BabyGotMac in the NY Times on Sponsored Tweets

I was a little shocked to see one of our Tweets in the New York Times today (our friend @kriskolvin of the wonderful TwitterFace pointed it out to me actually).

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The story is about the new Sponsored Tweets from Izea. Last week I signed up out of curiosity and with some warning to the followers of the @BabyGotMac stream, posted a test ad from (of all places) K-Mart.

The ad itself garnered me a massive $5 of income (free iPhones for everyone!), but more importantly, it convinced me that until the ads are better targeted that it isn't something I am going to do again.

I'll quote my comment to the NYT below:

So far as the content and context of the sponsored tweets go, this particular Tweet was a test on my part. I let my followers know I was going to try it beforehand and if they were to object, I probably wouldn't do it again.

My site, Twitter stream and content are often tongue in cheek and a little different - so perhaps I have the advantage of a more open minded group to converse with.

If the ads were more in context with my stream (Macs, tech, music), I'd be more inclined to try them more often, and I think that my followers would probably not mind.

I see Twitter ads in the same light that I see web site ads - a normal part of web commerce. The unfollow button and the ability to weed out hashtags in some Twitter client software are akin to adblockers in browsers.

I think that most people understand that websites subsist on the small amount of revenue they obtain from sponsors, and that most people will be willing to accept a minor interruption if it keeps a specific site afloat.

Thanks for listening, following and posting my logo - surely the first cartoon buttock ever in the NYT!

As I said above, I feel that the Sponsored Tweets, if they were more specific to my (and YOUR) interests would be quite valuable to our community. There is nothing better than a product that wants you to notice it - and if the ads also contained coupon or discount codes for the followers, all the better.

Again, I probably won't post any more Sponsored ads that aren't interesting or pertinent to our interests. But I would like to get your feedback...how do you feel about the concept in general and as a reader of BabyGotMac?

As an aside, how cool is to see a bright blue cartoon ass in the New York Times?
:-)

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