Ask PG: how about using this model for HN monetization?

[len]

www.ligertail.com

hybrid of digg and adwords.

if you have something to share, you can see the analytics for each piece of content and the spot it occupies. based on that data you can choose to place your content anywhere on the site - bidding against others.

once submitted, the community votes on the content's quality.

in theory, the system can be applied to any entity with traffic (hn, digg, facebook, ny times, google).

[gojomo]

I shudder to think how bad the economy would have to be before PG started 'monetizing' HN.

Still, as mentioned when Ligertail was discussed under its former name [1], I like the Ligertail idea of mixed earned/paid placement in general, for other sites -- it has shades of Goto.com and Stumbleupon.

[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=382626

[staunch]

I'm totally in favor of him monetizing HN. A few 125x125 ads could probably generate $5k-$20k/mo given the traffic/audience here. It could go to charity and would give a nice spot for HN users to buy ads for an audience they may want.

[gojomo]

While I don't think it likely, I actually agree with your analysis -- that relevant, measured ads could be a net benefit to the community.