The Eye

According to ZDNet, Internet advertising in the UK will overtake TV this year. I am not suprised really, it was almost bound to happen at some point.

Take myself. I watch very little television, mostly because I am not interested in much of the content;  secondly because on network television there are so many commercial breaks it spoils the few things I am interested in watching. I really don’t want to see an ad for injury lawyers, or for a new drug every 6-7 minutes.

Now, I appreciate that everything costs money, and advertising pays for those costs; after all, I have a number of blogs on which I carry advertising, including this one, as it pays for the costs of running them. However, no-one has to click on any ads on my sites, unless they want to, and that’s the same on most other sites I visit.

I keep in touch with what’s going on in the world. I read the local newspaper. I read the New York Times. I get a daily podcast of the Wall Street Journal. I frequently visit the BBC news site - as I feel they are less biased, and more trustworthy in their news reporting than Fox, or CNN for example.

Sometimes, I find the advertisements on web sites are useful. Sometimes I click on them, and read about the product and service that is interesting me. Sometimes I go on to make a purchase. One reason is that the advertisements online are more likely to relate to what you’re reading, unlike on television, where a commercial for a backache pill comes in the middle of a history documentary.