Why Google is worth 100 gazillion gigabux:

A reader points out:

Your blog is currently displaying a Google ad for Beirut hotels:

Beirut Hotels Last minute, discounted hotels in Beirut. Rates up to 70% off! www.hotelbrowser.biz

I'm glad to see that they're discounting the rates. Though I think they may have to throw in free wireless internet if they want me to come to visit just now. (Maybe I can book passage on one of those ships we're using to evacuate our citizens--I'll bet there's plenty of room available heading into Beirut.) Do I get a bigger discount if the IDF drops a bomb in the courtyard?

A reader points out:

You've now got an ad up for "Drinking Game Products." This is because "beirut" is an alternate name for the drinking game perhaps better known as "beer pong."

Well, if I'd rented one of those Beirut hotel rooms, I'd probably be down in the (hopefully sandbagged) bar playing "beirut" right now.

In general, the problem with Google ads is that the assignment of ads doesn't seem to reflect past learning about what sells on iSteve.com to my regular readership. For example, I made triple my usual meager take one weekend when a documentary on evolution was advertised, which is hardly surprising considering the interests of my readers, but I've seldom seen any follow-up in my ads. Instead, ads are just assigned based on keywords in the latest blog postings. For instance, if I write about the need to restrict immigration, I often get an ad for a company that arranges phony marriages between U.S. citizens and foreigners wanting to get Green Cards.

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer