Summer Cleaning - New Changes to Mobility!

[Andres Kello]

Hi Folks,

It's time for some Summer Cleaning at Mobility! I'd like to announce a few changes to our home.

First of all, after more than 2 years, it is time to take Mobility out of the red. With well over 20,000 unique visitors and well over 1 million pageviews a month, I think we're big enough and targeted enough to attract serious sponsorship. I've received 4 unsolicited offers for advertising in the past - including one from AdMob - but I rejected all of them at the time as they were too low. I'm not a big fan of having Ads cluttering a site, so the idea is to have only 1 exclusive Advertiser with a banner ad below the Navigation Bar and a complementary text ad in our mobile version. The Ad would appear on every page of Mobility, so it would receive well over a million impressions. That's got to be worth a pretty penny, particularly considering how targeted the audience is here and the PageRank of Mobility.

Attempting to attract (and maintain!) advertisers changes the game a little, however. It now forces us to keep the forum squeaky clean and professional. So from now on, ALL posts, threads, and discussions of a mature nature are to be made in the Adult Section (http://mobility.mobi/forumdisplay.php?f=37), no exceptions (sorry Pred! ;)). The forum rules (http://mobility.mobi/faq.php?faq=rules#faq_forum) have been amended accordingly. Any thread that contains a post with potentially offensive language or imagery will be immediately moved to the Adult Section by the Mod team, so please be wary of this and do not force other people's threads into the Adult Section by hijacking their thread with mature material or language.

To accommodate for Adult discussions that may not be related to .mobi, I've also created an Adult Lounge where other mature discussions can take place.

In order to keep the rest of the forum completely free of Adult discussions, I have also made the entire Adult Section Private. In order to access it, you must join the new "Adult" Usergroup (http://mobility.mobi/profile.php?do=editusergroups). If you do not join that usergroup, you will not see any Adult posts on Mobility. On the other hand, if you want to see Adult discussions, simply join the "Adult" Usergroup and you will not only be able to see all Adult Posts, but you will also see them automatically under the "New Posts" link (for the first time!). This should have the benefit of actually increasing traffic to the Adult section amongst those users interested in that industry.

In Summary:


Mobility will begin advertising an exclusive banner ad below the Nav bar as soon as an advertiser is found.
As a result, we have a new rule prohibiting any and all mature discussions/language from taking place outside the Adult Section.
An Adult Lounge has been created for mature discussions unrelated to .mobi.
The Adult Section has been made Private.
A new "Adult" Usergroup has been created to grant member's access to the Adult Section.
Adult posts will now appear under the "New Posts" link for members who have joined the "Adult" Usergroup.


Don't forget, folks, we are often times the very face of this extension, and therefore need to project a serious and professional image so that we are taken seriously. That becomes even more so the case when attempting to attract advertisers.

Lastly, once Mobility is in the green with Ad revenue, I will get a custom vBulletin template made to give the forum a complete overhaul with a new, unique, and eye-catching design that lives up to the traffic and brand and matches our logo. I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting tired of the default vBulletin template and Mobility deserves better. ;)

Please post your thoughts and questions here regarding these new changes and, as always, if you have any other feedback, please let us know. :thumbsup:

[coast]

Andres, this is fantastic! I believe you've found an ideal compromise to allow for the forum to make the next step forward. Yes, we are the face of .mobi, and it would be great to be able to send people here who are end users without worrying whether something offensive will derail a business thread.

It's also wonderful to see that you've accommodated people who want to have (obnoxious LOL) fun in the new private section. This looks to be a very workable scenario. Much thanks and rep+.:adore:

[noonoo1]

That sounds perfect Andres, especially the adult section changes.
Its about time this forum started to sustain itself and with all these users and visitors.
I'm sure advertisers would be falling over themselves to advertise on here.

I would love to invest in mobility and be a shareholder but that would be too complicated i'm sure. Imagine the shareholders meeting, chaos, especially Pred. :laugh:

Your doing a great job!:biggrin:

[gogo]

Hi I am fine with this, makes complete sense to me.

a couple of quick points:

what happens to old threads on here, some of which are in grey (blue?) areas?

it would help to clarify - not necessarily right here and now - what is mature or adult, not the obvious slang or body parts but the stuff where people can make unwitting mistakes.

btw I tried to access this site once on an Orange phone and was barred due to "adult" content.

[think]

Sounds great Andres. Looking forward to the evolution :D

[newton]

Kudos Andres, the board is growing and it is time to evolve with ad revenue coming in to swell the coffers which will benefit everyone.

[domainitrix]

Sounds great & thanks for the new changes Andres!

[hawkeye]

Sounds like plan Andres. As this site continues to grow and become more successful, certain adjustments are necessary to 'keeping on'. And a new skin/design, would be a great addition to enhance Mobility's growth and image too. Thanks for all the work you do, and have done, here Andres. http://mobility.mobi/images/icons/icon14.gif

[youmo]

How about some spring cleaning with regard to overall site design/theme?

[pcaero]

GOOD IDEA $$ It will do well...

[Scandiman]

How about some spring cleaning with regard to overall site design/theme?

Andres already mentioned that in the OP....



Lastly, once Mobility is in the green with Ad revenue, I will get a custom vBulletin template made to give the forum a complete overhaul with a new, unique, and eye-catching design that lives up to the traffic and brand and matches our logo. I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting tired of the default vBulletin template and Mobility deserves better. ;)

[blitzpotz]

Great news! When will ovi.mobi or bmw.mobi be advertised?! Nice progress and good to know that the community is in good hands, Andres.

[Gerry]

Yeah, baby!

Profit sharing!

That's what I'm talking about!

[tophatter]

Good Luck Andres !! That's what it's all about :$)

[ChineseDomain]

good for all of us.

[Work In Progress]

As usual, sounds like a well thought out plan. May you (and us, in turn) prosper from this newer, professional approach.

Rep+

[Pred]

sounds a great plan
i will do my upmost to fully respect this
if i forget or fall off wagon lol, feel free to edit anything or *****slap me :coo2l:

onwards and upwards guys

[Andres Kello]

Thanks for the feedback, folks!


what happens to old threads on here, some of which are in grey (blue?) areas?It is practically impossible to go through all the tens of thousands of threads on Mobility looking for mature content, so - realistically - old threads with mature content will be moved to the Adult Section only if they pop up again under "New Posts" (e.g. by someone making a new post in the offending thread and therefore reviving it). Members can also obviously feel free to report old posts that are mature and/or offensive and we'll take care of it. We'll also use good judgement and if an important old thread contains only a few offending posts, we'll just clean up those posts without moving the entire thread.


it would help to clarify - not necessarily right here and now - what is mature or adult, not the obvious slang or body parts but the stuff where people can make unwitting mistakes.This is admittedly difficult do define as what may be mature/offensive for one person may not be the case for another. At the end of the day, this is a professional forum, so a general rule of thumb would be not to post anything in the non-Adult sections that you wouldn't post on your company's intranet.


btw I tried to access this site once on an Orange phone and was barred due to "adult" content.This is something we're going to be monitoring closely. (FYI, there is more info about the Orange UK filter here (http://www1.orange.co.uk/safety/mobile/152/155.html) and here (http://www.imcb.org.uk/).)

Thanks for the questions, gogo. Folks, feel free to ask anything else or provide additoinal feedback regarding the new changes.

[Scandiman]

sounds a great plan
i will do my upmost to fully respect this
if i forget or fall off wagon lol, feel free to edit anything or *****slap me :coo2l:

onwards and upwards guys

The asterisk **** edit is always an option for mods. We'll keep our mops handy to keep things clean :)

[Andres Kello]

There are 2 new improvements to Mobility (what a Summer!):

1) I've added a new plug-in that adds an RSS feed to every forum on the Mobility homepage (http://mobility.mobi) in case people are only interested in subscribing to a particular forum or section (e.g. Marketplace).

and...

2) I've added a new "Sedo Auction" Usergroup (http://mobility.mobi/profile.php?do=editusergroups) for members who wish to view the Sedo Auction's under "New Posts" (in case you don't want to miss any last-minute auctions!). If you recall, after we added the Sedo Auction forum, people complained that it was flooding the "New Posts", so we removed it from the New Posts link. Now, those who want to see it will have the option of adding it to their New Posts by simply joining the Usergroup. Simple!


Remember, folks, if you ever have any suggestions on how we can improve, just let us know!

[newdomainer]

Andres,
You're a ******* star, the improvements should get rid of all the foul mouthed ***** that pollute the site with their ******* filth. ******* the lot of them!

But how will the P*** cope? lol

Seriously though, great moves.... just make sure that whatever bells & whistles the site gets, that it works just as well as it has for the past 2 years... never forget the wise saying; 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' ;-)

[Andres Kello]

Hi folks, as you've probably already seen, I've put up a temporary placeholder Ad on Mobility that links to this post (http://mobility.mobi/showthread.php?t=37895).

It should give you an idea of what a real Ad at the top of Mobility will look like.

I'm currently in talks with different companies regarding Advertising here while still reaching out to more, and as soon as I close a deal, the Advertiser's ad will replace the placeholder.

Feel free to comment on the changes here in this thread and provide any feedback (e.g. regarding the location of the Ad).

[Scandiman]

Feel free to comment on the changes here in this thread and provide any feedback (e.g. regarding the location of the Ad).

If I had the choice I would prefer the ad to be under the existing mobility banner so that the ad doesn't separate the header with menu and breadcrumbs from the site content. That's just my preference, I'd be open to however the community overall would like to see it placed.

[Andres Kello]

If I had the choice I would prefer the ad to be under the existing mobility banner so that the ad doesn't separate the header with menu and breadcrumbs from the site content. That's just my preference, I'd be open to however the community overall would like to see it placed.Great feedback, Scandi, thanks.

How do others feel about Scandi's suggestion? We can try out the banner in each location for a couple of days to compare.

Let us know what you prefer or if you have any other suggestions.

[mjnels]

maybe below the chatbox? i think it would catch a lot more eyes there.

dunno about directly below the Mobility banner.. it would just kinda look like 2 banners then. the way our Mobility logo is setup it already is a banner itself.. maybe it is time for a re-design of the Mobility logo to be less of a "banner look" (checkout dnforum or namepros for reference)

[kiwi]

That is a really big ad. For any new people, it could lead to uncertainty as to what site they are on.

Great for the advertiser though - absolutely great to have that kind of space.

[Andres Kello]

Here's a quick update on the Ad situation.

I've been approached by Jemm-media.co.uk (http://www.jemm-media.co.uk) to advertise on Mobility.

Some of their current brands include Vodafone, Orange, o2, Virgin and Direct Line, which seem relevant to Mobility. I am going to be running a one-month trial with them to see how we go.

I've just added their banner tags on the PC version, although all I'm seeing are Google Ads. Is anyone else? I've asked them about this and I'm waiting to hear back as I'm not too keen on displaying cumbersome Google Ads.

As always, please give me your feedback so we can improve.

[Scandiman]

Here's a quick update on the Ad situation.

I've been approached by Jemm-media.co.uk (http://www.jemm-media.co.uk) to advertise on Mobility.

Some of their current brands include Vodafone, Orange, o2, Virgin and Direct Line, which seem relevant to Mobility. I am going to be running a one-month trial with them to see how we go.

I've just added their banner tags on the PC version, although all I'm seeing are Google Ads. Is anyone else? I've asked them about this and I'm waiting to hear back as I'm not too keen on displaying cumbersome Google Ads.

As always, please give me your feedback so we can improve. Google ads here as well..the three ads for Medical Mobility Scooters are highly relevant ;)

[pilot]

Saw the google text ads then a "Progressive Insurance" banner ad.

[seanboy]

I suggest a section for mobile devices (discussion, reviews, etc.). After all, this is a forum about the mobile web. I think it only makes sense that we have a dedicated section for mobile devices.

[Andres Kello]

I've heard back from Jemm Media and here's what they said:


While our ad server determines your regional traffic it will connect it to relevant campaigns we have in that area, it will also attach more relevant campaigns over time. I would keep the ads running for now and they will improve.I'm still seeing mostly Google Text Ads with the occasional banner ad, but I'll give it a month and see how we go. As this company is based in the UK, our UK users should be seeing more banner ads at the moment (please confirm).


I suggest a section for mobile devices (discussion, reviews, etc.). After all, this is a forum about the mobile web. I think it only makes sense that we have a dedicated section for mobile devices.We will be adding new sections to Mobility and re-organizing the forum in the coming months as we expand beyond .mobi. We'll be requesting feedback and suggestions as well so that we get it "right". A section for Mobile Devices as well as Mobile App Development will certainly be added during this "upgrade".

[Scandiman]

I'm still seeing mostly Google Text Ads with the occasional banner ad, but I'll give it a month and see how we go. As this company is based in the UK, our UK users should be seeing more banner ads at the moment (please confirm).

Now getting a banner for Chrysler deals in California, highly relevant since I'm car shopping for Mrs. Scandi :laugh:

[Andres Kello]

Now getting a banner for Chrysler deals in California, highly relevant since I'm car shopping for Mrs. Scandi :laugh::biggrin: That's definitely better than Google Text Ads but I hope we get more mobile-relevant banner ads as time goes on.


Also, folks, since Jemm Media does not offer Mobile Ads and AdMob requires PHP edits which I don't want to do with the vBulletin code, I've added an ad for my own site on the Mobile version of Mobility while the Jemm Media Campaign runs (I think that's better than the "Advertise Here" link I had before). This isn't the idea, as I'd ideally like to give an Advertiser exclusivity on both the PC version and Mobile version of Mobility, but this simply isn't an option for Jemm Media, particularly since they are an advertising aggregator and not an end-user themselves.

[Dave]

I'm getting mostly banner ads here in the Seattle region...with the occasional mobility scooter text ads... :laugh:

[blitzpotz]

I'm getting mostly banner ads here in the Seattle region...with the occasional mobility scooter text ads... :laugh:The same here on my PC in Munich, Germany. Three Google banner ads in English language. Content is changing after renewing the site: HelioScooters .com, DatingDisabled .net (my wife? :eek2:), BulkSMS .com, DriverPlex .com, MobilityPass .com ...

[coast]

The title tag of "mobility" is probably pulling up the mobile wheelchair ads. I'm not sure if you want to mess with the title tags of the forum, though - I've heard google can penalize a site for that.

[gogo]

As this company is based in the UK, our UK users should be seeing more banner ads at the moment (please confirm).


confirmed, just saw a banner ad from Argos (big UK national retailer and online catalogue sales) for pet insurance, which took me to their dedicated site for their pet insurance in the UK.

[blitzpotz]

Right now there is one really beautiful ad in German language by travian .de. Was curious and clicked the link - a browser game I did not know yet.

Mobility.mobi will be my prefered place to watch advertisements. :biggrin:

[Accent]

I "won" a $1000 shopping spree in the tiny town 15 miles down the road.

Did not click.

[Scandiman]

I "won" a $1000 shopping spree in the tiny town 15 miles down the road.

Did not click.

:laugh:

[coast]

Yeah, I "won" a school shopping spree in San Diego - this must be reading the chatbox too since I said I was driving Little Coast to school. These things are creepy.

Edit: Now I have seen two more pages of mobility scooter ads.

[Andres Kello]

If these type of low-quality ads continue, I will not complete the one-month trial with this advertiser. I don't want Mobility to be associated with those kinds of Ads. When they approached me, they told me that their inventory consisted of Mobile companies and I'm not seeing it yet. I'm not interested in Google Ads either.

This has been escalated to their Managing Director, so I'll be hearing back from them tomorrow and will report back.

Thanks for your feedback as always, folks.

[Scandiman]

If these type of low-quality ads continue, I will not complete the one-month trial with this advertiser. I don't want Mobility to be associated with those kinds of Ads. When they approached me, they told me that their inventory consisted of Mobile companies and I'm not seeing it yet. I'm not interested in Google Ads either.

This has been escalated to their Managing Director, so I'll be hearing back from them tomorrow and will report back.

Thanks for your feedback as always, folks.

Since I didn't buy the Chrysler the scooters are back:embarassed:

It's inevitably difficult to get relevant advertising like this, is there an affiliate program or programs you'd be interested in promoting instead? At least that way you'd be in control of the content.

[Accent]

Better than Rick Lacota turning the whole website pink, anyway.




Hey, a scooter would be cool
..... If you don't like how I drive - stay off the sidewalk!
WOO HOOO!

[Scandiman]

Better than Rick Lacota turning the whole website pink, anyway.

LOL, yea that was painful on the eyes and didn't result in a click from me.

[capt. ahab]

Was I the only one to be greeted by a little girl challenging me to an I.Q. test ??

[gogo]

Today I am seeing mainly ads for 02 - just what you want - and the only other I saw was one for morethan.com, a general insurances company afaik (is that UK only?)

[vikrantjain22]

Taiwan RFID Convention Ads
Unlimited Reseller Hosting Ad
Google Ads
Want to impress a Woman Ad (that was the last one on the Menu) :)

[Pred]

ancestry.co.uk when im logged out

and eastmidlandstrains.co.uk when logged in, every time! :eek2:
talk about geo targetting, very relevant. i may need to click one soon, hope you dont mind andres :biggrin:

[Andres Kello]

I'm no longer seeing Google Ads and most of the ads I'm seeing are for mobile-related stuff, so it seems that they've fixed the problem for the most part:

http://content.yieldmanager.edgesuite.net/atoms/f1/62/fe/d7/f162fed730983060ebc43465deb0975c.jpg

http://content.yieldmanager.edgesuite.net/atoms/72/bf/bc/07/72bfbc0731146d5a7a88702f25dcc0c8.gif

http://content.yieldmanager.edgesuite.net/atoms/95/c3/65/44/95c36544e4d0bc49599bdf3c51e0dffb.gif


Not exactly high-quality stuff but at least they're mobile-related.


Is anyone still seeing Google Ads?
Is anyone still seeing mostly non-Mobile ads?

[blitzpotz]

It´s ok for me. ONE ad in german language.

http://content.yieldmanager.edgesuite.net/atoms/56/42/2f/bb/56422fbb8800e9ed9d289a21ccb4c70d.gif

[Scandiman]

Is anyone still seeing Google Ads?
Is anyone still seeing mostly non-Mobile ads?

approx breakdown for me:
-80% google ads for mobility scooters
-20% banners including Chrysler, Progressive auto insurance, and University of San Francisco
-0% related to anything mobile phone or mobile web

[Tom]

Right now I see 3 Google ads for scooters.

Maybe if I buy a scooter, it'll make the ads go away?

[Scandiman]

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: Oh the irony of our site banner, the thread title and the ad banner.

http://sac.mobi/images/mobility%20dottel%20ad.jpg

[coast]

Ha! I am seeing a giant banner for .tel registrations. Oh, the irony... Oh wait, that was Scandiman's thread haha.

Ok, I got something for a browser game, and then that dumb one that I won a scholarship in San Diego (looks worse than a google ad.) This is the one I see most of the time:

http://mobienthusiast.mobi/justforfun/Picture-80.png

I saw this one one time, it's more targeted and it's for a hospital review site:

http://mobienthusiast.mobi/justforfun/Picture-79.png

[Dave]

I just realized something weird:

Using the Chrome browser (which is what I always use now), the drop-down menus up top show up behind the ad! So for example, I can't see the search box to type anything in. Anyone else seeing this in other browsers?

[vikrantjain22]

I just realized something weird:

Using the Chrome browser (which is what I always use now), the drop-down menus up top show up behind the ad! So for example, I can't see the search box to type anything in. Anyone else seeing this in other browsers?

I also use Chrome, the drop down menu works fine for me.

[Andres Kello]

Folks, just a quick update to let you know that I've taken down the Ads from Jemm Media as they were simply not offering the quality nor the relevance I was looking for.

Thanks for your feedback!

[Scandiman]

Folks, just a quick update to let you know that I've taken down the Ads from Jemm Media as they were simply not offering the quality nor the relevance I was looking for.

Thanks for your feedback!

Understandable. Site is loading faster now as well.