My research is causing trouble with left-wingers. Oh well.
But the Bloggers News Network (of which WriteWingNut is a part) seems to have a lot of readers of that persuasion - and they didn't like her allegations. So I had to defend her honor, even though we've not met:
I guess I stirred up a bit of trouble here. I'm the guy who did the research into Google ads in the first place, and Dawn was kind enough to help me with my theory.
I don't doubt Dawn's sincerity in believing it was a sign from above that Google contacted her and terminated her service.
Furthermore, it seems to me that many of the ads sponsored by Google may be of questionable taste to the blogger who spends time and effort in sharing a piece of their world with others. I know Google has a filter to shut out ads the blogger would not want but at times the header could be misleading or questionable - therefore it may have to be clicked to find out what it's all about.
In the interest of full disclosure, my blog only has one (non-paying) ad on it so all I know about Google ads is what I've gleaned from research. But this research did find that over 98% of the money donated by Google employees went to liberal and/or Democrat causes and candidates.
This, in turn, is fairly close to the proportion that the Beltway media voted for John Kerry vs. George W. Bush. And we see what kind of bias and worldview they have in coverage and story selection.
We all have our preferences and prejudices, press included. There's no way one can convince me that having a particular worldview doesn't cloud one's actions. Thus, a Bush hater in the press would have some incentive to paint things done by the Bush administration in a bad light, much like the few conservatives in the media did to a number of Bill Clinton's failings.
Carrying that further, would the employees of Google not have some sort of bias against a conservative blogger because they don't agree with them? Is it possible an offense like Dawn's would have slid just a wee bit more if she were a pro-choice blogger? Yes, there may be a computer that noted the self-clicking, but somebody in Google's sales department has to have the final say in such matters. Computers are useful tools but the end decision in the matter is certainly human.
I don't doubt that Google attempts to run their company in an ethical matter, but this is kind of a gray area where gut instinct and feelings do play a part. And if Google's employees choose to be diligent contributors to left-wing causes, we on the right can in turn decide to take our business elsewhere. That's what my original post encouraged as a reaction.
Now another subject. I was actually going to save this for next week when I came back since it's not particularly time-sensitive, but since I already have the post going, why not?
There's an article in the Daily Times today regarding business opportunities filled, it's great. Actually, it was something I could find useful in the future.
About a year or so ago, US Air (who is the sole carrier out of Salisbury's airport) decided to stop flying over to BWI Airport, deciding instead to fly daily flights to Philadelphia and Charlotte. Great if you have deep pockets and don't mind the stop and plane change.
But many people here opt to fly out of BWI on Southwest or other carriers to take advantage of the low fares. To fill this market, two separate shuttle services were born - one ground-based and one airline (flying out of Ocean City, great for the weekenders!)
Surprisingly, it's been found that some folks just like to simply save the hassle of driving up to Baltimore, opting instead to use the express shuttle service. It's a great idea - competition and entrepreneurship at its best. I applaud it! Hopefully it remains in business when I decide to head out west to the Left Coast someday, it certainly makes the idea of flying out of BWI more doable. I can already see it possibly saving me a two-day drive back and forth to Florida come the holidays (assuming my parents are settled in there.) So a definite thanks to them for sticking their neck out and I'm betting they succeed.
