polygon
March 31st, 2001, 03:12
This morning, I happened to be breezing past my site's main page, and noticed that Amazing Media's banner was an ad for a casino.
Whoa. I really don't want to have those on my site.
I wrote a polite letter to Amazing Media Ad Support, asking if it was possible to opt out of gambling ads.
Within the hour, Amazing Media replied, saying "Although we understand your concerns regarding your position and the visitors to your site, unfortunately, we do not have the capability to block specific ads from sites at this time."
So, that's the end of my experiment with Amazing Media; I deleted their ad code from my pages. They owe me some $95, which I probably won't ever see.
And since other CPM providers are not accepting sites these days, it's probably also the end of my experiment with CPM.
I'm back to ValueClick's CPC ads -- not very lucrative at 12 cents a click and 0.12% CTR.
But at least ValueClick has an opt-out for gambling, alcohol, and tobacco ads -- a feature that I appreciate, given my site's audience and my own position as an elected county commissioner.
Ads for casinos make money for some, certainly, and I have no argument with that. Lots of people enjoy visiting casinos, and that's okay too. But casinos and other gambling "providers" also prey ruthlessly on the addictions of certain people. Just about every male in my wife's extended family has/had a gambling problem.
Casinos are also gleeful and effective corrupters of local and state politicians. For that reason alone, I don't wish to be associated with casinos online or offline.
Whoa. I really don't want to have those on my site.
I wrote a polite letter to Amazing Media Ad Support, asking if it was possible to opt out of gambling ads.
Within the hour, Amazing Media replied, saying "Although we understand your concerns regarding your position and the visitors to your site, unfortunately, we do not have the capability to block specific ads from sites at this time."
So, that's the end of my experiment with Amazing Media; I deleted their ad code from my pages. They owe me some $95, which I probably won't ever see.
And since other CPM providers are not accepting sites these days, it's probably also the end of my experiment with CPM.
I'm back to ValueClick's CPC ads -- not very lucrative at 12 cents a click and 0.12% CTR.
But at least ValueClick has an opt-out for gambling, alcohol, and tobacco ads -- a feature that I appreciate, given my site's audience and my own position as an elected county commissioner.
Ads for casinos make money for some, certainly, and I have no argument with that. Lots of people enjoy visiting casinos, and that's okay too. But casinos and other gambling "providers" also prey ruthlessly on the addictions of certain people. Just about every male in my wife's extended family has/had a gambling problem.
Casinos are also gleeful and effective corrupters of local and state politicians. For that reason alone, I don't wish to be associated with casinos online or offline.