Is it just me, or is advertising slowly getting out of control?
You go to espn.com for the fifth time in one day and before you read the first sentence, a video starts playing. Maybe you like having the video to go with the article. Maybe you don't. But you sure as hell can't tell me that you like the 15 second ads that you have to watch before the actual video will play. Why does ESPN need to show me the only not-that-funny SportsCenter commercial with Matt Ryan before I watch a highlight from SportsCenter?
Mark my words, it will get worse. It's a subtle process, though, designed to sneak up on us. The ads used to be ten seconds. Now they're 15. Some are 25, 30. You'll end up watching videos where the ad was longer than the video itself. I guess they'll never be able to stop us from hitting the mute button, but if the recent developments are any indication, you'll start seeing more ads annoying you in new ways.
Of course, you can customize most things on your computer. Whatever browser you use probably allows you to make sure that things don't "autoplay." The problem is that soon after you take advantage of those settings you start wishing you hadn't. You get tired of having to tell your computer to play things that used to play automatically. The process of picking and choosing what to play and what not to play becomes more tedious than just autoplaying everything and putting up with the damn ads.
All this being said, I should admit how tempted I've been to click the "Monetize" option offered by Google for anyone using their blog publisher, Blogger. Seriously, this is what it says when I click on the "Monetize" tab:
"AdSense enables you to earn money by placing targeted text and image ads on your blog.
Google automatically chooses which ads to show based on your blog's content, and you earn money when visitors view or click on these ads."
Just imagine what sort of ads would show up on Shmuz Weekly based on our "content."
"Find a fat dutch girl in your area now!"
"Jake in the Middle East - For all your hookah needs!"
"Facts about poop."
"Own Rabbi Steve's Tootin' the Torah DVD, featuring a never-before-seen reading of 'The Shmuz.'"
(Yes, this is what happens when you type "shmuz" into Google):
Let's make a deal. If we all agree to click on the ads, I'll monetize this puppy. The ads that come up will be hilarious, and we'll all get a cut of the $3 a month profit. By year's end, Marc's change jar will be overflowing.
Who's with me?
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