Bloviating Zeppelin

(in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Advertising

Dearest BZ Readers:

I have been solicited by 25 + recent e-mails now in the past two weeks alone (perhaps a pitiful amount, compared to others) to host various advertising concerns on my blog.

I just now had a pithy (or was it pissy) exchange between someone who, out of the blue, wanted me to advertise or write something about a competition for jewelry or somesuch. I'm sure she's a nice person but, truthfully, you never know who you meet on the net unless you've established some sort of relationship or trust pattern in time. And with my country looking to jail my ass in contravention of various laws concerning blogs and advertising -- well, I'm just not going there. Call me stupid or ignorant, whatever, but my job is not to trust someone who "cold e-mails" me.

Blogger itself, for example, contains a separate tab labeled "MONETIZE." This tab wants me to sign up for an AdSense account.

Nope. Sorry. Won't do it. Wouldn't be prudent.

Yes, of course, I do have a "BZ Shops Here" heading under my blogrolls. But that's because, oddly enough, I shop those places and would recommend them. I have actually used products from those places. But I haven't received a dime from them.

I've turned down other concerns, and I'll turn down the rest.

This is not my Life; my blog is my hobby.

When I finally retire in the next year or a few subsequent years, I may in fact consider ads on my blog. And, then, if I do -- I'll make it abundantly clear to those who read me. And I'll operate within the law.

Until then: no. Sorry. No ads.

My feeling is this: if you're taking actual time out of your hectic day to read me -- and there are only so many blogs and so many URLs you can visit with your limited time -- then I'm just happy as hell that you deigned to visit my winky little piece of the Blogosphere.

I'm delighted that you visit and read me. I am grateful for each and every visit.

So, while you're here -- I'm not going to use you.

P.S.

I'm thinking of going back to my original masthead, seen above. Any preferences?

18 Comments:

Tom said...: I'm with you, BZ. As long as I can have my blog hosted on a free server, I'm not going to use advertisements. Blogging is a hobby, an outlet, not means to earn money.; Mon Dec 21, 05:10:00 PM PST
Bloviating Zeppelin said...: Bingo. Okay, thanks Tom.

BZ; Mon Dec 21, 06:39:00 PM PST
David Wyatt said...: Please oh please, BZ, go back to your original masthead!! I have wanted this ever since you changed it!; Mon Dec 21, 07:27:00 PM PST
cary said...: While I very much like the clouds and mountains, (as witnessed by my clouds and, well, mountains on my own masthead) the original so much better expresses the point this country is at.

And, I tried AdSense while I was on blogger. Crappy return on high labor output. Not worth it.; Mon Dec 21, 08:15:00 PM PST
cary said...: "the point at which this country is"

"the point which this country ..."

"the point where this country finds itself..."

Crap. You know what I mean.; Mon Dec 21, 08:17:00 PM PST
Jennifer Leeland said...: I love both mastheads, but the clouds and such are so pretty.....; Mon Dec 21, 09:09:00 PM PST
CJ said...: BZ - Well thanks for considering us, BZ. Ads are an annoying part of life that I believe, like you, don't need to be found on my blog.

Which, btw, I've added you to.

cjh; Mon Dec 21, 10:39:00 PM PST
Dionne said...: I hear ya, in the past I spent soooo much time on the blog that I wanted to find a way to make money with it. But I could just never bring myself to do the ad thing. I'm not saying I won't ever do it, Its just not something I'm comfortable with now.

I like having the freedom to say exactly what I want and promote whatever I believe in, without any other agenda!; Mon Dec 21, 11:22:00 PM PST
Maggie Thornton said...: Good thinking about the ads BZ and I really think this masthead is very, very appropriate for this time in our history.; Tue Dec 22, 08:48:00 AM PST
Maggie Thornton said...: BZ, just to be clear, I like the storm clouds at this particular time, but both mastheads are excellent.; Tue Dec 22, 08:54:00 AM PST
Clint said...: I'm with everyone else: no ads.
As for the banner, I like the one you got up there right now--but, that's just me :); Tue Dec 22, 09:49:00 AM PST
Law and Order Teacher said...: BZ,
I don't have near the output that you do, but I wonder why you would chain yourself to your computer to make money. Being a cop is a lot of work, I know, this if for enjoyment. Keep up the good work. You are a strong voice, don't become commercialized. I like this masthead. It's ominous as are our times.; Tue Dec 22, 02:09:00 PM PST
Bloviating Zeppelin said...: THANK YOU to everyone who weighed in on the ads and masthead.

Seems like it's about a 50/50 split.

My most sincere thanks to each and every one of you who come by to read my scribblings! Your thoughts and comments are always welcomed -- even the, ahem, "challenging" ones; 'long as we don't go into a full bang S-and-F word devolution.

BZ; Tue Dec 22, 03:38:00 PM PST
shoprat said...: I've been hit with a lot of spam comments lately. And you're right about blogging being a hobby.

I also noticed that a lot of good blogs that carry ads take forever to load. Big nuisance.; Tue Dec 22, 03:39:00 PM PST
Bloviating Zeppelin said...: Shoprat: and that's an excellent point. It all depends a great deal on HOW it is you contact the internet. Even as I write this (I know most people cannot feature this), I am on a stupid dial-up. Way up in the mountains it's all I can get. I have ATT for phone service but they don't have the proper cabling up here for internet access as well.

Buh-ding, buh-ding, beet-doot, frrrrrrrrrt. . .

BZ; Tue Dec 22, 03:46:00 PM PST
KurtP said...: BZ-
You might try DISHinternet(wildblue satellite) or try a search for wireless DSL- you may be surprized.

As far as ads, I pretty much ignore them, except like Shoprat says they slow down loading.; Tue Dec 22, 07:45:00 PM PST
The WordSmith from Nantucket said...: My feeling is this: if you're taking actual time out of your hectic day to read me -- and there are only so many blogs and so many URLs you can visit with your limited time -- then I'm just happy as hell that you deigned to visit my winky little piece of the Blogosphere.

Thanks for the consideration to your readers!

I feel like adding ads to my blog would be unnecessary clutter, and a nuisance. If I were actually investing a lot of time at it, maybe I'd consider trying to pull in an income.

Seems like it's about a 50/50 split.

Either one is nice, by me. Hope mine was the tie-breaker.; Wed Dec 23, 06:50:00 PM PST
A Jacksonian said...: As the Zepps were used for Nazi agitprop seeing one going down in flames is appropriate... I like airships as a class of vehicle and think they will serve as a future heavy-lift system for remote construction sites and as a means to near orbital payload delivery.

I didn't want any money stream from my blogging, and accept none for it. I do put up links to commercial sites, and the overwhelming majority of them (far over 80%) I have actually purchased from. Others offer an alternative source for goods and supplies and deserve to be put up for that purpose. I've had two ammo resellers ask for a position and they both have gotten them. Likewise one of the general stores I purchased from online wrote to thank me for my purchases and mention in a review.

I get no coupons, no price breaks, no cash, no favors, nothing for posting those. I have posted elsewhere for paid-for reviews, but income from that is minimal and not even worth the bother of taking out for the past few years... besides, writing product reviews is damned dull.

I write because I like it and I get some motivation to do so internally. EDITING I hate, and the more I have to edit my works the less I like writing... yet I have a massive chore ahead this up and coming year to try and get three major pieces done. Then I will self-publish and take zero profit: people wanting hardcopy will pay for the paper, ink, binding and cost of getting it to them, with any marginal price increase going to those doing the printing, binding, etc. Soon that will be a fully automated system and my guess is that in a year or three your local bookstore will have that capability on-site.

Follow your interest, skills and heart, and getting a living from it will follow as well. Just make sure that changing an avocation to a vocation does not lose the interest in the avocation.; Sun Dec 27, 06:35:00 AM PST

Bloviating Zeppelin

: Name: Bloviating Zeppelin; Location: Sierra Nevada Mountains, Fornicalia, United States

A former Democrat in my tender and ignorant youth, I am now a Conservative first and, these days, quite a distant Republican with a dash of Libertarian mixed in for good measure. I believe in God, the strength of America, the brilliance of our Founding Fathers, the valor of our military, and the need for Leadership in all forms and on every level. I am not an advocate of censorship as I believe everyone on the Far Left has a God-given right to be painfully stupid -- as I have a right to expose said stupidity. UPDATED NOTE: Recent legal references mandate that I make clear that these writings are ONLY my written OPINIONS and those of no one else. FAIR USE NOTICE - This web site may contain copyrighted material, which may not always have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such images and excerpts are made available for the purpose of analysis and critique, as well as to advance understanding of social, political, media and cultural issues. We believe this constitutes 'fair use' as explained in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law. ADVERTISING: I do NOT, however, ask for nor display advertisements here.

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Bloviating Zeppelin

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Advertising

18 Comments:

Bloviating Zeppelin

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