“Ads? in *my* feed?” / It's more likely than you think.

February 11, 2009 1:33 PM

Advertisements in the RSS feed? Given that Matt has written before about his disdain for this bullshit, what gives?
posted by blasdelf to Bugs at 1:33 PM (59 comments total)

HAVE YOU BEEN FOLLOWING THE NEWS ABOUT THE ECONOMY? IT IS CRASHING AND BURNING!

Let the man make some money, whydontcha?
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:34 PM on February 11, 2009

Dude just breathe in deep and scroll past it. Lordalmighty. Let the powers that be try and make a buck.
posted by xmutex at 1:37 PM on February 11, 2009

It's like being raped in prison.
posted by plexi at 1:38 PM on February 11, 2009 [8 favorites]

Yeah, I know I've written that ads in RSS don't really work. I'm trying them out for 24hrs as a test case to see what kind of revenue they bring in (so far it's looking like not much).

I've gotten used to RSS ads in Google Reader, as they've eventually appeared in about 25% of the feeds I read. After a couple years of this, I've gotten pretty de-sensitized to them and I don't hold as much disdain for them as I used to. Ad revenue is down quite a bit for the new year and as a result, I was going to be testing out a few things for short periods of time over the next couple months. So if you see anything out of the ordinary, it's likely another small scale test like this.

The ads will come off by mid-day tomorrow.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:39 PM on February 11, 2009

I'm more upset about the targeted ads that get tacked onto the fifth comment in every MetaTalk thread.

Monetize Your Feeds
Earn revenue with relevant ads -
Learn more about AdSense For Feeds.
www.google.com/adsense
posted by burnmp3s at 1:43 PM on February 11, 2009 [10 favorites]

One of the websites visit often for weather information (and which does not have a nice replacement) actually detects AdBlock in Firefox and refuses to load properly until AdBlock is disabled.

I block the hell out ads otherwise and so this website actually freaked out Mrs. exogenous for a second when she glanced over my shoulder, since an ad there was for some singles site.
posted by exogenous at 1:54 PM on February 11, 2009

I haven't received any ads in my RSS. Odd.
posted by ardgedee at 2:07 PM on February 11, 2009

dolla dolla billz ya'll
posted by Stynxno at 2:09 PM on February 11, 2009

Interstitials!
posted by Artw at 2:17 PM on February 11, 2009

But they have white backgrounds! It's professional!


Make More $$$
Web Site ads not cutting it?
Use feed-reader advertisements!
www.google.com/adsense
posted by niles at 2:23 PM on February 11, 2009 [3 favorites]

Ads in your feed or cortex in your streets. You decide.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 2:44 PM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

It'd be more fun if they were in haiku form...

Moths In Your Wallet?
      Make others
   put the cash there
 Click here now to see!
posted by lysdexic at 2:46 PM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

"Ad revenue is down quite a bit for the new year and as a result, I was going to be testing out a few things for short periods of time over the next couple months."

Oh, so that's why my name was displaying as Popov's KlangKlangston.
posted by klangklangston at 2:51 PM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

Moths In Your Wallet?
Make others
put the cash there
Click here now to see!

If every "let me google that for you" link led me directly to a Nas video I'd be a lot less hostile to it.
posted by nanojath at 3:00 PM on February 11, 2009

Also you're bad at haiku.
posted by nanojath at 3:01 PM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

Ad revenue is down quite a bit for the new year and as a result, I was going to be testing out a few things for short periods of time over the next couple months.

TRAVELFILTER. (minus the 'short periods of time' part)
posted by gman at 3:03 PM on February 11, 2009

dude, this ad has taters in it.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:14 PM on February 11, 2009 [3 favorites]

Are you tired of seeing me suggest annual $5.00 subscriptions?
posted by Cranberry at 3:18 PM on February 11, 2009

Heck, this is the first time I've seen you make the suggestion, and I'm already tired of it!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:22 PM on February 11, 2009 [2 favorites]

Before we go all "WHAT. THE. FUCK. MATT?" on the poor guy, he wrote that nearly four years ago. That's, what, 48 million Internet years? A lot of water under the bridge, you know?

And yeah, ad revenue is down quite a bit for a lot of us, I'd imagine. Is for me.
posted by mcwetboy at 3:26 PM on February 11, 2009

Updated link!
Sick of broken links?
So are we!
posted by Pronoiac at 3:39 PM on February 11, 2009

Web admins: are you on the fence?
Do your sites pay your bills and your rents?
To supply your cash needs
Why not flog out your feeds?
Go to google, dot com, slash adsense.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 3:42 PM on February 11, 2009

For fuck's sake, do you want Matt to have to start laying people off?

WWJD?
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 3:43 PM on February 11, 2009

OK, it's driving me crazy. What is the title referencing? I know I've heard it before, I know it's a meme, but where did it come from?
posted by desjardins at 3:44 PM on February 11, 2009

What would Jessamyn do?
posted by desjardins at 3:46 PM on February 11, 2009

Centipedes and vaginas, desjardins.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:48 PM on February 11, 2009

'What would Jessamyn do?'

Correct. I thought about adding WWCD and WWPBD but I knew that would be overkill.

Also, the title refers to the "Centipedes? In my vagina?" meme.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 3:48 PM on February 11, 2009

ED on X? In My Y?. (ED in general is NSFW).
posted by burnmp3s at 3:50 PM on February 11, 2009

MORE MESOTHELIOMA FPPS PEOPLE
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 4:18 PM on February 11, 2009 [3 favorites]

Heck, this is the first time I've seen you make the suggestion, and I'm already tired of it!

That's because you stav, like me, are a freeloader.
posted by eyeballkid at 4:35 PM on February 11, 2009

Secret Life of Gravy Train
*Now* With More Meaty Nuggets

Your dog will thank you.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:40 PM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

I've gotten used to RSS ads in Google Reader, as they've eventually appeared in about 25% of the feeds I read. After a couple years of this, I've gotten pretty de-sensitized to them and I don't hold as much disdain for them as I used to.

Speaking as someone who not only isn't de-sensitized but has never even seen an ad in an RSS feed before today, thanks for dragging me into your commercialized hell! (Actually, I should wait until I actually do see one before I thank you...)
posted by DU at 4:45 PM on February 11, 2009

On Avengers fansites they ask What Would Jarvis Do?

Strangely, they ask the same thing on Pulp fansites.
posted by klangklangston at 4:48 PM on February 11, 2009

What Would Jarvis Do?

Meet you there, twelve o'clock, by the fountain down the roooooaaaad
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:53 PM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm totally terrified to google centipedes + vagina.
posted by desjardins at 5:01 PM on February 11, 2009

it's cool, I'll send you the good links.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:02 PM on February 11, 2009

ED in general is NSFW

ED scarred me for life once. Someone hotlinked to one of their SFW images and it made it onto reddit, so ED replaced it with a montage of goatse and some other images I had to bleach out of my brain.
posted by desjardins at 5:10 PM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

What would Jessamyn do?
posted by desjardins at 7:46 PM on February 11 [+] [!]

Centipedes and vaginas, desjardins.
posted by cortex at 7:48 PM on February 11 [+] [!]

what
posted by Sys Rq at 5:30 PM on February 11, 2009 [2 favorites]

I just hope the tater thing never gets settled. Because it's better as one big unanswered question.
posted by middleclasstool at 6:00 PM on February 11, 2009 [2 favorites]

Also you're bad at haiku.

Drive by critic
scorns my post,
yet offers nothing.
Must be MetaTalk.
posted by lysdexic at 6:20 PM on February 11, 2009

YO DAWG WE HEARD YOU LIKE ADS SO WE PUT SOME IN YOUR RSS SO YOU CAN GET PISSED OFF WHILE YOU POST HAIKUS IN METATALK
posted by armage at 6:38 PM on February 11, 2009

How could it have taken so long for this to get started?

No results for "what would jessamyn do".

posted by Chuckles at 6:49 PM on February 11, 2009

Tater.

It bears repeating.
posted by fixedgear at 6:56 PM on February 11, 2009

Have you considered multi-level marketing?
posted by blue_beetle at 7:00 PM on February 11, 2009

Damn, Metafilter was eliminated from the massive bailout package?
posted by lukemeister at 7:42 PM on February 11, 2009

hal_c_on - Dude. You're coming off as weirdly aggro.
posted by Pronoiac at 7:45 PM on February 11, 2009

That's because you stav, like me, are a freeloader.

Oh, aye.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:21 PM on February 11, 2009

I think the ads should show pictures of random Mefites with the caption "X married Y?".
posted by lukemeister at 8:51 PM on February 11, 2009

Yes...he should start with his SUBordinates who don't respect his superiority.

Congratulations, you are the saddest MeFite of the day.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:36 PM on February 11, 2009

I love unwinding on Metatalk with a little bit of Whitbey's™ Fine Casket Aged Scotch™ in my tumbler. Yessir, nothing works out the kinks of a hard day like Whitbey's™ on the rocks.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:49 PM on February 11, 2009 [2 favorites]

I start my day with a nice bowl of Banhammer™ Brand Bran Flakes. They keep me nice and regular.
posted by lukemeister at 9:56 PM on February 11, 2009

Me, I start my day at work browsing pictures of tatars.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 10:16 PM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

I start my day with a nice bowl of Banhammer™ Brand Bran Flakes.

I already had two bowls of that. The company almost asked me to do an endorsement deal!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:22 PM on February 11, 2009

"Yes...he should start with his SUBordinates who don't respect his superiority."

Narc.
posted by klangklangston at 10:49 PM on February 11, 2009

The ads will come off by mid-day tomorrow.

And never return.

Ugh. I feel monetized.
posted by ryanrs at 3:04 AM on February 12, 2009

I'm all in favour of metafilter getting some revenue, but I figure web (and rss) advertising will be more effective in the long run if people like me, who are never going to buy anything advertised, do not see the ads. With higher click-through and conversion rates, the ads will become more valuable, people will pay more for them, and metafilter will make more money. So therefore:

echo "127.0.0.1 feedads.googleadservices.com" >> /etc/hosts
posted by sfenders at 6:07 AM on February 12, 2009

You can block most ads from feeds in Google Reader. I think it's via the RIP extension for Firefox.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:45 AM on February 12, 2009

Now that Michael Phelps is off the boxes of Frosted Flakes, there's room for the mods. Or on the 10th Anniversary of MeFi Wheaties boxes this summer.
posted by lukemeister at 7:52 AM on February 12, 2009

Brought to you by Carl's Jr.
posted by PenDevil at 9:01 AM on February 12, 2009