I don't mind advertising if the product or service is something that I might actually buy or use.

CNN must believe old people are the only ones watching the news during the day. One can only suffer through so many ads for mobility devices (scooter for old people), supplemental medicare insurance and adjustable beds before Fox News starts to seem appealing.

Anyway- Googlemail does a pretty good job of matching their "Sponsored Links" to the content of your email messages. For example, the links on the left were presented while I was reading an email about Ted Strickland.

The first link is an ad for a website that sells Ted Strickland shirts and stuff. This is the best ad here. The ad was appropriately matched to the content of my email (Ted Strickland)- and the product appeals to a wide audience. Who wouldn't look good in that bright blue Ted Strickland sweatshirt?

Jumping down to the third link, we have an ad for Congressman John Murtha's book. There certainly is a smaller audience for this product. But the fact that this ad was even presented makes it interesting. Unlike the first ad, there is no direct link between my email and this ad. Instead of matching on Murtha's name (which was not in my email) it must have used some alternate and indirect criteria like "Democrat and Congressman". Ok- so it's nothing to write home about- but it is a hell of a lot better than CNN.

Anyway- the second link is the most interesting. While the content of the ad matches my email content on at least 10 words (Ted Strickland, Ohio, Governor, Race, Ken Blackwell, etc.), the target audience for this product (the domain name itself) is tiny- maybe 2 people- and the price ( $260K!), well, that's just crazy...

The 2006 Ohio Governor's race is sure to be politically charged. Ken Blackwell and Ted Strickland are fighting it out in this extremely important race for Ohio and the nation. This domain name could be the difference between winning and losing this historic race. The domain name is available for purchase for $250,000.00 or lease thru 12/31/2006 for a negotiable price.