12 Comments

Accretion Disks and Siding With the Spiders

Mar 8, 2008
by

The curse of being curious is that it is very difficult to translate and communicate wonder. Having been an 8th grade science teacher and then a college professor of religious studies, I’ve faced that difficult chasm many times over the years. However, working on a daily basis with marketers and advertisers mostly interested in one thing (the bottom line) is an entirely different challenge when trying to communicate my own view of how everything is interconnected whether it’s politics or string theory or Assyriology or affiliate marketing.

I started a daily podcast in January to try and help myself better orally communicate how some of my rathole ideas and meanderings connect with online marketing. I had no intention of that podcast being listened to by others, but people did start listening. I’m working on making things more coherent on the show, but it’s a work in progress.

And at the end of the day, I do want to keep some randomness and some notion of chaos in the podcast (and in my blog posts) because chaos breeds creation (and vice versa). I’m not a “get rich quick, and I’ll tell you how with my $99 ebook” type guy and ReveNews is not that kind of a blog, although if it were we might be able to pay the bills.

So, I was overjoyed when I came across this talk from Matt Webb basically connecting the asteroids for me…

It’s becoming clearer to me that as ReveNews enters its second decade, it is going to move in different directions than just pure affiliate marketing. That was the initial wish of Brian Clark and Wayne Porter when they pulled together bits of matter and energy to form this place. In some ways, I feel that RN is now a little like a boring and stale planet. Sure, the conversations are here and there is a lot of energy about certain topics.

However if we were providing a certain level of sustained value to the specific affiliate community, there would be a return of support from those interested in keeping this place alive. ReveNews has never been a highly profitable blog because it has aimed to do other things, but we (I) have to pay the bills somehow. I wish I had the means to afford the upkeep of the blog with the trickle of sponsorship dollars that come in (mostly from CPA networks instead of people/companies you would expect would value a blog like this), but I’m not sure how much longer that will be feasible.

All that to say that maybe the market is telling us that we need to side with the spiders and detonate this stale blue dot and bring in online revenue generators that find value in a place such as this. Perhaps that means covering more of the virtual worlds crowd or delving into the incredibly complex and fascinating ARG’s crowd or post more about MMOPG’s and gamers. I’m not sure.

So, if you see more posts about things that fall outside the pure affiliate space, don’t be surprised but try to connect the dots with your own online marketing existence. As I’ve said before, ReveNews isn’t an affiliate marketing blog and never was set up to be such a place. We’re finally listening to the market and perhaps realizing that vision.

Filed under: Affiliate Marketing + Gaming + Internet Marketing + Micro Transactions + ReveNews + Social Media
  • http://www.wayneporter.com Wayne Porter

    I think it will be rejected- at first, but I am off to get radical DNA…but you can see the flex in the community…and I know you don't want to build walls Sam. (I don't mind.)

    Let's see how it sits- what can we offer people?…but, and you know I have supported your work, I know the value, but I wouldn't mind a check one day too. I know what real insight is worth. I know the value of being seen or found at RN can be…

    Could we get a hosting company to offset some costs? This is still what confuses me, but I think times will change…I know they will and are. We don't want to do CPA deals, because we want to TRY (no one is perfect) to stay objective. No trick links in these blogs. Bloggers write and mantain their own home bases, yet there is value at having one here.

    I think that often because it is free, people don't value it as much…Planet Alpha, Beta, etc Again…or gate it.

    Still ads alone won't cut it imho. I all for some of the Next-Gen textbook style teaching we discussed and you resist (this does not erode any base and not an ebook…) but you know- people need to learn this stuff, they don't have time, or equipped like some. I talk to executives about that frequently. Plus matching concept- (Perhaps find some talented programmer to share in that socket site).

    Creatively it can be done and if "the industry" (not all) can't support a quality voice…well…

    BTW it isn't really a blog- it is a collaboration and the voices are quite bright…but it is siloed. I see virtual communities peer in here going- WTF? Hmmmmmm. You can do that? Yes.

    regards,

    Wayne

  • http://www.onlineartsmarketing.com Chris O'Byrne

    So, ReveNews is moving to Herod? Cool!

    I'm actually quite excited about the directions you might take and the spider approach. Be experimental. Seek out new worlds and new civilizations. Try several new things and keep the ones that work (however you define "work").

    Expectantly yours,

    peacefulbirder

  • http://www.wayneporter.com Wayne Porter

    Sam,

    Chris is a prime example of the need to cover POD and JIT and another reason to do it- and use it to sell – even at a modest fee "practice what we preach"…or useful software products- doesn't have to be "in the cloud"…i know several things are needed, as do you Sam, and people can buy and use, and rev split with said programmer. Who will get lots of exposure…plus never know who you might meet :)

    The spider approach is not one I want to take Chris. I am not partial to that, but…what does it say?

    As for experimental- ask anyone- in marketing Sam and I both push that envelope quite a bit…errr maybe that is the problem Sam…

    The other part is people don't realize WHO makes up the composition of readership- many publicly traded companies who don't comment or simply read…and many smaller, and bright entrepreneurs…

    -wayne

  • http://www.revenews.com Sam Harrelson

    Thanks for the encouragement and great analogies, Chris!

    Want to blog here? :)

  • http://www.onlineartsmarketing.com Chris O'Byrne

    Wayne, I definitely see your point about the spider approach. I think Sam may have just solved that problem with his podcast(s). I do come to this site primarily looking for information on affiliate marketing. And I would definitely pay for a product that helped me learn more. I'm still relatively new to this field, but voraciously gobbling up as much information as I can. I'm not naive enough to ask for anyone's secrets, but I would love to have someone say, "here, this is how you get started and keep things moving"… something more detailed than what I have currently found.

    Okay, here is what is really going on. Trust. There are products out there that I can buy that propose to tell me how to get started in AM, but they are presented with the long-form sales page and testimonial after testimonial that just makes me think, "oh boy, here we go again".

    I have trust in ReveNews and Sam and you. You come across like normal people, people that aren't full of hype and just trying to sell me something. After several years on the web, my BS-meter has become somewhat finely tuned. Even if you did not present your own product, but said, "Chris, get one of these products, they're the real thing"… then I could look past the hype and feel good about buying the product.

    I bet their are hundreds of people like me, wanting to get started in AM, but feeling lost in the hyperbole. For me, ReveNews is part of the Federation of Trusted Planets.

  • http://www.onlineartsmarketing.com Chris O'Byrne

    Sam… yes!

  • http://www.wayneporter.com Wayne Porter

    Sam,

    I think Chris is possibly a prototypical experiment in collaborative creation and understanding JIT and POD…Chris you do art yes? I propose we take discussions offline…I know another expert in this field too it is pretty large. Chris- I don't think "affiliation" is what you want.

    Sam- point is after 10 years, connections, experiences from all angles- the product is knowledge and connections. I don't like e-books either, I like books, with e-lectronic follow-ups, and I like books by people with thought and validation…I have learned that I will pay for solid, consistent knowledge and trend observation, etc…because it is worth my time.

    Time is an issue…like that one podcast….free, price was listening to a beta….but really good info.

    Chris I'll talk to Sam- but game for an experiment or two?

    -wayne

  • http://www.onlineartsmarketing.com Chris O'Byrne

    Wayne,

    I'm definitely game for an experiment. I am primarily a musician (bluegrass, flatpick guitar, mandolin, fiddle), but my wife is an artist and, as they say, some of my best friend are artists.

    Shoot me an email, you have me VERY curious!

    Chris

  • http://www.wayneporter.com Wayne Porter

    :) Might even try researching markets…great idea.

  • http://www.wayneporter.com Wayne Porter

    Chris,

    Musician is fine too. Bits are bits…first time I played a violin was in a virtual world. Why? I can't play anything elsewhere- can you transfer attention? Yes- just doesn't scale as well- yet. :)

    People are buying and selling all kinds of things musical and artistic…the are buying goods that do not even exist…USA is slow- it is tremendous in east, italy, etc.

    Let me think on it a bit… Revenews reaches some very good "monetizers", but unlike virtual world communities (just an example), they tend to be stuck in a rut. Not all, but many are.

    Chris I think you are all about video, content, micro-transactions, affiliation- is a tool. Not your industry.

    Thinking…

    regards,

    Wayne

  • http://www.onlineartsmarketing.com Chris O'Byrne

    Wayne,

    I AM about providing content, that's for sure. Are you saying that affiliate marketing as a whole does not fit into that as well, that affiliate marketing is about directing people to other people's content?

    I'm going to research micro-transactions and listen to your conversation with Sam…

    Peace,

    Chris

  • Angel Djambazov

    I think expanding towards covering such things as MMOPGs makes a lot of sense. Companies are looking for ways to interact with those communities. Where there are people marketers will try to engage them and often succeed in annoying them. We should try to help them engage more and annoy less.