IMMINENT DEATH OF LIVEJOURNAL PREDICTED; FILM AT 11.

[pne]

So. There's Sponsored+ now.

I wonder how quickly this will catch on. I have a suspicion that a fair number of free users who don't necessarily need the extra features will sign up anyway once more and more of their friends go Sponsored+, meaning that the free user will see ads when they visit those users' comment pages. (AIUI, free users see ads not only on "sponsored" users' journals but also on their individual journal entries/comment pages.)

I imagine that some people will say, "I see ads anyway when I visit my friends' journals; might as well enable them for my account as well and at least profit a little". Thus becoming yet another straw on some other free user's back.

I'm mostly curious how quickly this effect will happen.

Comments

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

Your title cracked me up.

I think it's funny that the people who do nothing to support LJ are the ones convinced that the site will wither and die if they leave.

[pne.livejournal.com]

I think it's funny that the people who do nothing to support LJ are the ones convinced that the site will wither and die if they leave.

Hee -- there is that, isn't it? "We'll leave, and then see how you'll do without us, who worked and toiled to make this site popular and invited all of our friends!"

Some of those also like to point out they should receive more userpics because they've been a "loyal user" for so long with their free account.

(Speaking of which, I presume that most people going to Sponsored+ initially will do so for the userpics -- not for, say, Scrapbook or the ability to post by mail or voice. Userpics seems to be the biggest carrot for a lot of people.)

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

One silly little git threw a tantrum about wanting "equal treatment". "I want to be treated like paid users are treated!" When it was pointed out that she was going to need to drop a little cash for the perks paid users get, she should perhaps stop mooching, the response was "Oh yeah? Well, you're the moocher! You have a permanent account, you don't pay for anything!!"

Seriously, I had to scrape my jaw up off the floor. What the hell was the $25/year I've been paying since I came to LJ? And the $150 for the PA? What? Honestly, these people don't think anything through to their logical conclusion.

I don't understand the flip-outs over icons. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Scrapbook - I'm running out of space in my domain, so having Scrapbook for the zillion pictures I post is very helpful.

[ladyortyger.livejournal.com]

I find this idea repugnant.

[pne.livejournal.com]

I'd have been a bit more comfortable with it if free users weren't forced to see ads when they visit a "Sponsored+" user's journal -- if only those who opted-in saw them. (In return, they could have seen them everywhere, even on paid or free users' journals.) Otherwise, opt-in really means "opting all your friends in to see ads on your journal entries".

But even so, it goes against the long-standing idea of not using ads -- perhaps not quite a promise, but management did say on several occasions that they didn't want to put ads on LiveJournal (though the TOS gave them that option for as long as I can recall).

I'm still not quite sure what to think.

[ladyortyger.livejournal.com]

"Otherwise, opt-in really means "opting all your friends in to see ads on your journal entries"."

Yeah thats the part I didn't like. Then even more users will go 'well, i have to see ads on my friends pages anyway and those suck, so I might as well see ads everywhere,' then sign up for sponsored+ and make LJ more advertising money.

Despite the promises that more money = more staff = better features? I don't see it happening. LJ is too disorganized for that to happen. How many features have been broken for eons upon eons? And how many new "features" could the actual users give two shits about, whereas things that are in 'suggestions' are getting ignored.

I think mostly I feel like LJ was a place for USERS and with every move recently (6A and now ads) that its being taken away from users and made more corporate and stinky.

[ladyortyger.livejournal.com]

Speaking of useless, or broken or ineffective features:

Scrapbook still sucks and is hard to use.
Post by email is often broken.
Phone post doesn't have numbers for 80% of the USA, and nothing for international users.
Location? What the fuck is that for, most people only blog from home.
Memories. Still. Broken.
Styles are very difficult to customize. They could make it much simpler.

Honestly I only really use my Paid account because of Userpics, Polls and the ability to have a custom style.

[pne.livejournal.com]

Honestly I only really use my Paid account because of Userpics, Polls and the ability to have a custom style.

I really, really like having the @livejournal.com email address, since I use it in several places.

Polls are nice, too.

I could probably do without as many userpics, though, if I had to.

[pne.livejournal.com]

I think mostly I feel like LJ was a place for USERS and with every move recently (6A and now ads) that its being taken away from users and made more corporate and stinky.

I've heard that sentiment fairly often, yes.

And how many new "features" could the actual users give two shits about, whereas things that are in 'suggestions' are getting ignored.

*nods*

Or they ask for opinions but they've already made up their mind.

One problem with programmer types is that they often like to add features that are cool to use or fun to implement, rather than features that will improve users' experiences with the site or that they've requested. (Which also explains some broken features -- the first 80% are fun, the last 20% of implementing something properly and testing it is not fun, so it tends not to get done.)

[entirelysonja.livejournal.com]

I'm probably going to sign my travel account up for Sponsored+; I use it only when I travel, but when I do use it, I want to be able to post via e-mail. Currently, I pay for 2 months every time I travel, but that's always seemed sort of silly.

[pleiades829.livejournal.com]

Sponsored accounts == bad idea. It's going to turn into MySpace.

[allegrox.livejournal.com]

I just upgraded to Sponsored+ (mostly for the extra icons and the mood themes), but it bothers me a little, too. I hate ads as much as the next LJer, but that said, nobody really looks at my journal. Free and Paid users won't see ads on their Friends List, and I've disabled the custom comments page, so they won't see any there either. I know, I feel like a leach. But at least this leach is keeping his ads in quarantine where they won't bother people. If my friends were forced to view them, I would stay (ad-)Free.

ads on entry pages

[pne.livejournal.com]

I've disabled the custom comments page, so they won't see any there either.

I was under the impression that ads would appear on system-styled comment pages for Sponsored+ users, too.

Re: ads on entry pages

[allegrox.livejournal.com]

They do. :(
I had been told otherwise.

[nassus.livejournal.com]

Adblock is your friend *grin*

Adblock

[pne.livejournal.com]

Just don't let them catch you!

(Apparently, XVI.17.b. of LiveJournal's Terms of Service (http://www.livejournal.com/legal/tos.bml) prohibits users from "Employing and/or providing software programs, browser scripts, or other technologies that serve to block or substantially impair the display of advertisements on LiveJournal pages.")

That said, the (known) availability of such techniques in browsers these days, and the difficulty of proving someone is employing them, makes the idea of ad-sponsoring less effective than they might hope.

Re: Adblock

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah but it doesnt stop other non lj users from using adblock. Are they allowed to change the terms on the fly. If you have an older lj should you have to put up with viewing adds on friends journals when you didnt sign up for them? Strangely enough I couldnt see any on the persons lj who commented they'd changed to +adds and that was without changing my default settings for adblock which I use as a matter of course/sanity/protection from spyware. <-:

Re: Adblock

[ladyortyger.livejournal.com]

Yes they are allowed to change the TOS and then say "Here are the new TOS, if you do not agree by clicking this link, you have the choice to delete your journal."

I don't think any ads are live yet.

Adblock

[pne.livejournal.com]

In case you hadn't heard: apparently the bit about adblockers being forbidden got in there by mistake (http://community.livejournal.com/lj_support/629907.html).