Net ad? Or not to ad?
Websites which long for finding sustainable business models usually opt for Ads, an easy out because they function like old media. Therefore, we see all kinds of pop-up and banners when surfing. But are they really helpful to advertisers, and more importantly for content providers, a long-term tool to generate money?
Many researches are needed in this case. What I want to bring up here is strategies of presenting ads, an art essential for the success of sites. The most important thing can be knowing what your sites are about. Though as generally uncreative as they are, banners are still the most common forms of net ads. They are usually sold by sizes, so it is temping to oversell them to the point that sites look messy. Good designers sometimes can help you out of this but are often overruled by commercial interests. “Hey, the advertisers want to put this in the middle! Better not mess with who pays you!”
This could be proved to be unsustainable in the long-run. Except when viewing mainly e-commerce sites, net surfers usually look for contents, and they don’t want to be distracted. Craiglist may get by with 640x480 banners, but it would be a mistake for a serious news website to do the same thing. Normal users don’t want a shining Coke can aside when reading Iraq reports.
Using sponsor links (Google) or cooperating with related business, like films pages along with timetables of cinemas, are other ways out. But credibility and integrity – providing balance and fair information – are important, no matter contents are news, consumer information or user-generated. They are the main capital and what consistently attract viewers. Besides, bad reviews spread rapidly on the net – worldwide. Busted cases, like corporate bloggers hiding their identities to promote their own product, are usually PR disasters.
Labels: "ad" "net ad"
Taiwan and Chinese missiles
Will Hutton's take on the Chinese anti-satellite missiles. As a Taiwanese I would rather err on the caution side, since if China decides to invade most casualties will be from not Chinese, not Americans, not Japanese, but Taiwanese – by a large margin, sadly.
Few people really understand what mainstream Taiwanese are really struggling for is not about independence, but about the free wills to decide our future. The obstacles of this reunification stuff are never about language, never about culture, never about colours of skins. They are about politics, economy, values, and most importantly, about humanity.
If China doesn’t change its attitude regarding Taiwan or there are no reforms within it, the Taiwan Strait may well end in bloodshed. America and Japan probably would offer limited military support then, and the EU would pay some lip service. And if China were to take Taiwan by force, there would be no peaceful integration like HongKong. Taiwanese dissidents will try to create chaos in Greater China, where global economy heavily depends on. It would be a major setback for the world.
May God show mercy for Taiwanese, and for all.
In Lagos
I am in Lagos, Portugal now for my holiday. This is a notorious party hellhole, just by the ocean with beautiful, astonishing beaches, so I expected to drink, lie down on beaches and party. And on and on.
Yet it's actually much more laid-back, maybe it's the low season. Still I enjoy the sunsgine here, much beteer than the cold England. The hostel, 'Rising Cock", which I stay in, is also a very interesting place. Actually You can just tell it from its name.
A Canadian guy I met here, James, said it best: "Living here is like watching some 24-hour non-stop drama." To make his words more vivid, James himself is part of the drama too. This hostel is full of backpackers in self-exile, some of them have even become part-time staff here, and, when people spend time toghether for long, affairs tend to breed. Accoeding to my unscientific estimate, there are at least 3 couples in this place, and still 2 or 3 singles eager for love (or sex, depending on how you view it).
James is a lovely guy, but he is kind of fucked up. He travels with his "good friend", an Australian girl, whom he seems to be unable to stay away for more than 3 minutes, but he says they are not a couple. Does he hope to be? He says they have been known each other for a long time, so...he hestitates to answer more. The girl seems like that "I like you to some degree but I don't really want to be with you" type. Probably, as a result, James drinks a lot. In fact, I don't cannot even tell when he is sober. That's that kind of relationship can do to you.
