I think I should point out, however, that when I checked the site to make sure the ads were working properly, the first one that came up was about female infertility… I’m fairly certain the way Google places ads on the site is by automatically scanning content and then putting an ad up that is likely to be relevant and something your readers would be interested in.
The system makes sense, of course. But I’m not sure what could have triggered the Ad Robots to think that would be the right ad for the site.
Gmail accounts do the same thing. The email service is free because google scans your emails and put a few text-only ads on the sides of your emails. They’re usually pretty relevant. But sometimes, hoooooo boy.
An email entitled “Beef n’ Cheddar” from my friend Chris yielded ads for Ugg Boots. And email from co-worker Jody asking if we’d like to go the zoo yielded an ad for Hydrogen Sulfide removal and one for a cure for Bacterial Vaginosis.
The point I’m trying to make is: I sure do love robots.
I was asked by a committee to get the kids onto one of those ‘save the rainforest by clicking here’ sites for our school’s Green School activities. Got one all set up so they could click it every day from their classrooms. The next time I tried it one of the first ads that flashed had to do with eco friendly panties. That ought to be a REAL hit in third grade on up. Heh
[…] Don’t you love how the internet remembers things for you? Isn’t it nice that you don’t have to remember your password every time you want to remove a Woody Allen movie from your Netflix queue? Don’t you love that you can transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars of someone else’s money into your account, just by using the library computer they forgot to log out of?* How great is it that the internet remembers sites you’ve visited, things you’ve said and crap you’ve bought so that sites can show you customized advertisements? […]