Cory Lee is the founder of the “Curb Free with Cory Lee” travel blog and resides in LaFayette, Ga.
I’ve used a wheelchair since I was 4 years old, but that hasn’t stopped me from exploring the world. In fact, travel is my passion, my mission and my business. I’ve visited 48 countries and all seven continents. I love encountering new cultures, trying exotic cuisines and seeing wonderful places. And I’m determined to help other disabled people learn how and where they can travel and why they should give it a try.
For the past 11 years, I’ve published a blog offering travel tips and inspiration for wheelchair users. With over 100,000 followers, I’m the world’s leading travel blogger focused on wheelchair accessibility.
When I started my blog, I used product sponsors to help generate income: Companies paid me to incorporate their products into my posts. But it was time-consuming to find sponsors and negotiate deals and hard to weave the products into my accessibility-oriented narratives. I knew other bloggers were earning revenue by selling digital display ads on their sites, so in 2019 I decided to try it. With just a few clicks, I was able to get set up, start selling ad space on my blog and bring in the revenue I needed to support my travels and, critically, keep my content free to readers.
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Unfortunately, that easy-to-use ad sales system may be in jeopardy. The Department of Justice is suing Google over its display ads business and saying the company should be broken up. If that happens, it will be harder for me to sell ad space and earn the money I need to sustain my blog and continue to offer it free of charge.
The DOJ says Google is using its position in the digital display ads market to inflate prices and hurt advertisers and content creators like me. I see things differently. Yes, Google keeps about 20% of the revenue from every ad I sell. But when I consider the valuable services I get in return — split-second ad sales, price negotiation and data analysis — that seems like a bargain.
The DOJ also says Google’s role serving both ad buyers (businesses that want to advertise) and ad sellers (content providers selling ad space) means it can’t serve either side fairly. The way I see it, Google’s ability to connect the two sides makes its ad system really efficient — and really valuable to everyone. It seamlessly links ad sellers and buyers, ensuring the right ads show up on websites and blogs. It even makes sure different audiences see different ads for things they’re interested in. That means businesses’ ads go to likely buyers, people get ads that are relevant to them, and bloggers like me generate steady income so we can focus on providing great content.
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If the government breaks up Google and causes advertisers to buy fewer display ads, I’m not sure how I’d finance my blog. I don’t want to put my content behind a paywall. People with disabilities already have so many extra travel expenses — the last thing I want to do is charge them another fee.
I already know product sponsorships are tough to get and can reduce my content’s quality. Working with multiple ad partners would be complicated and time-consuming. I might have to hire employees to manage my ad inventory or convince businesses to advertise on my site. Also, businesses are currently willing to spend money on digital ads because they know Google will place the ads on the right sites and in front of the right audiences. If businesses can’t count on that, they may be less willing to buy ads. That would be a serious problem for bloggers like me.
I hope stories like mine are considered as this case moves forward. Google may have its flaws, but its streamlined advertising system keeps millions of businesses, websites and blogs thriving — and ensures so much valuable content is freely available.
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