April 3, 2004
fred wilson to do blogads?
Fred Wilson is thinking of bagging Google Adsense in favor of Blogads.
Jeff Jarvis and Hugh Macleod think I should switch to Blogads. Maybe I will. I've learned all I am going to learn about AdSense. If I can continue to send the checks to The Grameen Foundation [the charity where Fred donates all his ad revenues to], you might start seeing BlogAds here soon.
Nice to get a mention- Thanks, Fred. In the comment section I left this message:
Well, as Jeff said, I'm sure a lot of VC-related folks would be delighted to advertise [Blogads] on your site, and pay good money for the privelege. And unlike Google, you can accept or reject their application, depending on merit.
Blogads to me is less a numbers game, more of a way of starting a dialogue with a new segment of the blogosphere. I find when I buy blogads, my decision is based less and less on pure traffic numbers, and more on feelings of personal affinity with the site.
What makes blogads so effective, I believe, is that unlike Google Adsense, the advertiser, "Mr VC Lawyer Guy" has to like Fred Wilson, and Fred Wilson has to like him back... or at least, give him a nod.
That nod is worth a lot.
I hope Fred does start placing Blogads on his site. I'd certainly buy some, budget permitting.
Fred is well known in New York as a successful venture capitalist, so obviously he's not doing this for the money. My guess is it's a business that interests him, and he wants to get some first-hand experience of the game before considering investing.
My guess is blogvertising will be big business in a few years. Google has the numbers, but not the humanity element. Blogads has the humanity element, but not the numbers. Just a matter of time before somebody comes up with a package that offers both.
Posted by hugh macleod at April 3, 2004 12:48 PM