User:Andrevan/Arguments for advertising on Wikipedia

This is a page intended to advocate for the inclusion of unobtrusive advertising on Wikipedia. Please expand or change this page! It should not represent my opinion but rather the best possible arguments for advertising on Wikipedia.

What kind of advertising should be on Wikipedia

 * Google AdSense text-only ads based on page content
 * Get some sponsors and put their banner ads that are NOT based on the page content, so that there are no edits of vested interest.

Advantages to advertising on Wikipedia

 * Potentially massive cash flow which could be used for countless things to grow the project and spread knowledge
 * We're talking millions or even billions of dollars, probably substantial cash flow from even a few articles (like Mesothelioma)
 * Free or low cost print copies of Wikipedia, Wikibooks, etc. for the developing world
 * Print copies of Wikipedia in the bookstores and libraries of the developed world
 * Wikipedia internet appliances and other products
 * Advertising Wikipedia elsewhere (media, TV, magazines, newspapers, etc.) to ensure a constant influx of contributors
 * Paying Wikipedia board members, employees, and developers for their time and effort
 * Possible contributor dividends of some kind?

NPOV issues
Argument: Ads would violate NPOV and Wikipedia's impartiality

Solutions:
 * Clearly delineate the ads and separate them from the article content, add links to disclaimers "AD DOES NOT REPRESENT WIKIPEDIA" etc.
 * Disable Google's "advertise on this page" feature, which normally allows anyone to bid on the ad space, instead of making it purely keyword-based and automated
 * Add a blacklist to Google's competitor filter with any especially POV, defamatory, or offensive ads, and establish an ad patrol, ads for administrator attention, etc. to find pages which need to be blacklisted
 * Work with Google, who I am sure would be more than willing to partner with Wikipedia and provide any technical solutions we need

Annoyance/inconvenience
Argument: Ads are annoying/bothersome

Solutions:
 * Allow easy options to turn the ads off with a cookie for anons, prefs for registered users, etc.
 * Prominently display a "Turn this ad off" link of some kind near all ads
 * Ask up front when registering if users want to display ads or not, but by default do not display ads to registered users
 * Only put one or two text ads per page, on the left sidebar in what is now empty space, or on the bottom of pages -- never front and center

Links

 * Advertising
 * Advertising on Wikipedia
 * Advertising proposal
 * Wikipedia.org is more popular than...
 * WikiCharts
 * http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article783408.ece
 * http://blog.jimmywales.com/index.php/archives/2006/10/31/advertising-and-wikipedia/
 * http://www.calacanis.com/2006/10/30/wikipedia-advertising-proposal-part-ii-and-i-shouldnt-have-us/1
 * http://gondwanaland.com/mlog/2007/01/02/wikipedia-advertising/
 * http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=wikipedia.org