We're Supposed to Support Hostboard by Clicking on

[Alex]

I have yet to see even one ad banner that I'm remotely interested in.

I wouldn't be offended at all if Super8mm, Kodak, Cinema Periodicals, Camera Rental Places, Special Cineman Events, heck even 16mm products including Canon Scoopics were advertised on the ad banners.

Imagine a "blue-light" buy it now special, perhaps featuring some of the Super-8 film features talked about here...that would be a welcome breathe of fresh air instead of the offers I currently see.

Instead, I see, credit card offers...I don't need another one...

....and "do you faint" was another ad banner "offer". If I was fainting, how am I gonna see the ad banner?

And if I were fainting, (which I'm not) and was between faints and clicked on the ad banner about fainting, the credit card companies probably would probably find out about my fainting and reject me for a darn card anyway!

Is it really difficult in this day and age to actually match up products that relate to this board?

Otherwise, if Hostboard loses money, we as regulars are silently blamed by the Web Hosts as not being cognicent of the ad banners.

I think it's wrong to just blindly click on an ad banner just to help Hostboard if I have no interest in the product, and it wastes my time...and we all know how valuable my time is.

I bring this up because if down the road, the Web admininstrator decides to drop Hostboard because it is losing money (not saying that will happen, but it could), I think the real shame will be that the ad banners never even related to the websites they canvassed.

-Alex





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[Matt Pacini]

Well, Alex, the way it works is that companies that offer free web hosting (or cheap web hosting) do it by making money off the advertising.
They sell those admittedly irritating banners to companies that want to advertise on the internet.
It has nothing to do with what we "think" we want to see, and if it didn't work, they wouldn't do it, just like TV commercials (which are just as irritating.... except the Victoria's Secret commercials... YEAH!)
So my guess is that companies selling used (and new) film equipment, even 16mm & 35mm, but especially Super 8, are not the kind of companies that can afford banner ads.
I saw what Harry Knowles was charging for ads on the aintitcoolnews site, and it was like $5,000 a DAY for a small banner!!!!!!
And that was his "deal" price for a weekend or something.
So I doubt it if you're ever going to see what you're hoping for.
It's exactly the same thing as it is on TV.
Do I really need a bloody Ford minitruck?
No, I don't. So, I just hit the mute button on the remote, so on the net, we're cursed into having to close all the damn banners.


Matt Pacini

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[Alex]

Matt, I don't know why it's that expensive, unless it's based on "hits" the advertiser recieves to their website.


On a specialized site like this, I think it's a mistake to not target the ads to the interest of the browsers, especially if the financial survival of this forum is ultimately affected.

Maybe it's too complicated to do it this way?

-Alex

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[Matt Pacini]

Well, it's as expensive as it is, based on whether people are willing to pay or not, like everything else.
And as far as catering to the peoples needs on a particular sight, just because we're here talking about filmmaking, doesn't mean we don't use toilet paper, credit cards, cars, beer, levi's, Glock 9mm pistols, hemmoroid cream, toothpaste, etc. etc. etc., (I'm talking about the advertisers perspective).
I'm sure cameta Camera, or whoever, can't afford banner ads, so that's just the way it goes, unfortunately.
I hate them too, but I hate TV commercials also.


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[Alex]

Some enterprising computer guy out of a job could see the value of combing a bunch of film entities so their ads would rotate on this site, I bet that could be cost-effective.

And I never see most of those products you listed.

-Alex

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[mattias]

i'm pretty sure hostboard doesn't have a targeting system for ads. with this huge number of boards, increasing every day, how could they? and there are definately more non filmmaking boards here than there are filmmaking ones. i can guarantee you that having filmmaking banners on one of the hotrod car discussion boards would feel more strange than credit card ads on this one... ;-)

/matt

[Alex]

Back in April, Hostboard basically closed down with no warning.

One of the members of another forum named "Steven" herocially and stoically said, "I'll take it (buy it?) from you guys and keep it going"...

But Ad Banners don't produce income unless users of the sites click on them.

Unless Ad Banners target forums with specific topics that relate to boards like ours....the amount of "click's" is so small that Hostboard really derives virutally no income from the ad banners.

However...the new and improved question that I have asked about is Vendor Links.

Kokak, Amazon, E-bay, all benefit from this forum.

If we on this one board accessed those websites via a vendor link from this site, I believe Hostboard could get a very small "finders fee" everytime someone uses the vendor link to purchase something...which could add up greatly over time.

I've invested so much time in posting on this forum I doubt I would ever want to re-post on another board...so if this board ever ceased, a lot of info would just disappear.

And a lot of effort by a lot of posters would be gone.

Buying Kodak film via a link from this site seems a pretty harmless way to help out.

I'm waitin to hear back on the idea of Vendor links.

-Alex



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