No sense to AdSense

A few weeks ago, I decided to explore the "Monetize" tab on my blog's publishing tool. That's the page where I can create and edit my posts, moderate comments (not a problem, since only a few of you dear readers have posted any), adjust the layout of the blog, etc.

Anyway, I knew it was possible to earn money from doing something like this; I also knew it took an awful lot of followers, random readers and total page views to make the effort begin pay off. So, why not take the plunge? I created an account through AdSense. Soon enough, a whole bunch of Google ads started to populate the site. Maybe some of you noticed; I suspect many of you didn't, having become accustomed to the visual clutter that characterizes so much of what we see online.

In short, the way it was supposed to work is that curious readers would click on an ad that caught their attention -- and if that happened enough times, it would trigger a micropayment to my account. Eventually, the micropayments would add up to a real payment deposited to my checking account.

Well...after three weeks or so of the ads' presence, I've decided to pull the plug. Given 157 "page impressions" (a page impression is generated every time a user views a page displaying Google ads), there were exactly two "clicks," which meant I had accumulated 57 cents in my account. Ha!

Now, understand, I didn't set up the AdSense with the fantasy that this would create another source of income for me. Mostly, it was a way to gauge how many (if any) readers would click on the ads or even just notice them and make a comment. I can withstand the loss of tqo quarters, a nickel and two pennies.

What it does make me wonder is ... if the key to newspapers' survival is generating significant revenues from online advertising, are we doomed? I'm not guilt-tripping anyone. I'm just wondering out loud. If this is the financial model -- advertisers agree to pay depending on how many folks click on their ads and how long they stay there -- is there any hope?

So, to wrap things up, I've decided to disabled AdSense and return the blog to its pristine state. I think it's a lot more attractive the way -- just content, no ads. But I do so, knowing that while I'm among those complaining of visual clutter, it's the way my employer and others make money on the Web.