August 22, 2007 7:05 AM PDT
Off-topic: At least 20% of your open-source software isn't adware
I agree with Nick Carr. Wholeheartedly. Google's new ad-supported model for YouTube (i.e., consuming 20% of the already small video screen with an ad) is heralded by Google on its blog.
As Nick notes, Google isn't in the charity business, and some sort of advertising was always on the cards. But it's suggested format is hardly going to be a pleasurable experience:
Viewer-friendly? Is it viewer-friendly because it's arguably less annoying than having an ad run in advance of a video? That's like saying that being hit on the head once with a hammer is a pleasant experience because it's not as bad as being hit on the head twice with a hammer.
I don't have a better answer (as I hate ads that run at the beginning of a video), but I'm glad that I work in a business that doesn't rely on ads to survive. It's a service business. I like that better than consuming 20% of someone's experience with ads. I'd rather consume 100% of it with service.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
