Makiko Itoh : Not a nameless cat.

I run ads on my two food sites. The ads pay for the server, some site related expenses, and a little bit more.

If only I didn't have to run any ads. Ads clutter up a site, even the most discreet ones. Ad insertion code is often gimpy. Ad code is often invalid. Some really bad ad code can even make a browser crash, a server crash, or break a page design. Mostly, ads suck.

And when you think that something unobstrusive like text ads would be the solution, along comes Google to penalize sites for running them. Sucks.

I don't see an alternative though, if I want the sites to pay their own way (for hosting mainly), with some over to make things easier to keep on adding to and improving the sites. (Two of my cameras were purchased specifically for taking food pictures in different situation, for the sites. The ads helped to pay for them.) I don't see people paying a subscription for something that's free elsewhere. So, we're stuck with ads.

Someone who comes up with the great alternative to sticky sticky ads all over the place would make a fortune.

Oh, and I find it rather amusing when people who have 'free' blogs on Blogger and such services get all snarky and superior at people who have ads on their self-hosted sites. Last time I checked, Google is not a non-profit organization, and damned if I am going to subject all of my writings to their whims.