Monetization and the Beta Home page
Note: Bitching about the layout, etc, of said beta homepage goes here, not here. I will give you the eeeevil eye. Tone of this post should be considered neutral, like eating a sandwich, and correlation does not imply causation.
A summary of the current (appx 4:30PM PST May 22, 2007) feedback poll on the new homepage as it relates to monetization. Modules already or easily monetized are in bold. Monetization includes ads, sponsorship, branding, or encouraging the user to purchase something.
On the whole, easily monetized modules are less liked and more disliked than ones that are not, a notable exception being Birthdays. This might lead to an interesting dilemma: the home page would probably be more popular/useful if modules are customizable like MyLJ was. (Based on the feedback comments, it would also reduce the percentage of people who do not like the layout.) However, if modules can be removed, the home page will lose a lot monetization value--for instance, sponsored communities would be adversely affected if Spotlight (at 38.1% dislike) was allowed to be removed.
For Plus users, the box ad is to the right, under the "Getting Started" module if it is on (it can be turned off here.)
Do you like the visual style of the new logged-in homepage?
Yes70.8%
No29.2%
Which are your favorite modules? Check all that apply:
Birthdays73.3%
Journal Comments66.3%
Friend Updates57.9%
Quicklinks50.4%
LiveJournal News48.8%
Spotlight25.7%
Explore LJ20.5%
Writer's Block19.0%
Inside LiveJournal14.4%
Tips13.6%
Which are your LEAST favorite modules? Check all that apply:
Writer's Block54.9%
Tips40.5%
Spotlight38.1%
Inside LiveJournal31.9%
Explore LJ24.6%
Journal Comments17.7%
Quicklinks15.6%
Friend Updates13.8%
LiveJournal News9.6%
Birthdays9.1%
Which of these MyLJ modules would you like to add, if any?
Popular with your Friends57.1%
Account Status45.7%
Quick Update41.0%
New User Tips11.7%
Check up to three new modules you'd like to see added:
Recently updated friends/communities52.8%
Message Center41.0%
What's popular (games/music/books) around LJ31.8%
Favorite friends/communities31.7%
Friends' reading list30.9%
Friends' music list30.8%
Recent friends' photos27.4%
Friends' movies list18.8%
Summary of monetization of bolded entries
Birthdays: Gift link by each entry encourages the purchase of virtual gifts.
LiveJournal News: Not directly, but news and lj_maintenance contain ads if clicked through.
Spotlight: Sponsored community promotions.
Writer's Block: Vox has had sponsored QoTD's by Nissan and the movie Georgia Rule. Sometimes the sponsorship goes as far to affect the content of the questions asked (like so). So LJ's version is also easily monetized in this manner.
Inside LiveJournal: Most of the boxes are branded (Amp'd Mobile), sponsored (Havaianas themes), or otherwise encouraging money making aspects (get a paid account, Peanut Lab surveys).
Tips: About 66% of the tips possibly shown to Basic users involve ads, sponsorship, or getting a paid account. New User Tips could be geared the same way.
Account Status: Could be easily made to prompt lower user levels to upgrade.
What's popular (games/music/books) around LJ, Friends' reading list, Friends' music list, Friends' movies list: Can link to Amazon affiliate account, like books and music do on Vox.
A summary of the current (appx 4:30PM PST May 22, 2007) feedback poll on the new homepage as it relates to monetization. Modules already or easily monetized are in bold. Monetization includes ads, sponsorship, branding, or encouraging the user to purchase something.
On the whole, easily monetized modules are less liked and more disliked than ones that are not, a notable exception being Birthdays. This might lead to an interesting dilemma: the home page would probably be more popular/useful if modules are customizable like MyLJ was. (Based on the feedback comments, it would also reduce the percentage of people who do not like the layout.) However, if modules can be removed, the home page will lose a lot monetization value--for instance, sponsored communities would be adversely affected if Spotlight (at 38.1% dislike) was allowed to be removed.
For Plus users, the box ad is to the right, under the "Getting Started" module if it is on (it can be turned off here.)
Do you like the visual style of the new logged-in homepage?
Yes70.8%
No29.2%
Which are your favorite modules? Check all that apply:
Birthdays73.3%
Journal Comments66.3%
Friend Updates57.9%
Quicklinks50.4%
LiveJournal News48.8%
Spotlight25.7%
Explore LJ20.5%
Writer's Block19.0%
Inside LiveJournal14.4%
Tips13.6%
Which are your LEAST favorite modules? Check all that apply:
Writer's Block54.9%
Tips40.5%
Spotlight38.1%
Inside LiveJournal31.9%
Explore LJ24.6%
Journal Comments17.7%
Quicklinks15.6%
Friend Updates13.8%
LiveJournal News9.6%
Birthdays9.1%
Which of these MyLJ modules would you like to add, if any?
Popular with your Friends57.1%
Account Status45.7%
Quick Update41.0%
New User Tips11.7%
Check up to three new modules you'd like to see added:
Recently updated friends/communities52.8%
Message Center41.0%
What's popular (games/music/books) around LJ31.8%
Favorite friends/communities31.7%
Friends' reading list30.9%
Friends' music list30.8%
Recent friends' photos27.4%
Friends' movies list18.8%
Summary of monetization of bolded entries
Birthdays: Gift link by each entry encourages the purchase of virtual gifts.
LiveJournal News: Not directly, but news and lj_maintenance contain ads if clicked through.
Spotlight: Sponsored community promotions.
Writer's Block: Vox has had sponsored QoTD's by Nissan and the movie Georgia Rule. Sometimes the sponsorship goes as far to affect the content of the questions asked (like so). So LJ's version is also easily monetized in this manner.
Inside LiveJournal: Most of the boxes are branded (Amp'd Mobile), sponsored (Havaianas themes), or otherwise encouraging money making aspects (get a paid account, Peanut Lab surveys).
Tips: About 66% of the tips possibly shown to Basic users involve ads, sponsorship, or getting a paid account. New User Tips could be geared the same way.
Account Status: Could be easily made to prompt lower user levels to upgrade.
What's popular (games/music/books) around LJ, Friends' reading list, Friends' music list, Friends' movies list: Can link to Amazon affiliate account, like books and music do on Vox.