While channel surfing Sunday afternoon, I came across CNN’s In the Money show where they were having an insightful discussion about blogs and the ideas behind blogging. When I tuned in, they were interviewing Tony Perkins who is the man behind AlwaysOn. Mr. Perkins provided a lot of information and statistics about the current status and the potential behind the blogosphere. Of course, there had to be some room for his sales pitch but I managed to get past that.

After the interview, I went to check out their site and I was very disappointed on what I found. I took a screen shot of the AlwaysOn homepage with my browser set at 800×600 px, similar to what an computer user might be using on their own computer. I understand that such screen resolution is slowly being pushed aside but I wanted to illustrate the point that commercial real estate can easily become an obstrusive proposition.

In this image, you are greeted by:

• A banner showcasing the benefits of an AlwaysOn membership. I wonder if removing all commercial banners is a benefit?
• A rotating banner courtesy of AO’s Founding Partners
• Finally, using the 800×600 resolution, the site’s navigation links mark the end of the page.

If you were to scroll down the page, you would then be able to see the content available on this page (it’s "wrapped" by even more banners and commercial links). I get the impression that the AlwaysOn network is putting its sponsors’ interests ahead of its content. Something that appears to be against the fundamental idea behind most blogs today.

I am not sure that I would reference the AlwaysOn network as a leader in the blogging movement, if they are, they certainly need to re-analyze their own website.