The Diet Pepsi Max sponsored theme has been up and running along with the the sponsored mood theme. The mood theme image is served from stat.livejournal.com, like other mood themes
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Re: Reply from feedbackelfwreckJuly 31 2007, 15:03:00 UTC
Gah. Had reply. Hit wrong button. It got eaten.
If I had design skills (and lots of free time, and html skills), I'd put together a layout & mood theme for Coke's direct competition to Pepsi Max.
Creating layouts & mood themes for nonprofits shouldn't be an issue; LJ's TOS doesn't say you can't support a company, just that you can't "Engage in commercial activities within LiveJournal or on behalf of LiveJournal without prior approval. This includes, but is not limited to... Displaying a banner that is designed to profit you or any other business or organization"
But by definition, no amount of support is designed to "profit" a nonprofit organization. So we can (theoretically, if their TOS is worded in legalese instead of the sloppy language used in the FAQ) promote Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Adbusters, the EFF, and so on. (What's ®™ark? Can't google for symbols.)
Re: Reply from feedbackmadderquoiseJuly 31 2007, 16:39:38 UTC
It's RTMARK without the special characters- you can go to the Wiki page for more info, or just stop by the ®™ark official website. Looking up 'culture jamming', 'anti-advertising', or 'anti-consumerism' will get you a long list of similar organizations.
Showing support for consumer alternatives, like the DIY ethic approach, can also be a form of advertising protest. In the case of the Pepsi Max ads- make a point to post homemade soda recipes (or give links to small, independent soda companies that don't engage in advertising you find obnoxious).
Supporting non-profit organizations via themes/icons/links/posts (and personal mood sets, for those with access) would probably be a step in the right direction.
Re: Reply from feedbackbubble_blunderJuly 28 2007, 02:45:55 UTC
We believe that sponsorship is different from ads
I'm sure that Pepsi would disagree with this rather strongly since I a would be willing to bet that the sponsorship is a line item in their ADVERTISING budget.
Do these people even read what they are cutting and pasting anymore?
LiveJournal and Six Apart: Making hard working employees look like completely illiterate morons since 2005.
"And, before anyone gets a chance to bring it up, we'll be honest: paid users are going to see the (unobtrusive!) sponsorship information on pages about sponsored features. We don't consider it to be advertising (though I'm sure some of you might disagree!). Our sponsored features are partnerships with companies who can make it possible for us to offer cool and nifty things we wouldn't be able to do otherwise, and we think that giving them credit is the right thing to do. It's what makes these partnerships attractive, and lets us be able to give you guys more stuff."
The result: about 3,700 comments on this very first post and what? Six "clarification" posts?
I can't believe they're trying to spin the same thing. Do they think we're stupid?
Re: Reply from feedbackex_uniquewoJuly 28 2007, 03:08:11 UTC
I can't remember honestly if that was the major concern. All I know is that the very next post, i.e. the infamous "Brad intervention", dealt first and foremost with branding and ads and aimed at reassuring paid users that no, they wouldn't see it. The details about sponsored comms, including the fact that they would be clearly identifiable came next. Then you had the post detailing what sponsored comms and could and couldn't do and what terms they had to agree to.
And I remember people being very, very angry about that 'sponsored stuff are not advertising' statement.
Re: Reply from feedbackfoxfirefeyJuly 28 2007, 03:18:17 UTC
I also remember people being very angry that rahaeli had to take the heat for saying those things, and then brad brought in to reassure and be the hero after things blew (and saying things like "basic = no ads", ha). It's a touch job, having to try and spin that.
Re: Reply from feedbackex_uniquewoJuly 28 2007, 03:22:12 UTC
I remember that do and *shrug* I cannot possibly know if she believes what she were saying or not. She gave me the same type of answer at Feedback. It doesn't mean that it comes from her but, at this point, I don't care that much especially since she's leaving (and I think it's a good thing considering the amount of stuff she had/has to deal with - and that includes users such as myself ;))
Re: Reply from feedbackbubble_blunderJuly 28 2007, 03:08:14 UTC
Do they think we're stupid?Actually, that is exactly what they think. Somewhere along the line, LJ/6A has developed a theory that they can do whatever they want to us and we will just put up with it. And they're right, we will. Just look at the track record
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Re: Reply from feedbackbubble_blunderJuly 28 2007, 03:12:52 UTC
Re-reading this I realized that it came out snarkier than I intended. The snark certainly wasn't meant to be aimed at anyone in particular, and if anyone thought it was I apologize. The whole mess has me really frustrated, and when I get frustrated, I snark. Sorry.
Re: Reply from feedbackfoxfirefeyJuly 28 2007, 03:15:58 UTC
Mmm, I prefer snark towards us than staff. Shakespeare got to get paid, and all. And I agree with the comment--people should research alternatives and actually DO something if they find themselves consistently upset.
Re: Reply from feedbackex_uniquewoJuly 28 2007, 03:31:02 UTC
people should research alternatives and actually DO something if they find themselves consistently upset.
I agree and some have but I will still play the devil's advocate and say that it is easier said than done as far as fandom is concerned. You're talking about thousands of users who want the same, friendly communities they have here and, who, despite feeling united, aren't really. That being said, many users have created alternative journals on LJ clones and are more ready to move than ever if things turned sour. Trust and loyalty are pretty much gone now. That was a huge step for fandom. Things seem pretty quiet now but it's more of a wait-and-see situation than a we moved on one. Of course, that's just my humble opinion.
Re: Reply from feedbackex_uniquewoJuly 28 2007, 03:53:19 UTC
Although it is a great idea, fanarchive can't and won't replace what people have here. That's what they've come to love about LJ: the feeling of being connected to people who like the same things you do and to be able to talk to them, instant feedback, fanfic everyday on your friends list (yay!), specialized comms for just about everything; it made everything easy and nice and friendly and abundant. Fanarchive is fandom's answer to FanLib. It hasn't much to do with LJ.
Re: Reply from feedbackfoxfirefeyJuly 28 2007, 04:03:43 UTC
I do beg to differ a little--they have been discussing community aspects as well, as this was also in the heart of the fever pitch Strikethrough. So, while it is definitely inspired by FanLib, it is also influenced by LJ.
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If I had design skills (and lots of free time, and html skills), I'd put together a layout & mood theme for Coke's direct competition to Pepsi Max.
Creating layouts & mood themes for nonprofits shouldn't be an issue; LJ's TOS doesn't say you can't support a company, just that you can't "Engage in commercial activities within LiveJournal or on behalf of LiveJournal without prior approval. This includes, but is not limited to... Displaying a banner that is designed to profit you or any other business or organization"
But by definition, no amount of support is designed to "profit" a nonprofit organization. So we can (theoretically, if their TOS is worded in legalese instead of the sloppy language used in the FAQ) promote Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Adbusters, the EFF, and so on. (What's ®™ark? Can't google for symbols.)
However: Submissions for new public mood themes are not accepted currently, due to the increase in bandwidth caused by new mood themesSo creating mood themes for ( ... )
Reply
Showing support for consumer alternatives, like the DIY ethic approach, can also be a form of advertising protest. In the case of the Pepsi Max ads- make a point to post homemade soda recipes (or give links to small, independent soda companies that don't engage in advertising you find obnoxious).
Supporting non-profit organizations via themes/icons/links/posts (and personal mood sets, for those with access) would probably be a step in the right direction.
Reply
I'm sure that Pepsi would disagree with this rather strongly since I a would be willing to bet that the sponsorship is a line item in their ADVERTISING budget.
Do these people even read what they are cutting and pasting anymore?
LiveJournal and Six Apart: Making hard working employees look like completely illiterate morons since 2005.
Reply
"And, before anyone gets a chance to bring it up, we'll be honest: paid users are going to see the (unobtrusive!) sponsorship information on pages about sponsored features. We don't consider it to be advertising (though I'm sure some of you might disagree!). Our sponsored features are partnerships with companies who can make it possible for us to offer cool and nifty things we wouldn't be able to do otherwise, and we think that giving them credit is the right thing to do. It's what makes these partnerships attractive, and lets us be able to give you guys more stuff."
The result: about 3,700 comments on this very first post and what? Six "clarification" posts?
I can't believe they're trying to spin the same thing. Do they think we're stupid?
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And I remember people being very, very angry about that 'sponsored stuff are not advertising' statement.
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~Lisa
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I agree and some have but I will still play the devil's advocate and say that it is easier said than done as far as fandom is concerned. You're talking about thousands of users who want the same, friendly communities they have here and, who, despite feeling united, aren't really. That being said, many users have created alternative journals on LJ clones and are more ready to move than ever if things turned sour. Trust and loyalty are pretty much gone now. That was a huge step for fandom. Things seem pretty quiet now but it's more of a wait-and-see situation than a we moved on one. Of course, that's just my humble opinion.
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I think a decentralized method is best, of course.
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