Why the Ads?

a discussion with your friendly neighborhood webmaster, howtaobrowncow

The few ads that we're trying out here are a bit of an experiment. The Google search bar at the top is a useful tool and I've included a few links/ads to other tools that the I've found useful and don't mind suggesting. So far so good.

But what about the real ads? Well, obviously, they do have the potential to generate some revenue... but if we ever generate enough traffic in our friendly little enclave of queer/geek town, to pay the site hosting fees through ad views, I'll be stunned. But...

Google says that they can target ads based on our site content, and in my brief tests so far, I've already seen it spit up links to Spiderman paraphenalia (along with commitment jewelery ads and real estate brokers). So we might find benefit in links to things like online comic book shops, DVDs, etc., and as we add content and discussions to the forums, those ads should become more and more relevant and useful, and I may find ways to customize what they'll present too, based on what ad formats seem useful to you guys, and I'll work on that.

In short, as I say, it's an experiment. Good well-targeted ads can be useful, but bad or distracting ads suck, and I have to use this site just like the rest of you. If it gets aggravating, we'll can it... and if you want to give an opinion for or against, please feel free to look up the forum thread on the subject (there should be one soon) and add your opinion. It will be welcomed and factored into the mix.