Should Noahpinion allow sidebar ads? Give me your thoughts!

Hi, my small but loyal band of readers! I was just thinking today (weren't we all?) that I could use an extra 17 cents. I could also use some practice using AdSense, Google's subject-based sidebar ad service.

This means that little (text-only) ads would appear on the side of the screen, for products that (thanks to the magic of Google) are somehow related to my blog. For example, if I state that "the hippies saved capitalism," you might see an ad for tie-dyed shirts, or maybe brokerage accounts. Of course, every time you clicked on the ad would mean that I, Mr. Noah, receive some microscopic amount of money. Thus, Noahpinion would technically become a commercial site...a sellout.

So tell me what you think! Leave me a comment. Are sidebar ads just too annoying? Is blogging too pure to be infected with crass consumerism? Or will that extra 17 cents (and that's probably more than I'll get!) in the hands of a forward-thinking liberal like myself be a force for good in the world? The decision is in your hands.


READING/VIEWING GUIDE

1. As the confrontation between the West and Iran proceeds apace, many of us are searching for some clue into the mind of Iranian President Ahmadinejad (I spelled that without checking!). The other day, I happened to come across this interesting video, produced by the Iranian government, showing a compilation of clips from the Iran-Iraq war. Keep in mind, this video was made long after the war. I don't know about you, but watching the video made me want to deny the Holocaust, ban American music, and nuke Israel.

2. After spending so much time jeering at environmentalism, "conservative" magazines like the Weekly Standard must barely be able to keep their bile down as they quietly acknowledge the wisdom of changing cars' fuel technology. Of course, calling for "energy independence" or urging the U.S. to "protect the environment" would be liberal liberal liberal, so they have to couch this sensible policy recommendation in big tough national-security overtones, throw in generous amounts of "we must explore for new oil" caveats, mention how Democrats only care about attacking the president, and use plenty of red-meat terms like "final battle". Amazing. But if conservatives are starting to wake up and agree that sensible policies are sensible, then, hey. Final battle away.

3. The pope supports erotic love! Three cheers for the Popester!

4. About a month ago I mentioned to my dad that investing in Google wouldn't be a great idea at that time. I was just being contrarian, but it turns out that by sheer luck I was right. However, if you decide Noahpinion should use AdSense, I'm sure Google' revenues will bounce right back.