There are now over 200M blogs in the world. Video consumption is spiking. Display ads are resurging. Search advertising is on the rise. Most newspapers are dying a quick death, while the best are doing better. Many are implementing pay walls. And like cable TV, people are willing to pay for premium content (okay, premium can mean a lot of things, but work with me here...).

What does this tell us? Ultimately, that advertising and publishing are becoming one and the same.

The simple truth is that there is a glut of content on offer, just not a lot of good or great content. The Long Tail has created a mighty middle, dedicated to the mediocre and often mindless contraptions of sensationalism.

Remember, we are now at a state in our existence where people are actually searching for meaning. Really, they are. Just look around you.

Ok, so that said, Burns would tell us to stop bitching and to pony up for that great content we seek (or the content that seeks us). We sure as heck know Rupert would too. And we now have a pretty good idea of what Chris Andersen thinks about all of this, as well as what Malcom Gladwell thinks about Chris's opinion. Oh, but wait a second... Rupert makes money off of Burns, and Burns sells ads. Free means compromise, and it’s not entirely clear, at least to us little people, if this is a good or a bad thing.

As the saying goes, Compromise, if not the spice of life, is its solidity. It is what makes nations great and marriages happy.

If you don’t want to look at ads, then it’s time to pay the piper. And believe it or not, that piper... Could be you.