Why There Are Ads On This Website

By Jonathan Timar
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Recently I received some criticism for the fact that I feature advertisements on this website.

Quite frankly I was taken aback as I have taken care to ensure that the ads are unobtrusive while still being visible. I feel that I have struck a good balance between aesthetics, function, and the necessary evil of advertisements.

Furthermore, I am bothered by the expectation some people have that everything should be free. I put a lot of effort into this site, I strive to provide content that is of value to my visitors. I make an effort to minimize anything that might be considered excessively self-indulgent (in spite of the blogging be self-indulgent by nature). I believe the content of this site is of high quality, whether it comes in the form of the written word, a photograph, or, soon, audio and video. In return for all of this free content, I ask only that people view a few ads that they don’t even have to click on (though it would be nice if you did).

Apart from creativity, this website requires only two things to run: time and money. At the present time I already trade a significant percentage of my time for money elsewhere, which leaves precious little leftover for In the Limelight. Therefore, the more money this website makes, the less time I will have to trade elsewhere, and the more time I will have to create more and more top quality, free content. Ads, I am afraid, are a big part of that.

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    No one criticises a plumber for charging to unclog a toilet, or a doctor for collecting a fee to diagnose the flu, but for some reason many would begrudge artists and others involved in creative pursuits the right to profit from their enterprises. Call me a cry baby, but I don’t think that’s fair.

    You don’t have to click the ads, so if you don’t want to, by all means, do not. But if you do enjoy the content, consider helping in other ways, such as using the social media buttons at the bottom of each post. Share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Post to Stumbleupon. I have made it easy!

    I suppose the point I am trying to make is that nothing is being forced here. The beauty of being ad-supported is that everything is try before you buy. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to pay for it, and if you do like it, well, you still don’t have to pay for it, so no complainin’ eh?

    Now that that’s out-of-the-way I will say this: I am always looking for ways to improve this site, and make it the best it can be. If you have a suggestion for things that could be improved, for content you would like to say, let me know! You can email me, or leave a comment on any post (please keep it in context though if you do that.)