Jason notes that of the top 100 sites on Technorati, just 16 are ad free.
As someone who has had a hand in this (at BB), I can only add that I hope we get this right. What do I mean by right? Well, that we pursue ads that are endemic and respectful of the conversation between author and audience. It’s early, very early, and many models will be tested and fail, and many “types” of sites will evolve. Net net, however, I very much believe that we’re well on our way to new, lightweight publishing models that point the way toward a very compelling future.
Oh, and of course, many of the most interesting sites are in the tail, as opposed to the top 100 (the head…).