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Sounds like you just haven't run a successful advertising supported website. This whole "advertising is doomed, get people to pay" meme is getting really tireso

by axod 18y ago

Sounds like you just haven't run a successful advertising supported website. This whole "advertising is doomed, get people to pay" meme is getting really tiresome. Especially since it's coming from people who don't seem to have made a living from advertising before. Perhaps they tried, and failed, and now assume that it's impossible to make money from advertising. It's not. It's about as easy/hard as it has been for the last 10 years. >> "The recession is the straw that has broken the camel’s back." I'd be interested to hear why you think 'paid for' will survive a recession better than 'ad supported'. Do you think if money is tight, end users will keep paying for various websites? I'd wager not. Do you really think you're in a good position to know if it's broken the camels back or not? Is advertising revenue down, or up? Also, alexa100 isn't important. There's tons of websites that don't even register on alexa, that make a living for their owners or far more from advertising. It's all in how targeted your traffic is. If you only get 5 visitors a day, but they're all ready to sign up for a gambling website through your affiliate link, that's more than 'ramen profitable'. You should try it :)

mattmaroon 18y ago
I wasn't saying that at all, as I mentioned, free will always exist. The problem is that investment is aimed at companies that hit home runs. While you might be able to make a nice chunk off of advertising (i.e. enough for a few founders to make a great living) that isn't what investors look for. Ad-supported companies have to hit big home runs, or investors will move their money elsewhere, and founders will trend toward places they invest.
johnyzee 18y ago
That's what I thought reading that post. Adsense, as an example, is a real and viable business. I could quit my job on my one Adsense site if I had just 3000 visitors per day (assuming CPC held up). The model makes money for me, Google, and, I assume, the advertisers. What's not to like?

by axod 18y ago

mattmaroon 18y ago

I wasn't saying that at all, as I mentioned, free will always exist. The problem is that investment is aimed at companies that hit home runs. While you might be able to make a nice chunk off of advertising (i.e. enough for a few founders to make a great living) that isn't what investors look for. Ad-supported companies have to hit big home runs, or investors will move their money elsewhere, and founders will trend toward places they invest.

johnyzee 18y ago

That's what I thought reading that post. Adsense, as an example, is a real and viable business. I could quit my job on my one Adsense site if I had just 3000 visitors per day (assuming CPC held up). The model makes money for me, Google, and, I assume, the advertisers. What's not to like?