I am glad that observation resonated for you. Its validation for this idea, something I have thought for some time and always wondered if it was just my own personal bias.

One thing I didnt like about auto-context ads like adsense is that sometimes the ads were not relevant and I had ads that were distracting me and my readers. I want laser focus on my niche (food) not an ad that is selling timeshares in Bulgaria. Nothing wrong with timeshares or Bulgaria, they would go great on a travel blog.

If you are a new blogger looking to monetize I say do a “luxury surf” in your niche. Look for the most fantastic products that relate to your topic (mine would be things like Dean and Deluca or foie gras producers or organic kobe beef producers, etc) and see if those companies have affiliate programs. Then use those to generate ads and hopefully, some day, income. That way you have ads that YOU can use and enjoy, that your incoming search engine surfers might like, and will hopefully reinforce your niche presense/feel. Make sense?

Being new means there is a HUGE learning curve so new bloggers many have a hard time juggling all of this or even realizing that there are options or alternatives to just about anything you do in blogging.