[ Solved ] Advertisement - Tell me it ain't so!

[compass]

None of the Core Devs who donate their time free receive the revenue generated from the Ads. All goes to OSM and is used to fund/support Joomla/expos/promotions etc etc.

??/

Of course it doesn't, I didn't say that it did. I was pointing out that the content on these boards is created by the community. My feeling was just that these boards are really for the community by the community.

[brad]

Spot on.. and that is where the revenue goes, back to promoting Joomla, ie the community. Splitting the money among individuals would not benefit Joomla, it would only take advantage of the 'free' content that is available here.

[AmyStephen]

Brad -

When I first saw the Google Ads, I was disappointed because donations must be dismal and we look like we are knee-jerk reacting to a lack of revenue. Which means our business plan must be paper thin. < I am not saying that is true, but, absent any information, Brad, the mind's eye fills in the blanks. >

I don't think we are pushing the donations like we can and should. I am quite certain that the majority of people who say that can't give, really can if they understand that even a $10 donation can help. We need to let people know how they can plug into an overall plan.

For example:  ++++

We need 500 supporters by the end of April to help Joomla! raise a MINIMUM of $10,000. That is an average $20 donation for 500 people. Please try to give more if you have more and give more if you make money using Joomla. Please, at least give $10 towards building Joomla!’s future.

$10 Donations 250 people $2,500
$25 Donations 150 people $3,750
$50 Donations 50 people $2,500
$100 Donations 50 people/businesses $5,000

+++++

Once a month updates are not frequent enough. Is that somehow dictated to PayPal? These updates should be weekly (or daily!) during the fundraising period -- push technology, like email, should be employed. Do not worry about fancy updates with java thermometers or a flash module - just keep textual updates frequent.

I am guessing many of you listen to National Public Radio here in the US? Twice a year -- all week long -- we suffer listening to the pleas for money until we finally pick up the phone and call in the minimum because we know everyone has to do their part.

Let's put it out there a bit more. And, let's seriously think about canning Google Ads. I think it’s a trashy look for this classy operation.

Also – core team – announcements build involvement...involvement builds support...being blindsided with something new like this...alienating. Share info.

[compass]

Besides, as Dean pointed out, the ads nowhere near match the content.

[pikepace]

The advertisements are intended for people who are not heavily involved with the Joomla project.  As many of the posts in this thread indicate, members with significant involvement in Joomla are not interested in the ads (some may even be offended by them?).  These very same people should be the ones donating to Joomla.  The ads will be clicked on by new users, first time visitors, and visitors who are genuinely interested in a specific ad.

While the ads should be related to the content on the rest of the page, it is not a tragedy if they do not.  Joomla does not appear any less professional or open source just because ads are displayed.  The people complaining about them here have no intention of using them, but many other people might.  The people who might click on the ads and generate revenue are therefore also the kind of people who are unlikely to be in a position to make a direct donation.  The ads directly target those people who may never intend to donate.

This revenue source does not hurt the project; it hurts the personal tastes of those who feel emotionally tied to Joomla.  It's great that so many people feel so strongly about Joomla, but we cannot let our personal feelings cloud our judgement regarding what is good for the project.  Communication between the team (those responsible for the project) and the users is important, but the team has no obligation to warn us of changes to the site or their philosophy.  Placing ads does not necessarily indicate that donations are slim.  Additional revenue is a good thing and may allow the Joomla developers to accomplish even more.

[LorenzoG]

I'm a little surprised that the Google ads seems not to have anything to do with Joomla or CMS. I thought that google scanned the site for to determinate which ads it should show.

[AmyStephen]

Pikepace -

You are right. The core team has no obligation to warn anyone of changes to the site or their philosophy. They are very busy getting ready for the expo's and have much on their mind. But, it takes about 3 minutes to post an Official Announcement "Hey, we are going to try Google Ads because...". 

That's not a huge deal, so, don't worry too much about it. Just a reminder that communication does build involvement and support. And, that's what we are after, some $$$ support!

Thanks for your comments! (And, don't forget to donate some dough!)
Amy

[brad]

I am pretty sure we did mention Google ads were on the way... When I have a few mins I will try to find it for you.

[AmyStephen]

Hey - if you did, then my apologies! Sorry about that. I'll look deeper.

[brad]

http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic,46378.0.html

While Joomla is looking for ways to raise income from other sources, such as tasteful advertising, we are still expecting to rely on community suport through donations to keep this baby fed.

[AmyStephen]

lol - bradley. < that's a bit of a stretch to fit "official announcement", don't u think? perhaps if you removed "tasteful"....j/k >

it's okay - don't worry about me. no biggie. really.

but, do we need to push more on the fundraising?

[brad]

Also, it is against the rules of Google to 'promote' adsense etc etc by site announcements.

[benedikt]

I'm not too fond of the ads too, but I'm glad that there now is a simple way for a poor student like me to contribute a little money.
I mean, it's not that annoying to click on a few ads and let them load in the backgound in another tab of my browser.
(I don't really have to browse those sites to create a revenue, do I?)

I think that if we give it a few days, we won't even notice them anymore.

[AmyStephen]

Thanks for the info, Brad -- move on to more important matters. I'm done -- take what I've said for what it's worth. < not much! >

[brad]

Re: donations, I agree a live 'total' would be a great idea/more frequent updates. When we get some time

[eddyyanto]

Also, it is against the rules of Google to 'promote' adsense etc etc by site announcements.

That's true. No announcement should be made when a site is implementing Google Adsense.

Btw, how do we from non-paypal country donate by clicking on the blue tag in the top corner of this page?
I tried to register myself in paypal but the customer service there said "sorry, paypal will not be opening any account
in your country as there is a lot of fraudulent users". Me, myself don't got any credit card.
Sorry if it's out of topic 



Let just wait and see whether implementing Google Adsense will resulted in increased revenue.
Hopefully it will. 

[pikepace]

Pikepace -

You are right. The core team has no obligation to warn anyone of changes to the site or their philosophy. They are very busy getting ready for the expo's and have much on their mind. But, it takes about 3 minutes to post an Official Announcement "Hey, we are going to try Google Ads because...". 

That's not a huge deal, so, don't worry too much about it. Just a reminder that communication does build involvement and support. And, that's what we are after, some $$$ support!

Thanks for your comments! (And, don't forget to donate some dough!)
Amy

Amy,

Thank you for your kind response to my specific post.  I was a little concerned that others may respond with anger.  I believe that you meant your post to be taken with friendly intent and that was my reception.  That being said...

No one should have to justify their comments by way of a donation, but seeing as how this is a hot topic and emotionally charged I would like to clarify that I have made a donation.  It was a decent amount, I am a student, and I do not make any money from Joomla based sites though I did begin using Adsense in February with the hope of recouping some of my server and domain name costs.

This does not affect the issue at hand, which is that ads cost nothing to display and any revenue they generate is all bonus.  If it could be demonstrated that such ads keep people away from Joomla, then we would have a debate.  It is highly unlikely that is the case.

[stefangranholm]

I thinks joomla should be free, as long the users dont earn money.
Just a standard fee, for those who earns over 10.000$ a year, should pay 100$
100.000$ a year, should pay 500$

And so on 

Also, those who SELL components and so on, should pay 5% of that they earn on joomla....


Anyhow, I got ADblock 

[nokout]

Just new to Joomla and lurking around, thought id mention that Im happy to do some click throughs to help out what is looking like a great product.

Cheers,

[DeanMarshall]

I always stress that Open Source is free as in freedom rather than free as in gratis (no charge).

Once you start dictating 'standard fees' and percentages  then you lose both of the above, and the loss of the former = the end of Open.


If you want you could start a foundation and charge graduated membership fees.
Perhaps those paying the greater fees could get greater access and influence on the direction the project takes.


Dean

[AmyStephen]

I have made a donation.  It was a decent amount, I am a student, and I do not make any money from Joomla based sites though I did begin using Adsense in February with the hope of recouping some of my server and domain name costs.

Good for you!!!! That's fantastic.

No, what you said was good -- I probably shouldn't have said anything. I just don't like the ads - but, big deal...you don't always get what you want!

Now, if they make money - great! Are you making any money with yours?

[ChiefGoFor]

What about hosting? Shouldn't Rochen get at least a few pennies? I mean, if there is extra. Hosting a site with this much traffic has to be costing them something.

[AmyStephen]

i had to share my morning chuckle. 

[focalguy]

i had to share my morning chuckle. 

lol, that's pretty good Amy.

[brad]

I must rewrite some of the forum descriptions when I get some time. This should make the ads more relevant.

[AmyStephen]

Thanks, focalguy! I was wondering if anyone had a sense of humor.

I marked this post as "solved" since I now know how to do it -- and I realize I was being silly to mind at all!

Amy

[torkil]

Hehe, I guess I won't be getting in touch anytime soon then. 

[ChiefGoFor]

Maybe we should ask people to Tithe??    It works for churches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithe

[PhilTaylor-Prazgod]

Maybe we should ask people to Tithe??    It works for churches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithe

Indeed it works very well for churches - I have tithed to my church for over 8 years!

Indeed the principle of tithing is actually taught in many secular books as well, especially ones about time management,

Google also alows their employees to work on other projects (non-google related) for a period of time a week (Like a tithe)

[AmyStephen]

lol!!! i have actually been thinking the same thing. scary. very scary.