Adsense is dead? No way...How did you get that idea?
This one cracks me up...
On September 13, 2006, I received an email from Joel Comm. It said:
"There is a brand new report circulating on the web saying that "AdSense is Dead". I recommend that you go download it, but not for the reasons you might suspect.
AdSense IS dead...
... if you focus on building garbage sites
... if you put no effort into creating your own original content
... if you expect to get rich quick
But, the reality of the situation is that AdSense is FAR from dead!
In fact, I had my BEST month EVER in August 2006!"
It went on to provide a link to a poll that tabulated people's perception of Adsense health where I also found a handy-dandy link to download Scott Boulch's "Death of Adsense" report, through Joel. Joel Comm made fifty cents by referring me. He deserved it. He did recommend that I download it, after all.
Yesterday, I found out about a new report, written by Joel Comm, proclaiming "Adsense is Alive."
Note: There is no contradiction here. Joel never said he agreed with Boulch on the fate of everyone's favorite giant contextual advertisint option. He did agree it was dead for those using certain methods, but always maintained its overall viability.
However, the actual language of the landing page for "Adsense is Alive" cracks me up...
It says:
"Somehow, a rumor was started that AdSense is dead. This rumor has spread like wildfire across the net, and has left thousands of marketers dazed and confused about the future of AdSense."
and
"Apparently some people CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH, so they've decided to create their own version of "truth".
Well I'm not going to stand by and watch the facts get smeared and smothered any longer.
I'm here to set the record straight."
Give me a break. "Somehow" this story spread. Could it be, at least in part, because some Adsense guru named Joel Comm put his massive list in direct contact with the report in question, perhaps? Maybe the thousands of people Joel recommended to download that report and who then made it available to others to collect their pieces of fifty-cent referral pie helped it to spread?Look, I don't begrudge Comm for pushing his pro-Adsense report in light of "The Death of Adsense" stuff, but I do find it less than compelling for him to feign some kind of shock and surprise after he told the world to check it out, knowing that there was some monetary value to continuing its distribution (which, by the way, is surely what led him to become a Boulch affiliate in the first place).
And then, the rest of it... It seems like a massive stretch to pull out this "I can't believe this is happening and I am gonna set the record straight!" language after playing a hand in the D of A report's distribution.I am not saying it is dishonest or unethical, but it sure is beyond cheesy. And if I actually believed that Adsense may be on its deathbed, I would sure as hell use Comm's actions to support my position. Here's a noted Adsense guru who is willing to sell out for fifty cents a pop in support of a report lambasting Adsense. If his goose is so golden, why would he actively help spread the kind of bad publicity that could only drain his wallet?
I know the answer to that... It has nothing to do with Adsense it all. It has to do with making a few quick hundred off of a single email to one's list, and realizing that few people on the list will ever make the connection and hold it against him. The risk is small. And the controvery engendered by the "Death of Adsense" stuff (which doesn't, by the way, proffer an alternative that is actually mutually exclusive with Adsense) gives him a great opportunity to grab some spotlight with "Adsense is Alive."
You can call it good marketing. You can call it slimy. You can call it insulting. I call it funny. I just don't know whether it was intended that way.
By the way, in my humble non-Guru estimation, Adsense isn't dead and click flipping isn't really an alternative to Adsense so much as it is another potential revenue stream. Oh, and neither way can pack the eventual financial punch of owning and selling your own product, carefully written by a great writer who "gets it" or by you personally.
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