Saturday, September 24, 2005

Why SWNID Doesn't Allow Blogads

Gentle readers of the previous post will note our parenthetical statement that we do not accept blogads, that "service" by which Google places content-related, clickable advertisements on blogs, remunerating the blogger at some rate, undisclosable per contract, per click or per purchase.

Does SWNID refuse blogads because we are independently wealthy or rabidly anti-capitalist? Those personally acquainted with this humble blogger will know that neither is even remotely true.

We currently refuse blogads because we are embarrassed by them. We note the following:
  • A certain company marketing "conservative t-shirts" is ubiquitous on politically conservative web sites. SWNID notes that the pictures advertising these t-shirts feature young, female models whose hairstyles, facial expressions and physiques are, ahem, not terribly conservative. As a social/moral/theo-conservative, we part company with our libertarian political allies on the point of seduction for profit. There's a name for that.
  • Other blogads feature nontraditional higher education institutions. As an educator, SWNID is in favor of many nontraditional means of education and is even personally and professionally involved in some. But we are uncomfortable with the possible impression of endorsement that such ads would leave, not least because some of these institutions represent "the competition" to SWNID's employer.
  • Like advertising on conservative talk radio, blogads include plenty of pyramid-marketing and snake-oil scams. We don't even want to give a cup of cold water to these con artists.

So, gentle readers, SWNID is not shameless. Per our threshold of guilt, we continue to operate this site as an ad-free zone, probably forever, or at least until we can assure that the only ads that appear are for things that we like. And we don't like much.

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