Traffic to the Football Is Fixed site continues to increase exponentially (there was a fourfold increase in viewers when comparing March with February) and we have been approached by Google (who host the site) with an offer to display advertising on our homepage. There are several issues relating to this potential development and we would appreciate any feedback from readers.
We are incredibly grateful to Google for providing a format that enables us to share our opinions regarding corruption in football with fans, interested observers and professionals worldwide. Google provides this service with supportive back-up entirely free of charge. They are literally the only major global company that I possess any respect for (with the possible exceptional additions of Goldman Sachs and Berkshire Hathaway). But, they are a business and I understand their desire to find revenue streams from within their communities.
Personally, I abhor advertising as it merely panders to people's underlying consumerist addictions and, although I may be able to perform some forms of filtration regarding the content of the advertisements, there would inevitably be the occasional ad for bookmakers or tipsters or some other unedifying bunch of pranksters. The other members of our Trading Team have given me a free rein to make my own decision as the Football Is Fixed blog is merely a sister organisation to Dietrological (our Football Information Provision Service for Professional Traders and Analysts).
So, what to do?
The benefits are that I give something back to Google; I make some money from readers accessing the advertisements; we will probably gain extra readers; it will give the site extra clout in the eyes of moneyheads (in that this matters). The disadvantages are that I don't want to unwittingly drive readers into the arms of the bookmakers; the ads will disrupt the layout of the blog; advertising and marketing are amongst my least favourite areas of shareholder capitalism; it would be difficult to warn new readers of the reasonings behind any inclusion of ads.
Google Ads are also undermined by click fraud - the advertisers only pay for their ads when an individual clicks on the advert in order to receive further information. Competitor companies establish software that randomly but automatically clicks on their industry opponents to undermine their cashflow and profits. In this manner, the hierarchy of abusive capitalism is enhanced. Consequently, the presence of any advertisements indirectly supports the worst of the industry psychos.
There are no doubt other aspects of which I am unaware. So please let me know. Email me at the holding address listed under "View My Complete Profile" and I will make a decision based on a simple majority of views with a slight tilt against accepting the adverts to take account of my personal politics.
