Recently I’ve been noticing how much the advertising on personal sites is continuing to increase. Of course I noticed it myself when I started doing banner advertising here and at Starshine, and how annoying it got waiting for pages to load etc., so I reduced it to Google text link ads, which are fast loading and can be helpful if you’re looking for something I don’t have (e.g. pre-made layouts or MySpace customising guides).
But no matter how much banner ads and pop ups take over the look and feel of webpages, nothing could affect the content. Or so I thought. At first, it was very subtle. The occasional whine/bitch/plea about signing up for things so the site owner could claim a ‘free’ ipod, tv, cash sum and so on. A certain few (whose names I won’t mention) went to the extent of signing up for as many free things as they could find and plastering the links all over their blog and menu. Yes, it’s nice to get something for free, and to pass it on so other people can also claim it. But whining about it every five minutes in your blog is not going to make people respect you any more. It’s not going to attract visitors. It’s not going to entertain them. It’s not going to do you any favours when you read your blog in three years’ time, expecting to find fond memories of friends/events/family/land marks in your life, and instead you find ‘PLEASE sign up for this, this, this and this! You’re doing me a favour!!!!111′
The next wave of annoyance, a spin off from this, was people complaining that they couldn’t get their free item(s), the company had shut down/moved on/had a massive backlog. Firstly, you were getting the item for free. Did you expect it to be gold plated and shipped the next day? Secondly, you cheated the companies. You signed up for things you had to pay for, then cancelled before you actually paid for them to get your free item. So in essence you’re complaining that they cheated you, when you actually cheated them first.
So all this was just about bearable. After all, the majority of the blog was still there, right? Sure – but not for long…
The current wave is that of full-scale advertising. I’ve seen blogs around where entire entries are composed of picture ads. Annoying enough you might think. But at least you know exactly what you were getting yourself into, unlike with the sneaky new money-making scheme. This is basically a company or website working on the behalf of various companies, which pays you to blog about certain things in return for money. At first glance, this might not seem like such a bad idea. If it means the site owner is caught up in this, rather than adding more banner adverts and trying to persuade you to sign up for free promotions, then it’s all good, right? Wrong. Bring on the blog entries with the same link repeated throughout, subtly persuading you to buy something you don’t want and tricking you into reading something you have absolutely no interest in. Not only that, but it destroys your confidence in the blogger. Is this background setting to the product or service really true, or is it all made up? It seems a bit of a coincidence that the story about you/other people happens to link in with the product or service you’re trying to sell, right? And would the person really be blogging about this subject if they weren’t getting paid to do it? This kind of advertising is destroying the blogging community more than any other form of advertising so far. It destroys the purpose of blogging and the feel-good atmosphere that ultimately surrounds the moaning, the venting, the complaining about everyday life and the people within it. It also masks the joys and achievements, the life milestones and what personal sites are really about. Consequently, I’ve been avoiding the blogs I know that adopt this kind of advertising like the plague. And this upsets me slightly, as reading other people’s blogs is probably my favourite Internet activity, and my reading list is beginning to dwindle. So no matter how much you think you need the money, or the free stuff, just remember the important things, and what a blog should actually be for…
*waves* Hi, I'm 
Wow, good post, Jenni! Hehe, I have NO advertising on my site whatsoever. LOL, it’s because I can’t… But even if I could, I think I’d stick to the text ads like you also, so that it won’t affect my visitors as much. But you’re right about how advertisements are taking over the blogging world! Yeah, I like to read people’s blogs also, so that also makes me a little sad…
I also have no ads whatsoever on my site, well when you access it via the link I gave instead of the crappy geocities address anyway! I mean I didn’t sign up for any to make money, for two reasons: they look stupid, and I don’t exactly have enough visitors to earn that much dosh! I’m not that bothered by those google text ads though, atleast they’re relevant and they’re text so you can customise them and make them blend in.
I know what you mean about people constantly asking for you to do things so that they can get a free ipod or whatever else their latest fad is. That’s just annoying to me, and sometimes makes me just exit their site without even taking a look at anything. That and a blog that is just filled with complete negativity about how their life sucks. I also agree about people complaining when they’re getting something for free! I got a free New Super Mario Bros. guide for siging up for a subscription to Nintendo Power recently, and it arrived bent. I didn’t phone up the company and complain, because it’s free!!! Even it was dipped in tea and set on fire I wouldn’t complain because it’s free and a freakin’ amazing deal.
Wow I haven’t come across a blog yet that has that kind of sneaky advertising. I sometimes link to websites in my entries, and this could be considered advertising I guess but it’s only ever one link in the whole entry no matter how many times I mention it. I also only give a link when I think that someone may not know what I’m talking about, so it’s there to make them understand my blog a bit more. I obviously don’t get paid for doing this, and it really is ridiculous that someone would stoop so low as to constantly paste links to sites that they actually aren’t even interested in at all and talk nonsense about them just to maybe possibly get someone interested and pulled in.
oh gosh, i’m not a big fan of ads at all. google ads are probably the only ones i can deal with, i barely even notice them (in fact, i don’t see any here, hehe. although that’s a good thing – ideally, i like sites without ads), but i suppose i understand if people want to make money. i completely agree about blogs advertising their ads though. there’s no sense in it because i don’t know many visitors who actually listen to that, and if anything, it just drives me away from returning to the site.
i guess we have to remember that it is *their* blog, and they can write about whatever they wish, but i guess they’ll have to remember they won’t be getting many visitors. hehe, thanks for the insight here, i hope the people you mention in this blog will take the insight to heart, too.
Hmm my site only has an advertisement on the .tk enter page but I can’t avoid that (well I don’t think so anyway).
That is a good rant though because advertisements are well annoying. I mean I for one only access a page to view it’s contents not to get bombarded by advertising pop-ups or to be told I’ve won something.
I’ve not come across any “pay as you blog” type blogs but it’s just wrong. Bloggers should take in to consideration the readers. Connie is right, it’s up to the owner of the site but when readers catch up to this scheme they will be reluctant to access that site.
I’m not going to write no more about this because you lot have just about said it all.
Thanks for the notification of such blogs Jenni. I never knew they existed before.
Annie
x-x
I couldn’t of said it any better… I completely agree with you. Small advertisements are OK but stuff like that’s just going too far…
wow! long post. it’s times like these that i realise you’re a hardcore english geek! lol You should definately be a writer!
love nika xxx
Um. Wow. Thats really true now that I think about it. How do you make such powerful essays/blog entry/thingys? It’s very… A++ XP
So anyway… I think the companies arn’t getting much out of it anyway… This is because many people think that clicking on an unknown link, regardless of wheter the blogger supports it, may get their computer viruses. Such as my mom. She completly spazzes at me when I go surfing the internet for new sites to get inspiration and look at.
Also, like you said, the blogger doesn’t get much out of it because they lose visitors since they get tired of looking at all the SPARKLY ANNOYING SHINY (even though shiny is still good in small doses).
Sooo…. I can conclude that SPARKLY ANNOYING ADDS that aren’t very well known and such, are not very effective. Small banners like the 88 x 31 banners on the navigation bar of your site are very spiffy and not to mention clean and effective. (R-O?)
Thehe. Okay I just ranted on someone else’s blog while I’m commenting… Sorry xP
Cya ^^
Wow… that was an interesting blog to read! I havent come across that many sites that are unbearable to look at because of all the advertisements though. Guess I’m just looking in the wrong places, huh?
I have no ads at all on my site (notthat I know of anyway XD) But I get what you mean by people saying, I want to you to sign up for …… It is annoying, want to know what is even more annoying?
.tk links……. :S
Anyway you make a good point.
)
By the way, I’m so not on top of updates, I only update when I feel like it, and this was the first update in like 3 months. I only update in school holidays, otherwise I totally don’t have the time
(sorry about ranting about something that isn’t even in your blog
Wow Jenni, thankyou!! I agree totally!!
I think that the advertising is just getting ridiculous and it really pisses me off, basically! Argh. =[ I have no adds on my site, and never plan to have them! Lol.
Take care. xox
Do you feel better now
lol, I’m not a big fan ofadvertising but the thing I hate most is pop-up advertising, its so annoying my pop-up blocker gets most of it but there are still some that manage to get through grrr lol 
Couldn’t have said it better myself… I know the sites you’re talking about; I was on a few last night and was just overwhelmed by how much advertising “stuff” was all over the place. Just sad.
Tell me about ads. I noticed you have google ads, have you got paid by them yet? I don’t know of anyone that has yet and for some reason they deleted my account, while I was on holiday and claimed there was “invalid clicks.” Grrrr, and impossible because I wasn’t here and no-one else uses my computer. I totally agree with everything you said, I can understand that people want to make money from their site because ultimately for quite alot of people whose blogs I read, they’re at school/Uni/college and could use the money, but if you do it you need to make it low key. Turning your site into a big walking advert will loose you your visitors therefore you make no money so what’s the point! Anyway, will finish my rant now!
Yeah, you are definitely right. I see all that annoying advertising in some people’s personal sites and I end up not going there anymore. Sheesh, it’s becoming some sort of trend..
I aggree, adds on websites are distracting, and being hosted at someone site, just to have them harass you about twenty times before you get into your email good to check it, because you just got on is rediculous. Having a few would help in the long run if you were getting paid for it, such as a small section of text links, or roatating banner, but otherwise it’s simply too much trouble to deal with.
woot! a rant I can totally agree with.
I don’t see why personal sites need google ad’s company/info sites sure but not personal sites..
A friend of mine ages ago wanted a free ipod and she kept on asking me why I wasn’t gonna sign up so that she could get one.. I was like if you want one go to the store pick out the one you want and get it the same day. You never know what crap you’ll be getting etc.
The thing that really narks me is when I see a personal site asking for $$ for silly things like help pay my vet bill or help pay for so and so domain.. its liek if you want a domain get a job to pay for it.. Years back my friend (who wnated the ipod) told me that i should put paypal onto mysite so people could help me get to worlds and I thought about it and yeah it would be awesome if people did that BUT I’d rather get funding by doing something myself offline or saving my pennies.
I hate hearing about people whining when no one comments on a site. Its like hmm whats on your site that might turn them away… is it the blog? OR do you have too much visitors content and people only want that and don’t care about the rest.. I don’t see why people need visitor content on a personal site, a blog and info about them is good enough for me.. I use to get 20-30 comments a day years ago now I don’t really care how many I get as my site was made for me by me not by wordpress or whatever but its a hobby not a popularity contest!
Ooh interesting topic! I agree that ads everywhere is annoying as crap and makes the blog site not interesting to visit. But on the other hand, they have to pay for their site somehow. I suppose a good balance is ok.