Man, I’ve been dragging ass lately. Haven’t felt right since getting back from New York and the one day, 5am trip to Virginia didn’t help. Work is just insane – and that’s good – but there’s so much other stuff going on that I feel like I need to crawl into a dark corner and sleep for about three days.
Quick search bit: press releases went out a few days ago regarding Norton’s Firewall Software now blocking sponsored links. Personally, the jury is still out for me on this one. The reason this is such a hot business right now is because of sponsored links. It’s paid my bills and then some. However, whenever I discuss the idea of sponsored links with someone who’s unfamiliar with them, they seem disgusted by the thought that advertising is polluting their pages. For the people who know what sponsored links are, almost every single one of them tell me that they’ve become conditioned to simply skipping them and never clicking (hello, banner ads). Clearly, there are plenty of people still clicking on them.
So is it good to block sponsored links? I don’t know. Really. I feel like it’s the least intrusive form of advertising ever and perhaps the most effective. Other than skipping over them, does it really hurt your web surfing experience? It doesn’t hurt mine. On the flip side, I can easily see where someone would be annoyed by any advertising when they’re searching the web. Just because I type in “Boise, Idaho,” doesn’t mean I want ten links offering me flights and hotels there.
Anyway, this move by Norton will either die on the vine or it will take off. My guess is the former.
Ten inches of snow yesterday. I just keep telling myself: two weeks and there will be baseball. Anyone who read this page have Tivo? Is it really worth it?
One more thing: Mark Lanegan kicks so much ass.
Song now playing: Screaming Trees – “Dollar Bill”