VisorCentral.com - Is visorcentral going under?

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=5)
-- Is visorcentral going under? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=22935)

Posted by homer on 04-23-2002 04:26 AM:

Is visorcentral going under?

Why the pop-up ads? Is VC that desperate for revenue? I hope not...

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Posted by ToolkiT on 04-23-2002 04:56 AM:

Re: Is visorcentral going under?

quote:
Originally posted by homer
Why the pop-up ads? Is VC that desperate for revenue? I hope not...

Are you sure VC is creating the Pop-ups?
Lately I had so many popups, even when the page was 'about :blank' that I installed a popup killer...

Also check out adaware, a program that lets you scan your system on adware/spyware....

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Posted by Thunderbird291 on 04-23-2002 01:37 PM:

It's almost always VC. Whenever I load the main page, I usually get a pop up that's from the same company as the banner in the top right (usually a bank ad, too).

Posted by dick-richardson on 04-23-2002 01:58 PM:

It's definitely VC. My homepage is about:blank and VC is usually the first stop I make - and there's popups.

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Posted by Toby on 04-23-2002 02:13 PM:

Re: Re: Is visorcentral going under?

quote:
Originally posted by ToolkiT
Are you sure VC is creating the Pop-ups? [...]

Yes, because everytime I have a popup while browsing VC, there is always a mini-version of it in a banner ad on the VC page. The most notable is the "pow wow" webhosting ad. There's another one, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

Posted by marcus on 04-23-2002 02:18 PM:

It is the 3rd party ad agency that hosts those banners that have started with pop-ups. They didn't inform us of this change, and I will see if we can disable the banners that cause the pop-ups.

Is VC going under in general?

Well, the problem with VC is that it is highly Visor related, and the Visor is having a tough time right now. We will see what Handspring's next PDA will be, but if the rumors are right it will not be a Visor.

TreoCentral will launch shortly, and we are going to put a lot of effort towards that site. VC will still be around and carry Visor/Handspring news, but as you have noticed there isn't much going on recently.

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Posted by na2rboy on 04-23-2002 02:19 PM:

Re: Is visorcentral going under?

quote:
Originally posted by homer
Why the pop-up ads? Is VC that desperate for revenue? I hope not...

Where else can they get the money to keep the site up?

Posted by homer on 04-23-2002 02:28 PM:

quote:
Where else can they get the money to keep the site up?

True. But things like pop-up advertising is often a way to loose money, rather than make money. Initially, they may pay a bit more, but shortly after, people stop using the site, and then ad revenue drops dramatically. It's a catch 22 I suppose.

Of course, the KEY is to diversify. Has VisorCentral considered going all out PDACentral or something like that? There seems to be a good, solid core of users on this site that have slowly migrated away as they have gotten into other PDAs. Granted, part of the appeal of this site was it's narrow focus...

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Posted by septimus on 04-23-2002 04:04 PM:

I think diversification [sic, but what the hell] is probably the answer, but the difficulty is differentiation. PDABuzz is also an all-pda discussion-based site. PalmInfoCenter focuses on the PalmOS. There's Sony discussion zones, but no site. But, well, *shudder*.

The things that make VC stand out are the discussion boards, the audio/video content, and the well-thought reviews. I suppose it's like the difference between a daily paper and a monthly magazine. PIC has got the instant info update (usurping PalmStation), but VC is where I go for discussions, etc.

..another problem with changing focus is, frankly, that it might increase the size to the point where new users would be scared away. Part of hte charm of VC is that it is relatively small. Have you tried doing a daily "View New Posts" at PDABuzz, it's overwhelming. Maybe it's just that BC has a more welcoming color theme, but I get the feeling that it is more inviting to newbies.

...it's a thorny issue. Every suggestion I want to put here I type out and delete. The handspring focus keeps things in proportion, but HS itself is a little wacky right now. heck, here's one: PalmSalon.com--there's news and info, but the primary focus is the discussion of the people in the salon. It's comfortable, nonthreatening, yet intelligent and informative. Apologies to David Talbot.

...whatever happens, I think that VC may need to find a way to step up the article count per week--but I can't for the life of me find the time to write or have a good idea for a good topic (or heck, I'd be writing them!). I'm betting that the editors here face the exact same issue: more content, but what? How to diversify without losing focus? How to get more eyeballs without getting too many trolls?

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Posted by recordond on 04-23-2002 05:19 PM:

I've found myself visiting less frequently because of the pop up ads.

Posted by Toby on 04-23-2002 06:29 PM:

There's an ad for a product called 'Snag-It' which is also a 'pop-up offender'.

Posted by flips13 on 04-23-2002 06:32 PM:

I have noticed the pop-ups, but since I work on the Internet, I pretty much ignore anything that pops up anyway. I have not found them to be annoying.

The biggest thing that I have noticed is the lack of new content / articles. I know that with Handspring stirring the pot with Donna's statements, things are very uneasy for companies that may be developing products with a Visor audience. I know I would not be developing springboards and the like with the product in limbo.

I have also noticed that the discussion boards have slowed a bit. I am sure this is also affected by the Handspring turmoil. Some of this can probably be attributed to the strong position of Sony and the tapping of Handsprings customers.

I think septimus (we know who you are ) sums it up pretty good, PIC for daily PalmOS news, VC for Handpring specific news and the discussion boards/community.

Stepping up the article count would help. Marcus, what are the detials of writing an article / review? I have purchased a case and Springboard that reviews have not been published, I might be interested.

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Posted by Toby on 04-23-2002 06:52 PM:

Hmm...I wonder if the ads are also what's been throwing off the page width lately as well. It may be coincidence, but I almost never had a problem with the page width formatting properly before.

Posted by miradu on 04-23-2002 08:37 PM:

The pop-up[s as said by marcus are caused by the ads. The screwed up formatting is cuased by a supersize minijam ad (like 700 pixels for some reason)

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Posted by Toby on 04-23-2002 08:56 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by miradu
The pop-up[s as said by marcus are caused by the ads. The screwed up formatting is cuased by a supersize minijam ad (like 700 pixels for some reason)

Yeah, I've noticed that one of the minijam ads is the one that seems to do it. It's 700+ pixels wide.

Posted by AbortRetryFail? on 04-25-2002 01:19 AM:

the future of VC (or TC?) and how to grow a web site

Remember when palmgear.com was pilotgear.com? And you could always click on "new software from last 7 days" and never fall behind?

But I still love palmgear, even though they've grown and changed so much over the years. Are they making a buck now? I don't know, but they seem to be the defacto download site, (for me, any way)...

I agree that the things most valuable about VC are the articles that consistently are on target with what seems relevant.

And the message boards are a great clearing house for questions of all sorts. And you don't get buried.

Is a treoMB.com site better because it's all treo? Naw, the discussions are not as sharp it seems. They do, however, seem to have a few "inside" ringers over there. That guy 'treo know it all' does seem knowledgeable.... Not that there aren't ringers over here....

So what is the financial situation of VC? Are you looking for vc? Are you profitable? What (who?) pays the bills? Maybe these are all rhetorical questions, but if any feels like answering....

Posted by Techie2000 on 05-25-2002 11:22 PM:

There are pop-ups here? I never noticed. Mozilla has built-in pop-up blocking .

Posted by ernieba1 on 05-27-2002 01:10 AM:

I see pop-up ads only rarely.

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Posted by tantousha on 05-27-2002 04:40 AM:

I don't think I should say this because the Ads companies don't want to hear but I don't even look at them. I just close the window and get on with my life, it's a commercial break that we still have the option of turning it off. If it gives Visorcentral some much needed money than good, I don't mind clicking a few more X buttons so that this site will stay up longer and we can post our news and ask advice.
Alex.

P.S. If Handspring is still the same company they were when they released the original Visor, the Edge, the Prism and the Pro than I think that they have a new visor in the works but we won't see it until Palm OS 5 gets in full swing. I am envisioning it to be all metallic, have a springboard slot, have bluetooth, and a 206 or 400MHz ARM processor, something I think Handspring should truly be proud of. I don't think the problem is with Handspring, I think it is with that fact that no one realizes there won't really be any new Palms or Clies or Visors until Palm OS 5 is out and about. I actually think it was a mistake for Sony to release the NR70 when they did...but that's my opinion.

Posted by K. Cannon on 05-28-2002 03:43 PM:

The page width issues are driving me ape-y

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