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January 26, 2009

Another Bad Sign

I clicked on The Daily Beast, an infrequent click, with all that is going on today with layoffs, etc. And here is what I saw...

beastly.jpg

Nevermind that Blago and Caroline Kennedy for Senator are old news.

Do you see what doesn't fit?

Embarrassing. Desperate. Clicks through to "Sponsored Blogs & Stories," Presented by Ben Button... "A Daily Beast Promotion.

Oy.

Expect to see more of the same on more desperate sites on this panacea known as The Web.

Posted by dpoland at January 26, 2009 04:10 PM

Comments

those ads are still WAY BETTER than despicable ads I see on other websites, touting diet pills and displaying photos of fat people's bulging bellies.

Posted by: DeafBrownTrashPunk [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 06:47 PM

Looks like you're getting some competition, David. Welcome to the Internet Era.

Posted by: Joe Leydon [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 06:49 PM

I don't see how that's any worse than ads in magazines that sort of look like articles. At least it's marked as advertising. Plenty of sites run studio copy as content all the time. And they don't even get paid for it.

Posted by: Devin Faraci [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 06:53 PM

This may seem sudden and uncalled for (and not to mention offtopic) but I see that there's a guy from CHUD and I just want to say how much I fucking hate those people.

I won't go into details (you would have to trust that I have my reasons) but Devlin, you and the people you work with suck donkey balls.

As for the "sponsored content" than it's nothing new, really. I've been seing it for over a year on certain websites. Compared how AOL's infamous front page operates, this is positively nothing. It may be a terrible trend but it's not exactly what I'd call a new low.

Posted by: Roman [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 07:36 PM

Huffington Post has been doing this for a while now. So it's not that bad. People need to get paid. Especially in light of things not getting better for a couple of years or more.

Posted by: IOIOIOI [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 08:48 PM

Oh yeah: I am all about supporting Chud and the people who piss of Roman.

Posted by: IOIOIOI [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 08:49 PM

IO you don't have the balls to piss me off though you are high on the meh scale. You never even understood what it is that we disgree on (and whatever you typed in your reponses has absolutely nothing to do with what I actually think).

I am not going to draw me in another bickering match with you so just do me a favor and stay out of my business.

Posted by: Roman [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 09:25 PM

I will, however, "going to let me" admit that the start of the last sentence should have read differently.

Posted by: Roman [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 09:27 PM

Roman: you cannot win. It's like that explanation of Joe Pesci's character in Casino. That's how it works. You keep telling yourself otherwise Johnnycakes, but that's how it works.

Now why don't you stop bitching out, and tell Devin why his life's work (so far) is a piece of shit? You got the balls (Heat: you couldn't deal in the real world, and our lunch would be the best 30 minutes you would ever load in flash) to give it to them? If not; shut the fuck up... figuratively.

Posted by: IOIOIOI [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 09:34 PM

If y'all are gonna elliptically continue a feud here, could someone at least cue the rest of us in on what it's about?

Posted by: LYT [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 10:18 PM

LYT: I don't think they know. I think IO thinks that he knows and I think that Roman is as confused as the rest of us.

Posted by: a_loco [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 10:35 PM

Roman, I think if you're going to say how much you hate someone, it's only fair to give at least one reason why.

IOI, is there anyone you haven't told "Do not play!!!" to? And yet, people continue, despite all warnings to cease and desist such playing.

Posted by: jeffmcm [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 10:57 PM

Joe... you endlessly amaze me when you think everything I write is, when I don't write it, about my personal business.

This speaks to Grady Stiles' comments in an earlier post. It doesn't matter whether I include personal guidance or not. People love to project all kinds of things onto me.

I've had competition every day of my 12 years on the web. I'm still here, Joe. Nothing much has changed except for the formats and that it's harder for these new businesses to survive. Welcome to the internet age.

Posted by: David Poland [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 11:04 PM

Jeff: it's not my fault these people keep fighting! It makes no sense to me. It should follow the fucking House Principle, but you folks ignore that principle. Seriously, it blows my mind.

Heat: Santa Joe loves fucking with you. Seriously, catch fucking on already.

LYT: He's a douche. I am not a fan of douches. So I will gladly drop all sorts of smack on top of Roman's head. A poster whose trying to out morally superiour morally superiour Jeff. So go figure. This is the Hot Blog. This is what we do. If you do not get that this is what we do. CHECK THE FUCKING ARCHIEVE! WE ARGUE! THE END!

Posted by: IOIOIOI [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 11:24 PM

'If y'all are gonna elliptically continue a feud here, could someone at least cue the rest of us in on what it's about?'

i'm glad it's not just me, i spend half my time reading this blog trying to figure out/remember the feuds, who are the hatfields and the mccoys, why the montagues hate the capulets, and where i fit in

Posted by: leahnz [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 11:28 PM

IOI, what's the "House Principle"?

Also, it's 'archive'.

Posted by: jeffmcm [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 11:35 PM

Jeff: the word needed another "e". We tested it. It tested really high with girls under 15 and men over 45. So we are going with it right now.

What's the House Principle? Watch last night's HOUSE to find out. That's how it should be, but you people just do not pay attention. Seriously; it's down right frustrating.

Posted by: IOIOIOI [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 26, 2009 11:39 PM

Or you could just tell me, since I wouldn't have any idea what the plotlines and character relationships are.

Posted by: jeffmcm [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 27, 2009 12:45 AM

Seriously, just watch everything IO does and you'll be as calm, well-rounded and well-adjusted as he is. Truly the transformative power of art at work.

Posted by: christian [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 27, 2009 01:23 AM

There's nothing wrong with that ad.

But I do find it funny that Dave singles out DB for it when, as IO said, Whorrington has been doing it for some time. Can't criticize HuffyPoo though, perish the thought. Who will carry the water?

Posted by: Martin S [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 27, 2009 06:27 AM

The bit that shocked me was 'Dan Abrams: Why Guantanamo was a good idea'. While I vastly prefer Rachel Maddow in his prior time slot, I do occasionally miss his show, a more sober-minded legal screed that served as a counter to the shrill 'fry them all, who cares if they're innocent?' ramblings of Nancy Grace. He was the lone voice of calm and sanity after the Iowa caucuses, when everyone else was saying that Clinton was already doomed and should drop out before New Hampshire.

Posted by: Scott Mendelson [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 27, 2009 07:18 AM

Actually, I DID slap HuffPo for doing this when I first saw it, months ago.

I might also point out that we already have The Wrap linking to other sites by forcing the reader to click on another on of their pages, where there is nothing but an elaborate link to the other site... or, sometimes, actual content taken from the linked site... not to mention one story today that is 85% on one page and then has a second "need another page view" page for the last 2 graphs.

In the end, many of these are things that offend me as a reader, not as a competitor or a member of the journalistic community. Of course, my way of responding, normally, is to stop visiting those sites, generally without thinking too much about it. The secret of the web is that we are in the business of serving the reader and we all have to figure out how to make that work, not to constantly try to drag another page view or ad out of it.

Posted by: David Poland [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 27, 2009 09:03 AM

Oh no, some anonymous guy on a blog hates me.

Posted by: Devin Faraci [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 27, 2009 10:11 AM

"Oh no, some anonymous guy on a blog hates me."

Roffle.

Posted by: a_loco [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 27, 2009 03:29 PM