Advertising, when done right (about 1% of the time all of the interests at play match up and you get an earnest, effective, believable ad) is a great model that has supported some of the world’s best content. But 99% of the time, advertising is like an argument — someone loud and boisterous (a brand) throwing money at a clever, widely-heard conversationalist (a publication) for the permission to cause interruption (advertising). It’s just… a cacophony.
Excerpt from a hastily pounded out email to a friend re: “The Economics of Giving It Away” — Chris Anderson’s treatise on the current state of free v. paid content.