FSK Asks - The Forbes Blog Network Invitation?

I got an invitation to join the "Forbes blogging network". My reaction was "WTF?"

My blog is about free market economics. My blog is the *OPPOSITE* of Forbes' communist pro-State agenda.

My blog does have some relevant content. There's my articles on the Bear Stearns Bailout. There's my series on the Black-Scholes formula. There's my articles on the shrinking US economy. Of course, there's the Compound Interest Paradox.

The "ad revenue sharing" plan was offensive. It's 40% *AFTER FORBES' EXPENSES*. Since "Forbes' expenses" are controlled by Forbes, the incentive is for them to overstate their expenses. It's the usual "monkey points" deal that skilled movie stars and writers refuse. To be fair, you should ask for a % of *GROSS* revenue. A % of *NET* revenue is meaningless, because the expenses can be inflated.

It would be cool if Forbes promoted my blog if I joined their network. I doubt they're offering any such service. They're just offering to place targeted ads on my blog and give me a thin slice of ad revenue. I don't have enough readers for it to be meaningful income. If I had substantially more readers, I probably could negotiate better terms than Forbes is offering.

Should I join Forbes' blog network? My guess is "No", because:

1. The revenue sharing terms are offensive.
2. I don't have enough readers for it to be meaningful income.
3. Their contract has offensive details in the fine print.
4. They don't promise to spend any effort promoting my blog. I'm just agreeing to carry their targeted ads.
   

Reading the fine print of the contract, there were some silly terms:

1. The blog is banned from promoting software piracy or mentioning software piracy. That is silly. My position is very clear. Intellectual property is not a valid form of property. "Intellectual property" is only enforceable in the context of a monopolistic abusive government.
2. As I stated above, you only get 40% of *NET* revenues, not *GROSS* revenues. Forbes' expenses are arbitrary. 40% of *NET* revenue may be only 5% or less of *GROSS* revenue. The payment terms appear to be inferior to Google Adwords.

What do you think? It sounds like Forbes' blog network is a waste of time. Their provision *BANNING* me from referencing software piracy is particularly stupid. (I do pay for the current software I use. I download "abandonware retro-gaming". I object to the State enacting laws that give undue protection to copyright holders. For example, suppose I reverse-engineered the Xbox 360's encryption and published a game without Microsoft's permission. According to a corrupt government, that activity is a crime.)

I'm interested in ways to profit off my blog, directly or indirectly. Forbes' network doesn't appear to be worth anything.