I just wanted to raise something that I need to get off my chest…
As you may have noted, I’ve very recently removed the small Google ad that used to appear on the top right of the blog. Although I’ve been writing the Londoneer for quite some time, I’m still nowhere near the payment threshold for people clicking through to the adverts (which currently stands at £50) and I won’t get any sort of payment for several more years the way things are going – effectively what that means is that the Google advertisers have been getting your eyeballs for free, and I don’t see why they should, so it’s gone. In the past I’ve also linked music CDs and DVDs that I’ve talked about on the blog to Amazon.co.uk. Once again, there’s no chance that I’ll be getting any sort of reimbursement from them for providing this service on this side of the 22nd century, so I won’t be doing that again either. After all, you savvy readers know where your preferred sites are for buying music and films online – you don’t need me to lead you by the nose.
The reason I’ve included these discreet little ads in the past is because, believe it or not, I invest quite a lot of time in producing the content for the blog and I was always aiming to use revenue from the site to help with the cost of renewing my PC equipment and getting better camera kit. Clearly that isn’t going to happen with click-through advertising so I think I’m better off removing that sort of thing altogether. What I am hosting on the blog for the moment, and which might in time provide me with some small amount of revenue, is a video player which you see on the top right that has replaced the previous google ad. This serves up a rotating series of video adverts that the producers hope will go viral and generate some buzz online. I’m hoping that if you don’t find a particular day’s blogpost particularly diverting, you might at least enjoy taking a look at someone else’s carefully crafted content for a change. I’m reliably informed that you won’t see any ads for Cillit Bang or excrutiatingly coy feminine hygiene products!
Of course you’ll know if you’re a regular reader that I’m lucky enough to be invited along to special events on a regular basis which are hosted by a variety of companies, and quite often these events involve payment in kind in the form of free drinks, food, or sample products. Where this is the case I always set that out, and I take great pains to be absolutely honest about the products that I’m introduced to. Just taking the last week or so into account, Bushmills genuinely is my favourite whiskey, and I did think that the very high prices of rooms at the Langham Hotel reflected their reputation more than anything else – I’m sure you’ll agree that I’m not uncritical when its deserved.
Anyway now that’s all out in the open, roll on the weekend – I’m going wandering through the countryside tomorrow and photographing the London Marathon on Sunday, so watch this space! x