I followed a link to Cinematical and was presented with two flash ads, one horizontally under the blog’s title (though I saw the ad before the header, which I guess is the point but maybe goes against the usual blog ethic?) and one square ad on the right-hand side.

It might be a great blog but it gave my eyes a shock. I’ve never been a great fan of the Flash ad, just like banner graphics on steroids. My mind has a tendancy to remember sites that tax the eyeballs, and I’d probably choose to read the site by feed, or not at all.

I don’t claim to have a great design on my blogs (the revamp on this one is well overdue) and I am aware that ads are creeping in. I still hold to the content taking centre-stage – the rest must know its place even if it is providing revenue for the blogger to keep going.

PS The quoted site is just an example (at least it got a link) – I’m not trying to scapegoat it.