Web advertising.

February 04, 2003 | 4 Comments

I found this article about how the New York Times is planning a more “print-like” format for their ads very interesting.

It’s funny because I’ve often thought that Web advertising would move to more of a television model on some sites, which I think we are seeing a bit of. You know, where you have to sit through an ad before you get any content.

What the New York Times is doing is very interesting to me. It seems obvious that content driven sites of that nature need to have some sort of way to make money from their sponsors, and maybe this is an answer. I guess it really depends on how the readership views it.

I know many users and readers hate this kind of thing, but, lets face it, at some point all the great content on the Web needs to make money. I think the whole “News is Free” thing is great, but I also think that if you are providing quality content, it’s ok to expect something in return for all your hard work.

Look at what Mark Pilgrim is doing. Is there anything wrong with that? I don’t think there is. Turns out Mark was joking, not that it really mucks up my point too much, guess I needed to read the fine print. He had me (and many others I might add) fooled. Much thanks to John for showing me the light on that one. I guess since Adam Greenfield wrote about this very thing and I myself had mused about it as well, I got pulled in. Good one Pilgrim.

In any event even if it were true I’d have wished Mark the best of luck, just as I did when Tad Williams launched Shadowmarch. I thought that was a great idea (I paid for it) and it’s too bad it didn’t work out. Lest we forget, the Web is still young yet.

I for one hope that content providers, like the NY Times and quality writers like Pilgrim (liar - haha), can find a viable way to use advertising or subscription models or what-have-you to make it worth their while to keep producing good content. At the end of the day, it’s revenue streams and money coming in that will help further the promise and future of the Web.

Just ask the porn industry. They’ll tell you.

Filed under: Web General