Question to the public at large:

[stoney321]

It seems that LJ is making available to people with paid/permanent accounts the ability to put Google AdSense ads on your LJ, thereby earning you a little dosh, should you have a high enough hit count to your post.

It's - of course - sparked a huge debate over on the link where this was announced. My question to you is, are you for, or against this, and why?

I'm pretty meh on it - I see ads everywhere I go online, so I ain't bovvered. Plus, if it puts money in someone's pocket, what's that to me? But of course, my thoughts on the matter are just that, mine. So what are yours?

To sweeten the deal, allow me to link you to a funny (AND NOT WORK SAFE) video of a comedian/rapper, who just happens to be the VERY FIRST BOY I EVER DATED. He's quite handsome, still. Oh, my stupid lame LDS upbringing, preventing me from making out with him when I had a chance... Lol. (Hee, I can remember the outfit I wore on our first date, and everything: navy blue off the shoulder sweater with white piping, very naval-inspired, and a white pencil skirt and white espadrilles. He wore skater punk chic and I thought he was the hottest thing EVAH.)

Off topic, what did you think of House last night? Most likely will be spoilers in the comments.

Comments

ads

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

Count me on the side of OH HELL NO. I'm a paid member so I don't have to put up with that bullshit - I damn sure don't want to log onto my friends list and see it. I'm bombarded with enough unwanted advertising as it is. GRR.

Re: ads

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Really? That strong of an opinion? I don't notice them, personally. I do think you can opt out of viewing them on other people's pages, though, so if someone does choose to sign up (I've bounced around the idea) you don't have to be bombarded.

Re: ads

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

Yup. I've worked in advertising, and let me tell you, I am pretty damn anti-unsolicited ads. It's got where you can't go three feet without one sticking itself in your face, and LJ is my sanctuary.

Re: ads

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

Psssst: Firefox and the AdBlockPlus add-on.

I rarely see ads. If I do, it's because I specifically want to.

Re: ads

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

I use both! I also use the noscript add-on, which is also fabulous for stopping unwanted stuff.

Re: ads

[wolfling]

From the way I read it though, if you're a paid member, you only see the ads if you opt in to -- even if someone else has opted into showing them if you don't want to see them you won't.

So saying I'm a paid member I don't want to see ads -- err yeah, you won't unless you choose to.

My own opinion is pretty much *shrug*. I'm not planning on opting in to seeing them so it really doesn't affect me at all. Beyond that, it's not LJ putting ads on people's journals, it's people deciding to do so themselves; not my place to tell them not to. I may have felt differently if I didn't have to opt in to see them, but as it stands, I can't be arsed to get annoyed that someone somewhere might be making other someones look at ads they have explicitly decided they don't mind seeing.

House

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

I quite liked it. I hope this signals a return to the first season where House was obnoxious and a little arrogant, but still had compassion and was a decent human being underneath the smart-mouth.

Re: House

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

I hope this signals a return to the first season where House was obnoxious and a little arrogant, but still had compassion and was a decent human being underneath the smart-mouth.

I agree with this. I also thought the sex scene was beautifully shot. I missed Wilson though, but then I always do.

Re: House

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Oh man, that sex scene!! Rawr.

Re: House

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

I concur. It was very hot (in spite of Manly saying, "So this is the kind of mental hospital where nobody watches you 24/7?")

Re: House

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaha. And you get over night passes easily, too!

Re: House

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Me, too. I thought it was a little obvious (um, One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest, anyone?) but still thought it was effective. The opening was one of the best ever, throw Radiohead in there on top of everything else and I was sold.

I hope you're right about him having compassion underneath it all. I thought it was very promising.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on the "meh", mostly because I have AdBlock Plus/Firefox which means I never see adds.

Here's the way I look at it: There are a lot of people on my FList who are unemployed or need the cash because of expenses and/or pay cuts. I am not going to begrudge them the chance to grab a few pennies where they can (and really does come out to a few dollars and cents and not much more from what I understand).

I'm not going to do it, because hey, I gotta decent job at decent pay (even if I'm being squeezed so hard by unexpected bills that the buffalo on the nickle is taking a shit on the purple plains of majesty) so a few bucks one way or the other isn't going to matter. However, if I found myself on the unemployment line, you can bet your ass I'd be grabbing what ever revenue stream I could — including a potential one from my already paid-for LJ.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Yeah - you can block what you don't want, so I don't get the really aggravated NOOOOO!s I saw over on that post.

And right there with you, a little extra cash could come in handy for a lot of folks. Why begrudge them, exactly. Esp. if someone has a permanent account?

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

That guy is cute, and hysterical which makes him even more appealing! I don't care about the ads, as long as they don't jump around.

Haven't watched "House" yet, but I loved Andre Braugher on "Homicide," so I'm looking forward to seeing him and Hugh Laurie together.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Isn't he? He was cute when we were teens, and never quit being cute and funny. He was actually a blind date that my DAD set me up on, if you can believe it. Ha. I'm glad to see that he's successful doing what he loves.

I really enjoyed House - let me know what you think after you get to see it! I thought Andre Braugher was very effective - he's a solid actor.

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

I thoroughly enjoyed "House." Everybody brought their A game, and I really liked the actress playing Lydia. House got "cured" a bit quickly after making the decision to give the meds and therapy a whirl, but how much time was supposed to have passed? I'm looking forward to watching how this new insight and lack of emotion numbing pain pills changes him back at the hospital, and how it changes his relationship with Wilson.

[moosesal.livejournal.com]

I don't watch House, so no comments there. I don't really have an opinion on the ads. I don't plan to put them on my journal because I don't think they'll really net me any money. But I think for people who want to do it, go for it. It's no different than seeing ads on any other webpage.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

That's my opinion, too.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

I got a paid account to stay away from ads. Most of my friends have them for the same reason. Putting ads on my paid account would most likely alienate the friends I want to keep most.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

it's been said, but you can opt out of seeing ads both through LJ and through firefox's adblocker.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

I don't use Firefox for LJ. I've been using Opera, which also has an excellent ad blocker, for nearly a decade. But the problem becomes the places where I need to be able to see the ads -- if I set my blocker too high, I miss those (I do QA for websites).

As far as LJ goes, I specifically went to the paid account to avoid advertising. I shouldn't have to do anything else.

I know my LJ isn't going to give me any revenue. I know you and several of my friends might have enough traffic to make it worth your while, and in this economy, I'm not going to judge anyone who chooses to. However, among my friends whom I knew first in real life, this would be a faux pas for me, and, since I'm now several hundred miles from them, I'd like to keep in touch.

[darlas-mom.livejournal.com]

Opera has an adblocker? ::eyes light up:: OMG! I love it so much! (I've only been using it for a few months, I still don't know everything it does, but I love it so, so, SO much.)

[bitchygrrl.livejournal.com]

Times are hard if people who need to can make a little extra, no skin off my nose. I know how to use ad-block. Just not that deep to me. *shrugs*
He is still handsome and very funny. Your outfit sounds adorable. *pinches your cheeks* You were a good girl.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

He is still cute, huh? :D DAMN IT, WHY WAS I SUCH A GOOD GIRL? So many missed opportunities, lol.

[tabaqui]

Apparently, the amount of 'revenue' you can make is tiny. Like - a percentage of a percent of a penny per click or something, and you're not allowed to use it on comms, so only people with *huge* followings on lj will see any money at all, and then not much.

My biggest reaction was that they wised up and made it opt-in, as they have done a couple other times lately, so that's a huge *yay* on my part. I truly loathe ads, thank gods for Firefox popup blocker and such.

House pretty much rocked, though i do get tired of people saying he's miserable. He never seems miserable to me - he seems to be having a hell of a lot of fun pretty much all the time. I rather thought that his 'recovery' was a bit too quick but then, this is television.

*i admit to going back and forth, in the last half hour, between house and the season premiere of The Big Bang Theory, so....*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I know there are some folks out here though that have HUGE flists and have really popular LJs - if they wanted to generate twenty bucks a month, or something, by adding ads, I don't mind.

Yeah - making it an opt IN, and not an opt OUT was very smart on their part. FINALLY, huh?

I do think that House can be miserable, but I ALSO think that most of the time, he gets a sick pleasure in being who he is. And I thought the same, re: recovery time. But then I realized that I'd been watching a 2 hour episode and remembered that's like, seven months in TV time. Heee.

[tabaqui]

OH, i don't care if anyone does it, but i just hope people don't think they're gonna make all kinds of cash. It could be a real bummer for some. They should put that sort of info into the announcement, too, the lamers.

Yeah, he was probably 'away' for ages! Heh. I really wanted to see some 'Terminator 2' type action, with House doing chin ups and things in his isolation room. Heeeee!

[julia-here.livejournal.com]

It's opt-in, and there's wank?

Oh, LJ users, never change.

Julia, thanks for the link, great way to start the day.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked the link! There are a bunch of really funny ones that links to, and his site is great as well.

[poshcat.livejournal.com]

And I make pretty good spaghetti sauce, mutha fukka! Hee, that was my favourite line. I feel bad on your behalf that you didn't make out with him when you had the chance. You could have used the ministrone soup and/or rice pudding on him, man.

LJ ads: Well...at least somebody might be making money off the internet. \0/ I have to admit that YouTube ads bug the crap out of me, as they get worse and more invasive every damn week. As long as the ads on LJ don't pop out at you at the interesting moment, I'm good. Are your view numbers high enough to make this worth your while? Go for it, if so.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

If you got a bad back, put your hands up! LOL. He was funny when we were kids, too. He works in the entertainment industry, has for almost 2 decades! Why did I let him slip out of my dry, Mormon-girl hands? LOL.

I think you can even change what kind of ads appear, too. Maybe not the content, but if it's an image, a text ad, or a banner. I've wondered how much I could make from it, I won't lie. I average several thousand hits a day here, which is mind boggling to me.

IF YOU HAVE A PET CAT PUT YOUR HANDS UP, MOTHA FUCKA!

[poshcat.livejournal.com]

All the mormons want to keep an eye on you, missy. That's why your hits are so high. :0D

[anelith.livejournal.com]

Does anyone make enough money off these ads to make it worth their while? Wow. I wouldn't want to see them, but fortunately it seems as though the way it's structured I won't unless I say I want to. And does anyone really say "YES! I *want* to be bombarded with ads because I love them so!"? Again, wow. People are weird.

Your outfit on that date sounds so cute. I bet you were a knockout.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I LOVE ADS. Ahahahaha. I want billboards surgically implanted on my eye balls, HOW ABOUT IT, SCIENCE? Hee.

Oh my gosh, I thought I looked SO CUTE. And we went to see Dirty Dancing, and I was SCANDALIZED. Also, I was awkward and weird, too, so... But we had a few more dates, so it couldn't have been that awful? Ha ha ha.

[darlas-mom.livejournal.com]

Eh. ::shrugs:: It seems a little pointless, since you have to pay to opt into the program in the first place, and the average blogger probably won't even recoup what they put in, but I'm not wildly opposed to it. It's not as if I'll ever see it, and I don't feel a lot of sympathy for the basic or plus account users who won't have a choice. Ads on webpages! Horrors! My God, it's like the dictionary definition of a first world problem. Besides, LJ probably got a fair bit of cash from Google for brokering the deal to set this up, and if people ever want their a la carte userpics, the money for it has to come from somewhere.

Your first boyfriend is cute! I have no speakers right now, so I can't hear what he's saying, but he looks like the beautiful love child of Joe Flanigan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Flanigan) and Eric Bana. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Bana) Nummy. *g*

I did not watch "House" last night! I watched "Heroes." Mine was awesome, I hope yours was, too. :-)

[killerweasel.livejournal.com]

I don't see what the big deal is. It's an opt-in option and if someone wants to try to make a little money, that's their choice. *shrugs*

[cdvla313.livejournal.com]

Re: House, I usually only see it if I'm flipping through channels and it's on, but I love Lin Manuel Miranda (Alvie) so I totally watched last night's episode. I may watch it in the future, though, I really liked the ep!

A friend couldn't get over the fact that Alvie was allowed to have a Puerto Rican flag over his bed, though. For a split second we thought Alvie was going to hang himself with it at the end. lol. Lin was taking questions on his facebook about the episode, and I think she actually asked him about it. He's in Spain, though, and he lost his connection before he could answer. lol.

And regarding ads, I don't have a paid account, so I live with them all the time. I don't really notice them any more.

[altyronsmaker.livejournal.com]

Honestly, in these times, I'm not begrudging anyone from making money anyway they can. I'm not opting for the ads, but I'm not hugely opposed to it either. To each their own, right?

[lynnenne]

You dated all the hotties!

House... I dunno. It felt kind of trite to me. Make connections with people and everything is solved? Too easy. And the hospital... do they still have mental institutions like that? I've spent some time in psych wards, and they were nothing like that! It felt like a throwback to the 60s.

I did enjoy Andre Braugher, though, and I was glad to see him in next week's preview.

[ivyfree.livejournal.com]

Regarding ads: I don't have a paid account, and I've never noticed ads. I don't notice them on the major blogs I read either; I think I have a built-in ad blocker- I have to make a conscious effort to see them. So I don't care if somebody wants them on their paid account or not.

House: meh. I don't like House and haven't bothered with it after the first season- there's only so much you can watch a certain formula before you just give up on it. And that hospital would be sued from here to eternity for the things he does; he'd have been out on his ass, no matter how brilliant he supposedly is. DH watched last night's episode, and it was still formulaic. When will the entertainment industry realize that mental hospitals no longer exist in that sense any more? Patients are stabilized on drugs and discharged ASAP because nobody but the wealthy can afford long-term inpatient care- back in the 70s, the public mental hospitals were accused of "warehousing" patients who wound up being discharged en masse to nursing homes, unwilling families and, eventually, the street. The people you find find in long-term inpatient care are either very, very wealthy- and they are hospitalized in luxurious private institutions- or people who present a real danger to themselves or others. In which case, they can't just ask for overnight passes. House would certainly not be in a psych institution, but in a rehab. Betty Ford, say.

Incidentally, while I've got my bitch on, I'm a little tired of Hollywood always presenting the mentally ill as physically attractive, intelligent, sensitive, intuitive and caring- with a quirk. People who are hospitalized with a mental illness are SICK. Usually physically sick as well as mentally (as my psych instructor said, the brain runs the body, and if your brain is sick your body will be too). I didn't notice a single patient on the program doing the thorazine shuffle... and most of them would have been, IRL. Which I realize this wasn't. But watching it with DH last night reminded me of why I dislike medical shows so much.

[nijireiki.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way about Hollywood homeless people as attractive, generally-healthy people who are just down on their luck and need some cleaning up. Generally I've found most of the homeless population are very mentally unstable and chronically ill, usually addicts, and often uneducated. I also know since I moved down to Florida, there are lots of "part-time" homeless who drive to their selected begging locations in ratty clothes, often with a dog or a cardboard sign, and then drive back home at the end of the day. There are so many clearly middle-class people begging for money on the sides and medians of the roads that they can end up competing with homeless people for the best locations. It's bizarre.

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

Ads: I will not speak of them in public. Possibly not even under the flock either as I've already pissed off enough people with my unpopular opinions about making money on the web and sustainability of a service and how DW isn't the land of unicorns.

*clears throat*

House: I actually liked it more than I thought I would. Some of it was really unrealistic, but it is House and TV after all, and overall, it was rather problematic. And I missed Cuddy. Though I was relived to see that they blamed House's breakdown on not dealing with the deaths of loved ones and not his Vicodin habit.

[nijireiki.livejournal.com]

LJ ads: I don't have a paid account, or even an adblocker plugin, so I really couldn't care less. It bugs me when ads make the coding for someone's layout freak out, but that's more a artsy visual distraction thing than anything else.

Re: House -- I prefer Fringe, honestly. It gets all my sciency urges out. But the premier was okay; I really appreciate the acting and character development of the show even though the medical stuff and the hospital setting is unrealistic. But I hope the cast gets spiced up soon, because House is running out of interesting characters to develop, you know? I can only watch Bisexual!Doctor do a lot of drugs and Blackman!Doctor be uptight for so long. I can probably watch TeenageVampire!Doctor for a while more, but that's only because it tickles me that he was the Teenage Vampire.

ANYWAY. For the medical side of a medical show! Scrubs is much better. I didn't appreciate it until I'd done clinicals at a few local hospitals, and then it made much more sense (like how That 70s Show makes sense in a really depressing way once you've lived in Wisconsin)wi. I never watched ER because I watched Trauma: Life in the ER as a kid and I thought they were the same thing? I don't recommend Grey's Anatomy or Mental or HawthoRNe at all because they are faaaarrr too saccharine for my tastes, and Nurse Jackie seemed like the writers were trying too hard to be "gritty." Wonderland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderland_%28TV_series%29) was really, really great, but (naturally) the show only lasted 8 episodes before cancellation.

[kseenaa.livejournal.com]

Using Firefox and Adblock, so... *shrug* I wouldn't do it myself, since I happen to think it is butt-ugly, and I happen to like to look on my LJ. :-) But if anyone else wants to... There choice, after all.