Advertisements

Roadfood.com is currently experimenting with Google’s ad serving technology on our discussion forums. We wanted a solution that is subtle and relevant to our target audience, and these smart ads adapt to the content on the page. For example, the seafood forum will probably show ads for a lobster delivery company. Roadfood receives a small commission when people visit these commercial sites. Occasionally a non-profit advertisement will appear because the ad technology cannot find a company relevant to the page content.

I'm not crazy about the advertising, but if it helps keep RoadFood afloat I can certainly put up with it!

It is hardly noticeable. I hope it works well for RoadFood !!

quote:

Originally posted by Stephen Rushmore Jr.

Roadfood.com is currently experimenting with Google’s ad serving technology on our discussion forums. We wanted a solution that is subtle and relevant to our target audience, and these smart ads adapt to the content on the page.

As long as the ad shows the tastiest, cheapest grub that's relevant to the discussion and within a 50 mile radius of the member viewing the ad, then it's great!

It's ok with me, so far I have only seen generic stuff anyway. It might be kind of hard to get a match on a thread like "Moonshine" unless maybe it was for a good lawyer or a bail bondsman or maybe for mason jars or Red Star Cake Yeast (the best, or so my "friend" tells me)

I would hate to know what might come up with some of the things that we talk about here....livermush......scrapple......headcheese......it would take some pretty good computers and some pretty targeted marketing to find matches for those

I am a subscriber of the GardenWeb/ThatHomesite Forums. They recently went to that type of ads along the side of the page and they are not obtrusive or distracting at all.

The only problem is that the ads are triggered by the words in the post and sometimes are so funny. There was one post about "canning disasters" and an ad for a book about the Titanic came up.

A post yesterday that read "You are on death row...what is your last meal?" brought ads for saving endangered wildlife, medical products donations, and remembering the March of Dimes in your will.

I hate ads so much. One thing I enjoyed about this site was not being intruded upon by pop-ups and banners. Personally, I would rather pay a membership fee than look at ads.

So far, the ads seem harmless enough. I actually clicked on to a couple of them out of curiosity.

No one likes ads------but I will gladly put up with a few to keep the service the way it is. You have my blessing, Steven-----I hope it helps.

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

So far, the ads seem harmless enough. I actually clicked on to a couple of them out of curiosity.

Where did you click on them to check them out?

They go so quick that you barely notice, I did go to the site of that restaurant that has the wild game....pretty cool.

I am confused now. I have not seen any ads at all.

Never mind. I see them. DOH!

As long as they remain as unobtrusive as they currently are, I don't have a problem with them.

I must be blind.......I do not see any ads! Give me a hint where are they

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

Target audience,huh? I never thought about being part of a "target".

Ok hilldweller, I give. Who is the press conference for?

Target + Audience

(I guess you gotta be inside my brain to appreciate the joke )

quote:

Originally posted by Lone Star

Ok hilldweller, I give. Who is the press conference for?

This is not a press conference. It is a group of Roadfood people who want to make sure that all ads are food related. This picture has to be taken in Rushmore's living room where he is holding a meeting.

From what I understand, the forum is a labor of love and any income received has my support to pay the bills. Nothing ain't free and the website has got to cost lotsa money. Somebody pays the bills and I wish Roadfood.com success. The forum is fun and I personally enjoy it. I am surprised that the forum has run this long without any financial assistance.

GO FOR IT!!!!

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by hilldweller

Target + Audience

(I guess you gotta be inside my brain to appreciate the joke )

So that was you who used to draw the puzzles for the Lucky Lager bottletops! Now that I see the ads, I must say they are much more unobtrusive than I'd feared. But it is weird to get Olive Garden ads.

chezkatie, scroll down to the bottom of any forum page and you'll see the ads underlined.

I'm one of the ones who had to look for them to find them. I assumed for a couple of days they were geographically targeted and there weren't any advertisers in Houston signed up . If any of the advertisers read all these posts about how hard their messages were to find, they may be cancelling .

Roadfood is a fantastic site and I have no problem with these ads as now configured. In fact, such ads across the top or down the side would be no problem for me. I would be disappointed if they started appearing interspaced with the posts.

Advertising is as inevitable as death and taxes (and spam and junk mail) and about as much fun some of the time. What is unacceptable to me is the attitude of many advertisers that they have a right to interrupt other activities to jam their message in your face, so no pop-up ads, please .

The ads are very unobtrusive, and fine by me.I personally know how the costs of maintaining websites becomes rather hefty in a hurry. Everyone should feel fortunate in these managable teeny ones, and besides, ya never know what you may learn.


ps: Just a thought....can we add some personal ads too?j/k, j/k

I have to admit, now that I have figured out where the ads are (VERY unobtrusive), I'm really enjoying clicking from topic to topic to see what ads were matched with each topic. I think that my favorite so far are the solvent recycling ads under the "Moonshine" topic!

I am definetly for anything that keeps roadfood.com moving down the highway.

quote:

Originally posted by redtressed

ps: Just a thought....can we add some personal ads too?j/k, j/k

quote:

Originally posted by Julia I

I have to admit, now that I have figured out where the ads are (VERY unobtrusive), I'm really enjoying clicking from topic to topic to see what ads were matched with each topic. I think that my favorite so far are the solvent recycling ads under the "Moonshine" topic!

Actually, that is not so far from the truth. My "friend" who was operating a small still for a while (which was located in his barn with all of the other "farm equipment" once used some of his product to clean the carburator in a Husquavarna chainsaw ( a manly device if there ever was one). It got the gunk right out and as an added bonus, a small measure of the elixir was poured into it to give it an extra jolt on first start after the cleaning. Started right up and ran like hell.

I started up my "friend" pretty well too, but the long term effects were kind of hard on him.

Well, I don't see the ads. Maybe because I'm running Netscape 4.7 on a Mac? I still can't find the spell checker!

Anyway, I have no problems with ads as long as they are static and not those flashing ads telling me I "won" something

quote:

Michael Stern
Moderator



314 Posts
Posted - 10/10/2003 : 13:25:32
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
Originally posted by redtressed

ps: Just a thought....can we add some personal ads too?j/k, j/k

Well sheesh, you can't blame a gal for a little carpe diem