Both sites that you cite have grown wildly popular,

In no small part due to the advertisers, the revenue from which paid for Charles’ and Michelle’s bandwidth.

Also, with so many people using Firefox, whose default setting block popups, it doesn’t make sense for advertisers to patronize a site that isn’t maximizing ad exposure.

I wonder if PM or its affiliates let potential customers know that Firefox users are not likely to see their ads.

So, what’s the difference between seeing the ads and never clicking them and never seeing them? The impact on the revenue for HotAir is the same either way.

I don’t block banners, I never have. But I’ve never, NEVER clicked one (with the exception of Google ads). So, do we have to click ads we could care less about to artificially drive up click-throughs in order to say we “support” a site?

Economics dictates that growth brings change. I’m not against HotAir, or any site, changing their business model to handle growth. Obviously, the money to pay for AP and other facets of the site we enjoy must come from somewhere. I just wanted to point out that economics is not all about product and consumption. A large part of economies is relationships. The payoffs are never easy to see, but they are the lynch pin of good business. If we can accommodate those who have been loyal in this time of growth, we should. If not, so be it. My point is that it’s the right thing to do to try.

As for the name calling, yeah it’s petty, but what you wrote pissed me off, and I don’t feel like mounting a big intellectual argument for why your statements are so patently stupid at 9pm on Saturday, so sue me.

Good luck with that “ban the freeloaders” mindset.

peski on June 1, 2007 at 11:25 PM

I could reduce myself to name calling too and point out that you’re a freeloader, but I won’t

- The Cat

rokemronnie on June 1, 2007 at 3:40 PM

Hmmm… sounds like the free market at work to me! Both sites that you cite have grown wildly popular, and both Michelle and Charles would be crazy not to capitalize on the increasing viewership. An increasing viewership is inherently increasingly demanding, and I’m confident that all at HotAir deserve every penny they get.

Here’s what I learned in E101 at school. Anytime the economics of one’s business dictate that rates should rise, they should… it’s that simple. Otherwise, the market won’t be balanced. Supply and demand dictates that, if Michelle made the rates at a level that you’d be willing to afford, she’d have two options:

1) To maintain a healthy balance sheet, she’d end up flooding the page with so many ads that I for one wouldn’t want to look at it (or, on Firefox, it would be one tiny site). Changing the site would effectively change market conditions, scrapping the current supply/demand curve and creating a new one. I submit that it would curve dramatically against her favor as people, sick of so many ads, leave. Advertisers, seeing evidence of lower viewership (supply), would demand still lower rates.

2) She’d maintain the site as is, accept the unsavory result of a pay cut, a massive one assuming your figures are right, and perhaps also not have the necessary funds to otherwise keep up this wonderful site.

Neither one of those options would result in our enjoying HotAir for much longer. It stinks that the other little fish get eaten or left behind when a fish grows big, but that’s the way it is. For it not to work this way, well, the left keeps saying that Cuba’s really doing great things… /snark

As for using Pajamas Media or Blogads, do we want Michelle screening ads all day, or do we want her making Vents and blogging?

I don’t notice any ads at all – I use Firefox w/ script and popup blocking.

peski on June 1, 2007 at 4:18 PM

BANNED.

BTW, Allah, you can sent up something in the code to detect if someone is running foxfire and forward them to a page telling them to us I.E. or Netscape or what not. Not sure of the exact code, but you can look it up in a PHP forum/tutorial about checking browser types.

- The Cat

Spoken like a true libo-nazi.

I support HotAir, but I refuse to be forced to watch commercials. So eat me techno-Stalin

from Expose the Left to Hot Air.

Mallard T. Drake on June 1, 2007 at 4:23 PM

Same here.

I don’t notice any ads at all – I use Firefox w/ script and popup blocking.

peski on June 1, 2007 at 4:18 PM

BANNED.

BTW, Allah, you can sent up something in the code to detect if someone is running foxfire and forward them to a page telling them to us I.E. or Netscape or what not. Not sure of the exact code, but you can look it up in a PHP forum/tutorial about checking browser types.

- The Cat

I don’t notice any ads at all – I use Firefox w/ script and popup blocking.

peski on June 1, 2007 at 4:18 PM

Thanks for your support.

This movement away from the grassroots and entrepreneurs seems contrary to the spirit of blogs.

rokemronnie on June 1, 2007 at 3:40 PM

Staying in business, making a good living, and growing don’t seem contrary to the “spirit” of blogs or to entrepreneurship.

Your future is bright, keep it that way always.

Does PM stipulate that by joining their network you cannot work with any other ad networks? I would assume so.

If not, as an expert in web applications, I can assure you it is more than possible to accommodate more than one banner network in your ad panel (I wrote one of the original banner rotators for phpbb2 and have written several since in almost every web language in existence).

It would be a shame for such a grass-roots site to fall into the stereotype of conservatives catering to big business. I have no financial stake in any of this, I just wish that loyalty was still the coin of the realm.

What’s more, I’ll put my money where my mouth is and volunteer to program any accommodation that HotAir is legally allowed to institute for keeping old advertisers who were with the site when it was unknown.

Best of luck to Ian, and to all those associated with this fabulous meeting place.

May the roads rise to meet you.
May the wind be at your back.

*sniff*

Ian, Ian, my boy, life does go on after Rosie. Just kidding, good luck, I enjoyed all your posts (good job)!

Good luck Ian and Mark!

we’ll continue to do our very best to serve, stimulate, inform, and entertain you

mmmm… stimulate… Keep it coming.

And good luck, Ian.

GOOD LUCK, love. ;)