Um … Google [3]?
Asking to advertise here?
I reply, and yes, it's legit.
Google wants to have advertising space here.
Well then …
Buried deep in the main template was a small, commented out section for the “Obligatory Text Ad” in the sidebar to the left. Now that Google wants to advertise, that section has been uncommented, rechristened “Obligatory Google AdSense” and away we go.
It's nice that Google allows you integrate their adversiting to match the style of your site so they're less obtrusive than they could be, but I'm hearing rumbles now as people are finding out that the filtering and matching technology used to serve up ads is less than optimal, and are removing the ads altogether.
I guess one way to look at that is that I'm late to the show and all the cool kids are no longer using Google AdSense.
Another way, that means less competition for me.
There is nothing in the AdSense policies [8] or terms and conditions [9] that forbid one of being critical of AdSense while using AdSense which is good (and if it seems I'm biting the hand that feeds me, the only investment I have is time, not monetary so if AdSense goes, big deal). It will be interesting to see how much this actually brings in for about two hours worth of work so far (most of that spent talking with a Google represenative about this program).
[1] http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000073035159/
[2] http://www.tommcmahon.net/
[4] http://philringnalda.com/blog/2005/03/003347.php
[5] http://weblog.delacour.net/archives/2005/03/before_the_revolution.php
[6] http://j-walkblog.com/blog/comments/19205_0_1_0_C/
[7] http://weblog.burningbird.net/archives/2005/03/21/ads-are-gone/
[8] https://www.google.com/adsense/policies