When I began posting to this site, I was relatively ignorant of how and why social change agents were using the blogosphere. I thought of the digital realm as a way to get information out in the post paper world, like putting newspaper articles out without having to utilize hard copy. I quit blogging at other sites that began injecting advertising into my posts without my authority. The very first time that it happened, I saw several hypertext links within my copy. When I took my mouse to the link, it took me to a corporate welfare recipient's page and the article, (or post) I was writing was speaking to the issue that these corporate entities have stacked our system against us.
You know the score. Corporados infinite power and control over our lives, we the people are left fighting over scraps. Because I am dedicated to and trying to express my deep love for human beings, not corporations, this was the most heinous slap in the face a writer could experience. When I wrote to the people who were making decisions about the hosting platform, they told me that they were only trying to monetize their site and that if users did not want to pay for their access, that they had to reach out to corporations to add their ads to content to raise money.
This might be fine for some people, but the fact that I was writing content that was clearly encouraging people to vote against with every dollar they spend in the marketplace, these same corporate giants; yet embedded in my posts were actual ads for those same non-change agents, the very people who are cleaning up on our pain, made me sick. I parted ways with that platform immediately. They might be great folks, but they certainly did not understand their part in what some refer to as "just business". I have even posted my ideas regarding those two words being used in proximity to one another. There is nothing just about business the way it is most often perpetrated against us.
Take for example the news today. We were finally told, explicitly, that the 800,000 Federal workers who went without pay for a month are just the tip of the iceberg. In addition, there are over a million more federal contract employees who will not be eligible for back pay. Their numbers are hidden. If it were blood in urine, we would call it occult blood. Just because you can't see it, does not mean it is not there. Including their losses over the more than month-long government shutdown changes the nature of and long-term pain involved in this recent treason the President has perpetrated against our nation. For decades now, contract employees have increased as a percentage of our Federal and State workforce. This has been a huge part of the right-wing takeover that dates back to Ronald Reagan. Getting these people off the government payroll precludes pension requirements, allows government to do more for less money and it also allows the spin off of managerial and executive positions within these contracted businesses, but at what cost?
Put simply, the cost is human suffering. This was brought into sharp focus during the recent shut-down. One of the many costs of putting a petulant child-mind in the Oval Office. I hesitate to use the term child-mind because it makes children sound stupid, they are not. In fact, a friend loves to tell the story of her fourth grade daughter who was involved with a mock election for President a couple years ago. Prior to the Presidential election, they had their own vote and lengthy discussions about the candidates followed their vote. Over 80% of the children voted for Hillary Clinton and when asked why, their reasons were nearly unanimous. Trump is a bully they said. He is mean and hates womyn, the elderly, handicapped and people of color they said. So, in fact the term child mind only undermines the deeply aware and staunchly compassionate sid eof children that don't exist in the man we named "President".
What does this have to do with online advertising and the beginning of this post you may ask? Well, I continue to research and study, not just ecological facts, sustainability, politics, social norms and the effects of oligarchy on what we see and read, I even why and how other people blog. Oddly enough, many people do it to make money, selling their content to the advertiser's dream audience. The nature of advertising in the blogosphere is unique, because these mere words and ideas are able to create deep connections. Trading on the trust and familiarity readers have for their favorite bloggers, corporate America has the ability to latch on to deep feelings in the readers, selling to them on a nearly sub-conscious level. The very real possibility exists that people will think, "If my favorite blogger likes this company or that product, perhaps I will too."
This dangerous association can sell things that would never be accepted in the marketplace if not for the familiarity we have with our sources of information.
This blog remains ad-free because I find most solutions to be beyond marketability. I don't want to get rich selling things. We all typically have more than we need already. The vast majority of my readers have food, shelter and enough to live. My goal is to help them do it more gracefully, to share information that helps lead to grace under pressure as it ratchets up in our current system. We need more truth tellers and more problem solvers, not more products. Especially now that we are seeing massive growth in the sharing economy, we also need more services and ways to help our community.
According to many experts who advise and teach bloggers to monetize their work, I have been doing things all wrong. My posts are too long, I don't include three three-word action points at the end and I refuse to court advertisers in an attempt to monetize this work. I may try to change, if just to look a little more like other blogs, but you can rest assured that I will never sell out my readers for a corporation that exhibits misogynistic, Calvinistic, or exploitative practices. That rules out most commercial entities. Instead, I will occasionally include my Paypal account number, asking you to send some money if and when you can. The sustainable ideas and actions that I share save me thousands of dollars a year and I encourage everyone to utilize than to increase their quality of life at lower cost. I don't expect anyone to send their entire savings to me for continuing to speak truth to power, but even ten percent of the money you save would help me to get a bit of reimbursement for the many hours spent researching to be able to put together cogent posts.
Action plan: First, NEVER GIVE UP! We are winning many victories around the globe.
Second, BE THE CHANGE you wish to see in the world. Compassion starts with you.
Finally, APPRECIATE OTHERS. Sometimes that means giving cash or needed services to others.
If any of my posts seem valuable to you, my Paypal account is tnsaladino42@hotmail.com which is also my e-mail. If you would like to ask me a question, request a topic for my blog, or just send a note to tell me what you think or feel about any of my writing, you can help me by sharing money, thoughts or ideas, I would appreciate any or all of those things. Also, remember that if you have any questions about making the highest quality biochar possible, I charge $100 per hour for consultation services. when you understand that biochar lasts forever in soil, the value begins to become apparent.
I continue to work to keep this site ad-free and appreciate your interest/commitment to making the world a better place.
You know the score. Corporados infinite power and control over our lives, we the people are left fighting over scraps. Because I am dedicated to and trying to express my deep love for human beings, not corporations, this was the most heinous slap in the face a writer could experience. When I wrote to the people who were making decisions about the hosting platform, they told me that they were only trying to monetize their site and that if users did not want to pay for their access, that they had to reach out to corporations to add their ads to content to raise money.
This might be fine for some people, but the fact that I was writing content that was clearly encouraging people to vote against with every dollar they spend in the marketplace, these same corporate giants; yet embedded in my posts were actual ads for those same non-change agents, the very people who are cleaning up on our pain, made me sick. I parted ways with that platform immediately. They might be great folks, but they certainly did not understand their part in what some refer to as "just business". I have even posted my ideas regarding those two words being used in proximity to one another. There is nothing just about business the way it is most often perpetrated against us.
Take for example the news today. We were finally told, explicitly, that the 800,000 Federal workers who went without pay for a month are just the tip of the iceberg. In addition, there are over a million more federal contract employees who will not be eligible for back pay. Their numbers are hidden. If it were blood in urine, we would call it occult blood. Just because you can't see it, does not mean it is not there. Including their losses over the more than month-long government shutdown changes the nature of and long-term pain involved in this recent treason the President has perpetrated against our nation. For decades now, contract employees have increased as a percentage of our Federal and State workforce. This has been a huge part of the right-wing takeover that dates back to Ronald Reagan. Getting these people off the government payroll precludes pension requirements, allows government to do more for less money and it also allows the spin off of managerial and executive positions within these contracted businesses, but at what cost?
Put simply, the cost is human suffering. This was brought into sharp focus during the recent shut-down. One of the many costs of putting a petulant child-mind in the Oval Office. I hesitate to use the term child-mind because it makes children sound stupid, they are not. In fact, a friend loves to tell the story of her fourth grade daughter who was involved with a mock election for President a couple years ago. Prior to the Presidential election, they had their own vote and lengthy discussions about the candidates followed their vote. Over 80% of the children voted for Hillary Clinton and when asked why, their reasons were nearly unanimous. Trump is a bully they said. He is mean and hates womyn, the elderly, handicapped and people of color they said. So, in fact the term child mind only undermines the deeply aware and staunchly compassionate sid eof children that don't exist in the man we named "President".
What does this have to do with online advertising and the beginning of this post you may ask? Well, I continue to research and study, not just ecological facts, sustainability, politics, social norms and the effects of oligarchy on what we see and read, I even why and how other people blog. Oddly enough, many people do it to make money, selling their content to the advertiser's dream audience. The nature of advertising in the blogosphere is unique, because these mere words and ideas are able to create deep connections. Trading on the trust and familiarity readers have for their favorite bloggers, corporate America has the ability to latch on to deep feelings in the readers, selling to them on a nearly sub-conscious level. The very real possibility exists that people will think, "If my favorite blogger likes this company or that product, perhaps I will too."
This dangerous association can sell things that would never be accepted in the marketplace if not for the familiarity we have with our sources of information.
This blog remains ad-free because I find most solutions to be beyond marketability. I don't want to get rich selling things. We all typically have more than we need already. The vast majority of my readers have food, shelter and enough to live. My goal is to help them do it more gracefully, to share information that helps lead to grace under pressure as it ratchets up in our current system. We need more truth tellers and more problem solvers, not more products. Especially now that we are seeing massive growth in the sharing economy, we also need more services and ways to help our community.
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| There was no attribution for this photo, so I'm not even sure who to credit for the work. Rest assured, it is here for educational purposes only. Next time you hear of a cop putting an innocent person to death, remember this image. |
According to many experts who advise and teach bloggers to monetize their work, I have been doing things all wrong. My posts are too long, I don't include three three-word action points at the end and I refuse to court advertisers in an attempt to monetize this work. I may try to change, if just to look a little more like other blogs, but you can rest assured that I will never sell out my readers for a corporation that exhibits misogynistic, Calvinistic, or exploitative practices. That rules out most commercial entities. Instead, I will occasionally include my Paypal account number, asking you to send some money if and when you can. The sustainable ideas and actions that I share save me thousands of dollars a year and I encourage everyone to utilize than to increase their quality of life at lower cost. I don't expect anyone to send their entire savings to me for continuing to speak truth to power, but even ten percent of the money you save would help me to get a bit of reimbursement for the many hours spent researching to be able to put together cogent posts.
Action plan: First, NEVER GIVE UP! We are winning many victories around the globe.
Second, BE THE CHANGE you wish to see in the world. Compassion starts with you.
Finally, APPRECIATE OTHERS. Sometimes that means giving cash or needed services to others.
If any of my posts seem valuable to you, my Paypal account is tnsaladino42@hotmail.com which is also my e-mail. If you would like to ask me a question, request a topic for my blog, or just send a note to tell me what you think or feel about any of my writing, you can help me by sharing money, thoughts or ideas, I would appreciate any or all of those things. Also, remember that if you have any questions about making the highest quality biochar possible, I charge $100 per hour for consultation services. when you understand that biochar lasts forever in soil, the value begins to become apparent.
I continue to work to keep this site ad-free and appreciate your interest/commitment to making the world a better place.
