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For some types of businesses, pageviews is what counts. Some type of applications need to reach a certain tipping point, after which trying to generate revenue

For some types of businesses, pageviews is what counts. Some type of applications need to reach a certain tipping point, after which trying to generate revenue makes a lot more sense. So they need to grow fast and then focus on money later. Think of it like a blog trying to get big. You don't slap ad-sense on the blog right away. First you grow your audience, get your fans first, then focus on revenue. Focusing on revenue right from the start will likely make you unable to ever grow.

marcamillion 16y ago
Well...I wouldn't classify starting a blog as a startup/viable long term business. If you are, indeed, starting a digital publishing house then I think you need to come up with a viable/more sustainable business model more quickly than just relying on advertising at some point in the future. Hacker Monthly is a perfect example of this. They released a few editions, then quickly put up a pay wall. A blog, in the most generic sense, I think is better served being a 'free' marketing tool. The main focus should be, as 37Signals so eloquently put it, to teach your users and subsequently build an audience. Edit: I would also like to point out that I don't disagree that there are some businesses that make sense for pageviews/uniques - my main point is that we (the industry) are still suffering from the bad branding caused by the 90s boom & bust. i.e. start a company and figure out revenue later. I am suggesting such a drastic shift, in an attempt to drastically change that mindset. Once that mindset is changed, then we can loosen a bit - and 'encourage' some models that require pageviews first (but perhaps by that time we won't need to, because more platforms like http://www.flattr.com http://www.flattr.com will be mainstream and bloggers can get paid for each article, than relying on advertising).
noodle 16y ago
the path to monthly revenue isn't necessarily a linear one, no. but it doesn't mean that it still isn't a viable metric. take the exact same argument you made here, swap "revenue" and "pageviews", and it still pretty much makes sense.

marcamillion 16y ago

Well...I wouldn't classify starting a blog as a startup/viable long term business. If you are, indeed, starting a digital publishing house then I think you need to come up with a viable/more sustainable business model more quickly than just relying on advertising at some point in the future. Hacker Monthly is a perfect example of this. They released a few editions, then quickly put up a pay wall. A blog, in the most generic sense, I think is better served being a 'free' marketing tool. The main focus should be, as 37Signals so eloquently put it, to teach your users and subsequently build an audience. Edit: I would also like to point out that I don't disagree that there are some businesses that make sense for pageviews/uniques - my main point is that we (the industry) are still suffering from the bad branding caused by the 90s boom & bust. i.e. start a company and figure out revenue later. I am suggesting such a drastic shift, in an attempt to drastically change that mindset. Once that mindset is changed, then we can loosen a bit - and 'encourage' some models that require pageviews first (but perhaps by that time we won't need to, because more platforms like http://www.flattr.com http://www.flattr.com will be mainstream and bloggers can get paid for each article, than relying on advertising).

noodle 16y ago

the path to monthly revenue isn't necessarily a linear one, no. but it doesn't mean that it still isn't a viable metric. take the exact same argument you made here, swap "revenue" and "pageviews", and it still pretty much makes sense.