[consulting] Drupal.org advertising proposals requested

[Bill Fitzgerald]

-1 for paid advertisements appearing on Drupal.org --

+1 for a series of donor pages of organizations who pay to support the 
infrastructure/Association, with links to web sites of the 
companies/individuals donating --

 From Kieran's email, it's hard to tell where exactly the ads might 
appear on the site, but any mixing of ads with content (specifically if 
it's context-related, for example having ads for hosting companies next 
to handbook pages on how to build a hosting environment) could blur the 
lines between content and ads, particularly in a multinational community 
where English isn't always the first language

As soon as there are "responsible hosting and consulting practices," 
which, as Kieran has said, are yet to be determined, it's pretty 
difficult to distinguish between companies who meet these standards (and 
there will need to be a screening process for these standards to mean 
anything) and companies who are Association Approved.

I'm all for getting more money into the Association to defray expenses 
and support growth. The stronger the community is, the greater the 
potential for companies working directly with Drupal. Presenting ads 
alongside content is not the way to go. Donor pages provide a good 
middle ground -- recognition for organizations who put money into d.o 
and the Association, without diluting the quality of the content and the 
user experience.

And yes, I'm ready to hear many people saying that ads can be ignored, 
that they're everywhere so we don't even notice them, etc. I still hold 
that screen real estate is valuable, and that people looking for content 
should be able to focus on content and not screening out unwanted visual 
noise.

Cheers,

Bill

Kieran Lal wrote:
> In 2006,  Drupal.org <http://Drupal.org> traffic increased 250%.  In 
> order to prepare for future growth of Drupal.org <http://Drupal.org> 
> and the needs of the Drupal community the Drupal Association is 
> looking into starting a paid advertising program.  We believe that 
> paid advertising that is relevant to the needs of Drupal 
> administrators, Drupal users, and the Drupal community can be placed 
> in relevant sections of Drupal.org <http://Drupal.org> and help the 
> Drupal community greatly by funding improvements and infrastructure 
> for Drupal.org <http://Drupal.org> websites.
>
> If you represent a company interested in participating please get in 
> touch via this email.  We are looking for proposals from:
>
> * Hosting companies that provide reliable, secure hosting of Drupal 
> web sites.
> * Web development and consulting companies and practioners which 
> provide contributions back to the Drupal community.
>
> Advertisements on Drupal.org <http://Drupal.org> web sites will be 
> marked as paid advertisements and must meet responsible hosting and 
> consulting practices which are to be determined.  The Drupal 
> Association will not explicitly endorse any advertisers.
>
> Funds raised from advertising will go to the Drupal association and 
> fund infrastructure, and support improvements in Drupal.org 
> <http://Drupal.org> to meet the needs of the Drupal community.  The 
> Drupal association will also offer paid memberships to the Drupal 
> association, for supporters that do not wish to advertise but still 
> wish to support the Drupal project. 
>
> Thank-you,
> Kieran Lal
> Drupal Association fund raising board member
>
>
> -- 
> To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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>
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-- 
Bill Fitzgerald
http://www.funnymonkey.com
Tools for Teachers
503.897.7160