Advertisments in Thread?

I just noticed this too, and I came here asking if it's legit ad links created by HTF or if my computer has somehow become infected with insidious adware.

Christopher:

It is a new company that we going to be using as do several other large companies. To me this is the most benign way of letting advertising on site that isn't obtrusive at the same time. Vendors are not wanting to put ad revenues into traditional banner ads as they are becoming less and less effective in driving members to their sites. Now they are going with huge pop up ads that make you sit there and wait for several seconds before they close. Can you imagine some on those ads on our site?

In order to keep this site up and running revenue has to be generated as you are aware and our daily bandwidth requirements keep going up because of increased traffic.

I am sure that you understand that this site has to make money in order to remain on the net and this is one way that we felt dealt with decreasing ad dollars and at the same time was really benign in its nature.

Just so you know there is no spyware of any kind or third party cookies that are added to your computer related to this software.

Parker

If this is an advertising strategy endorsed by Ron and Parker, I don't have a problem with it. It doesn't force me to click on anything or open anything and it puts some money in the HTF coffers. It's a good deal all the way around.

Bruce

I too just noticed this and came here to post about it and found this thread. I also thought that my computer caught some virus or spy-ware. I want to echo Bruce's statement that as long as its endorsed by Ron and Parker, I also don't have a problem with it. Definitely beats pop-ups.

So I came here, and so far there are four links in this thread alone. The one for broadband for New York metro residents could probably be targeted better.

The first and last have a thick underline, while the middle two are double-underlined. What's the diff?

After posting, the "bandwidth" ad is now gone.

I guess you'll do what you need to do. I hate it, personally, but I'm already growing accustomed to ignoring the sponsored links. I really hate the growing intrusion of ads into editorial content, such as the "coming up" banners on TV shows and now the whole sponsored links business. Frankly, I'd rather subscribe to HTF and get rid of the ads, as I do with HBO, but...it's your forum.

Just my opinion.

Jan

I just noticed this as well in a post I just submitted. I have no problems with it (helping with a gaming website I understand the finances it takes to run such a thing) but I just have to say its too bad the internet and many message boards have to resort to this to keep things running.

ron do you know the words that create the in post ads?

i noticed there were at least 3 in your post.
( running , bandwidth , software )
i am just kidding ron.

if it helps pay the bills then it works for me.

we should have a contest to see who can get the most words in a real post.

oh, that wont work.
the links disappear after you go over them, look at the ads, then refresh.

Just noticed this thread.

Parker, please tell the admins to disregard a "report to post" that I submitted. I thought someone was just spamming our board with advertisements.

Thanks!
Carlo

if it helps bring money to htf, then i say good luck.

are you able to give any technical info? how it picks out the words, decides which links to use, etc? just curious...

We need a few more people with that attitude
and we can just close shop here.

Jeez, guys, we would have hoped more people would
support this forum through our sponsors in order to
keep this a FREE running site that doesn't want to
resort to subscriptions.

As far as this new "intellitext" is concerned, yes
this is endorsed by Parker and I. It's new -- we
don't know what to expect from it -- and if proves to
be too intrusive or problematic for our members we
will consider removing it.

Thanks, guys!

Ron, Parker,

To help with understanding, if you don't mind saying, how do the links pay? Do people need to hover over them or actually click on them or do they just pay you to be there? Otherwise, even people who might want to help the site may just assume you are making money off their being there and think that even if they are ignored, money is coming into the HTF coffers.

I agree that it might be good to post a sticky explaining that it is not spyware. (and not because people would assume HTF is doing something bad to their machines. I would be more afraid something else did it and it and is unrelated to HTF, just using certain keywords)

I think this is a okay way to increase revenue if used with some actual thought. For example, if a post is discussing a specific new model of projector and the name became "linkified" to a retailer selling that equipment that has some merit and relevance. It could be valuable to somebody interested in buying.

But some of the links on everyday common words are kind of laughable. Like how every time somebody types the word "computer" there is a link to Dell. Do they really think we're more likely to buy a computer from Dell because of that?

Intellitext denotes intelligence. IMO, the links should be more relevant and targeted to actual items of interest.

Anyway, it's too bad these kind of things have to be resorted to, but understandable.

I don't have an issue with trying ways to generate revenue, but it would have been helpful to post an explaination to avoid confusion.

I personally don't appreciate unrelated commercial advertisements being manipulated from text in my own posts, but that's just my opinion. I would have to say that there are much more effective and less intrusive ways of commercial sponsorship than this. Straight-forward banner ads or perhaps even an additional seperate forum exclusively for sponsor links for which you can kindly ask members to click once every log-in to help support the site, would seem like a more direct and honest way of going about this. It is also quite frustrating when you are already running a slow browser due to internet connection and/or virtual memory (like in my case) and than unexpectedly happen upon a number of "hidden links" within a topic which you are trying to read, and accidentally open up another browser window slowing down your system even further. It's not a huge issue, but it is one of convenience, and one of the main reasons I visit this site every day is just that - convenience. It's nice to have simple access to the information and resources provided here in such an efficient context. I enjoy browsing through the forums and reading older topics when I have 20-30 minutes to kill to learn new perspectives and thoughts on different issues in the HT medium. These extra sponsor links imo, just detracts from that user-friendly experience. When you have a 50 some-odd page topic discussion like the infamous Star Wars thread, it is very hard to get through every sentence without highlighting and browsing through bits of text. This is now very difficult to do without being exposed to dozens of pop-up windows for broadband and pc sales and all kinds of other junk that the majority of HTF readers aren't interested in. I doubt anyone is actually clicking these deliberately, it just seems like a sneaky thing to be manipulating them into people's posts. I understand the need for corporate sponsorship with such high bandwith costs, but I would suggest a more straight-forward means of going about it as I would personally be more prompted to click an ad banner on the main forum page to support the site, than have to carefully dodge a bunch of hidden text links within posts that I'm trying to sit back and read through... I'm sure others would agree and if the idea of clicking main forum banners were promoted to the members of this site further by Ron and Parker, etc. I can't imagine anyone not willingly supporting by offering 4 seconds of their day to click on an ad link every morning or evening upon visiting the site. That's just my 2 cents.

My quote: "I'm already growing accustomed to ignoring the sponsored links"

Ron said: "We need a few more people with that attitude
and we can just close shop here."

Ron, this is not an "attitude" on my part. It's normal human conditioning.

Remember when car alarms were new? People actually paid attention. Now whenever a car alarm goes off, people think, "Another f-ing car alarm going off for no reason!"

Same with sponsored links. At first, people will click on them, thinking it might be useful. After you click a few and get taken to eBay ads and Dell Computer and other advertising sites, you naturally start tuning them out. You think, "Eh, another sponsored link...forget it."

This is why sponsored links are ultimately going to lose their impact, not just on HTF but everywhere.

I do click on banner ads, though. Got a bad jones for those Axiom speakers and an SVS sub, and the info on "quiet" drywall has been filed away mentally for when I build on to my garage.

Jan

I have to agree with Jan Strnad's thoughts. It's not a "attitude" problem to tune these things out. I've just been offered a Motorola V60 camera phone (that I don't need), broadband service for NYC residents (I'm in the midwest), services of a UK-based printing company, and Macromedia Flash MX (I'm not a web page designer). So why should I pay any attention to the sponsored links?

It would be cool if all the sponsored links were actually HT-related. That could actually be both helpful and profitable.

I belive the front page of the HTF has all the banner ads you can click on for support. Also, there's the "Deals" forum where you can click and browse (does "Deals" generate revenue for HTF?).

The links in-text seem pretty unobtrusive to me. They don't pop unless you float over them or click on them, so their impact is pretty minimal unless you manually trigger them through your own actions.

Advertisers will have to do something since most new versions of browsers are now coming with pop-up blockers (even Internet Explorer) so pop-ups will not be effective much longer either since most people won't even see them.

I've seen this on other boards as well. It doesn't really bother me too much and as long as they are differentiated from other true links with the double underlines, I'm OK with it. Much better than those moving-across-the-screen popups or forced ads that play before the page you clicked for shows up. I just hope that the word selection stays limited and doesn't begin to pop up for every word.

Oh, so that's what's going on. Thought I was trippin' Thought I did something. Who cares if there's a link in our posts? Really.

As to sponsored links, I'll click from time to time just out of nosiness alone. I'm a "clicker."



Right with ya theted. How about the whiners take over payments for a month?


Exactly Tony. So everyone take a BT. Just think, it dresses up all of our crappy posts.

Keep up the fine work gentlemen.

Ditto.

--
H

Ron,
It's no different than an attitude when you skip commercials on a TiVo.

To be fair, I was looking for DVI cables the other day and I came here first. When I don't need something, I ignore every banner ad I come across. When I do need something, I'll remember where it was I saw the last ad.

Mike

Must be a MS thing. I don't see any links to Apple Mac G5 iMac Powerbook Mac OS X elgato eyeTV Adobe That said, I think there should limits on generic words going to specific brands as mentioned in an above post.

It's one thing to mention a specific brand of D\/D Player and have it link to that, but to mention a _______ comp\/ter and have it go to D3LL is bad for any business because it is misleading the customer.

I know that knowing any certain word will link to a specific consumer unfriendly retailer will lead to my curtailing use of said word.

I think this would be far more useful if the links matched up with something here. I look at some of the advertisers who have hopefully done well here (like SVS) who should have formed a good relationship due to their ability to sell to a captive audience. But a good number of the underlines link to thinks that are unrelated to the subject matter or, in some cases, non-sensical to the context of the thread or forum itself. I think too many people may interpret this the same way as above, that it is a problem with their PC rather then a legitimate ad, and it will be hard to inform everyone right off the bat.

I don't mind the HTF trying to make money, and I've donated when I can as well. That having been said, I think a much more context-built system would be a lot more advantageous. Sell space at the bottom of DVD and hardware reviews advertising a "known good vendor" who sells that DVD or Item. I wouldn't mind HTF endorsed hardware reviews (which used to happen a long time ago) of units with links at the bottom to known vendors, etc. Or DVD, DVHS, etc. reviews with links, and so on.

If this intellitext pays well, keep it. It honestly isn't a negative on my part to have it or not. If it advertised anything that I had interest in, I would have no problem using it.

i like the new ads. means that i wont feel too guilty about using this forum for educating myself a little about home theater. if it werent for the ads, i guess there would be a subscription based forum and i dont know if i would be willing to pay for something like that. so advertise away! furthermore, if it wasnt for some of these advertisements, i would not have wanted to know about certain products like the screens, speakers and projectors that i now have in mind for our dedicated ht.

Now its attitudes like that, that bring the forum down. Someone expresses their opinion and you call them a whiner?

For the record, I don't mind the links. I think they're very unobtrusive.