A shame of advertising

[DGorinstein]

This is a recent post (today) I made on a good photograph, from a devoted photographer. PN is a wonderful site! It gathers both professional and amateur photographers. It invites spontaneous critique and conversations. Up until recently, it "seemed" to have sufficient financing and funding to sustain a wonderful platform for exchanging photographic experience.

 

Then, PN suddenly made a drastic change....one that startled most of its long-time users....Fine, no problem... But now, the inclusion of cheap advertising from third parties, has corrupted, polluted, prostituted it's original purpose.

 

Here is a copy-paste of a comment made on a fellow photographer:

 

"" Such amazing photograph. So interesting a collection of fine photography in your portfolio. Too bad it is next to distracting, cheap, vane and superfluous advertising. So sad to see PN recurring to haphazard stupid, shallow adds distorting the true essence of thumbnails to show the work of artists. It sends the wrong message: You see "absolute trash" side-by-side with artistic endeavors of professional and amateur photographers, robbing the attention, deviating the focus of hard-earned labor towards vane, beggarly, unrefined advertising. This is sad, to say the least. It is denigrating....to place side-by-side a promiscuous and prostituted marketing add next to a striving photograph - and photographer - to make an impression....only to be distracted and robbed of the attention by the vulgar, trait, unrefined....... ""

[DGorinstein]

If PN now "has", or "must" resort to advertising, I guess our membership is no longer relevant to sustain the operating costs of PN. IF advertising continues, I will most definitely NOT RENEW my subscription. I am truly, deeply sorry for this decision I am taking, but it is a matter of principle. I am so disappointed, so let down by the gyration PN has decided to take, I do not understand it. It is contrarian to the original philosophy that made me join it.

 

The changes, I realize in all honesty, are fine. The new layout is fine and I am comping to get a grip on it. So are many other members. But the inclusion of "advertising"....??? This is, in my humble and personal opinion, denigrating. I loathe advertising, and again, IMHO, it does not "fit! with PN. So in conclusion, since advertising does not "fit" ME, I, solely I, will withdraw from a site which principles are not aligned with mine. DG

[PapaTango]

Daniel, I appreciate your sentiment--but I have to play the devil's advocate here... :(

 

I recently shut down a very popular forum I had published for several years. Far too many members chose not to financially support the venue--and the majority vehemently resisted the idea of including advertising. High traffic sites cost money to run for storage and server provision. Software and other things must be licensed on a yearly basis to remain current. Unless one is doing it for a hobby--the time spent administering/moderating needs compensation. The internet ain't free...

 

There are many ways to make the ads "go away." They are free... :cool:

[G-P]

We hear you. We have been testing out a new programmatic ad partner that promised ads be more relevant with higher revenue which would of course help the site, but every time it seems we run into the same problem - looks good initially, then falls off. I'm pitching to ownership that we scrap programmatic all together and only take direct advertising or private marketplace (which is direct just more automated for ease of use for advertiser). Additionally only about 40% of our traffic is US which is really the only ad inventory we have been able monetize at CPMs we're willing to accept. If you are an international user - I'm sure the ads you're seeing are worse than what we're seeing in the US. I sold my first ad impression in 1997 and it held such great promise. We hear you and we'll make changes.

[DGorinstein]

I very much appreciate your comments and understand your arguments. The thing is, I am so totally against advertising, not per se, but because of its invasiveness and omnipresence. I consider PN a "private club", where one pays a yearly fee that should, in philosophical principle, do without sponsorship, other than the members fees. To be honest, I think the annual fee is relatively low, and could easily be raised. I, for one, would be more than happy to see the fee increased to make it more "exclusive". That is, in general,"quality costs more". If some people who don't want to pay more (or can not), should not belong to a high-quality photographer's forum. PLEASE don't get me wrong, I am not trying to offend anyone, only because I am not talking about raising fees to crazy levels, just a few percentage points. I do not suggest to make it "elitist", but in essence, be being a member of PN you have very valuable insight by professionals and by seasoned photographers. That in and by itself is a GREAT added value. I honestly believe that a large majority of PN members would prefer to pay a bit more for their membership, and see more "exclusivity" which is naturally accompanied by quality, refinement and real, true, genuine interest in posting work in a serious, respectable venue. My complaint here is the same I have voiced in social networks: Free TV is not really free, and to watch it, you have to "withstand" the advertisers. Netflix, for example, does not show any commercials. I loathe going to the movie theater where I pay for watching a movie, and having to watch advertising before the movie starts. That shows profound disrespect for movie-goers, it is offensive and ethically abusive. PN is truly a great site. It started many years ago and I joined late in it's cycle, but did so BECAUSE it had CHARACTER, PERSONALITY, and strong ethical principles. I have always enjoyed the quality of members who, for the most part, are honest and constructive in helping beginners to improve their photographic skills. Finally, what would you think of a University, a serious gathering of minds wanting to improve and become better, that before each class, the professor said: "this class is sponsored by x, y", so please watch these commercials before we begin....an then, 30-40 minutes into the lecture, said....ehemmmm please let me pause for a word of our sponsors"...I hope you catch my drift. Respectfully, DG.

[DGorinstein]

Oh, sorry, I forgot something...I am NOT against advertising in the site. I guess that advertising DEFINITELY HAS A PLACE IN PN, such as some pages, as it used to do before the "seismic change of recent". I DO NOT MIND, NOR DO I OBJECT advertising in the site, as long as it is placed in a "logical" (i.e strategic) place, on the side bar of forums, contests, etc. but NOT in the middle of the "EXPLORE / EDITOR'S CHOISE" sections. Why? because you are making a very intrusive add to occupy the very same place of a paying member's image, conceived, thought of and executed with the only intent to share it "objectively", unobtrusively, freely, side-by-side with another photograph, not aggressively interrupted by "other content", sooooo very different in essence as the flow of photo after photo. It is an intrusion totally contrarian and against the grain of being immersed in a natural flow of images, evaluating each one, reveling on some, considering a comment to be made.....only to be abruptly distracted by a totally unrelated content to the above-mentioned pleasant visual flow of images, pure images, where one can compare, juxtapose, relate, identify, twelve, meditate on how to interact with a certain thumbnail, and next to it, an irrespecutful intrusion of a cheap ad, breaking the mood, the inspiration, the concentration and lured to a totally different environment, that of a "connived, ill-intended, unrefined, forceful invitation to buy....something you recently searched for or something you do not want to consider at that moment. In my particular case, I go into PN to truly relax. To enjoy my hobby and that of others. I immerse myself in the vast world of PHOTOGRAPHY, of images other people around the globe want to share with me, to start a productive conversation, to get to know me, my work, to learn something new, techniques, POV, post-processing, but then the vulgar intrusion of advertising produces a sense of "coitus interrupts". The proper use and placing of advertising is just a matter of intelligence.....and good taste.

[G-P]

I hear you DG, I sincerely do. I like your ideas and will incorporate it into my pitch to the principals. Don't give up on us yet.