20130217.0903

I am mulling over the idea of signing up for Google AdSense, a program that will (in theory) give me money in exchange for my hosting advertisements on my blog.  As I think on it, I am confronted by the sense that doing so would be "selling out" in some ways--but I find that it is not so simple as that. 

It is not the case that the space in which I compose my blog and the spaces in which I display it are not already wholly and thoroughly corporatized; I am already buying into and complicit in "the system" by the simple fact of generating blogging content, even as rarely as I do so.  And I am already, occasionally, making blog posts, so that it is not as if I would be stretching myself to get into the program--indeed, the idea that I might make a bit of money from time to time by doing what I am already doing may well prompt me to do more writing.  That would offer me more practice in generating content, which may well in turn lead to my being able to produce better materials--and improving as a writer is not a bad thing, I think.

I am also curious as to what kinds of ads would pop up and what they would reveal about my writing and the interests of those who read what I write.  I know that certain threads have popped up and continue to pop up in the writing I do for this blog; I have the post labels that I have for a reason.  At the moment, they include:

• CCC
• College English
• Conference
• Critique
• Elections
• Exams
• Faith
• Family
• Food
• Free Speech
• Grading
• Holidays
• Humor
• L5R
• Military
• NSFW
• NYT
• PMLA
• Profession
• Review
• RPG
• Summary
• Teaching
• Union
• Verse
• WASP

Some of the threads, admittedly, have not gotten a lot of attention from me recently (such as food).  Others are frequent targets of my writing.  All speak to me being preoccupied with my work in the classroom, currently as a full-time non-tenure-track instructor at a proprietary two-year technical college, and with the study of the academic humanities and "popular culture" (which term is not entirely accurate).  They would likely lead to ads for role-playing games such as Legend of the Five Rings and the archetypal Dungeons & Dragons appearing on the blog--and I would not mind that.  I have a long relationship with L5R, particularly, and I want the company to keep making products for me to use to play (I am not as fond of D&D, although I recognize its importance and have enjoyed playing it).  And academic programs and journals would be represented in force, as well, which I would also not mind; I have a vested interest, after all, in the promulgation of publications in academic research.

What else would pop up, though, and what would it say about my readers, however many of you there are?  It is a question worth considering, I think; I may have to give it some thought of my own, sometime when I have the time.

For now, though, I think I will be signing up for the program.  I might as well get a little something for what I am doing.

EDIT: Then I looked, and I realized that I'd not be able to post some of the things I've already posted...not happening.