[lutherquick]

I'm not talking about www.peakoil.com , this has held on to respect and professionalism.

Anyone notice?

As peak oil becomes more believable and credible. The mid term founders are commercializing like crazy.
Solar cookers, electric meters devices, and so forth. "Right here, $29.95", "Blue light specials".
The professional are beginning to run online junk stores, flee markets and bazaars.

Many of the authors, same thing.
They are starting to sell everything, unrelated to advice or book material.

The only ones left to respect are Kunstler and Simmons. You can visit their sites without pulling out your credit card.
And it's why I buy their books and hand'em out as gifts. Kunstler has to be my favorite, he's a little like George Carlin, I wonder if Carlin ever influenced James.

It just seams to me, separate the web sites, leave peak oil on one site with the publications, and have other sites for selling reusable toilet paper. And I'm not talking about www.peakoil.com , this has held on to respect and professionalism.

[rogerhb]

The difference being you would have some minor celebrity turning off the lights in Oxford Street.

[lutherquick]

rogerhb,

Imagine if reading the "The Long Emergency", every 5th page I get an advertisement or commercial break. I understand these guys need to pay for overhead. But if their material was any good, their books and their speeches would pay for it all and keep the sites clean. Fine, put a page or two in the back of the book, advertise for similar books.

No, I'm sorry, running a server, or bandwidth isn't that expensive. Maintaining the sites, doesn't take much. Great authors don't need garage sales to pay for lights. If I want junk, I go to Ebay. If I want po opinions and news I go to professional sites.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lutherquick', 'I')magine if reading the "The Long Emergency", every 5th page I get an advertisement or commercial break.

[lutherquick]

rogerhb,

You are missing my point...

My complaint is not of general po web sites... it's of authors, that have books to sell, that do speeches... some of them are merchandizing too much....

You are correct, put up the ads, the popups if a site has no material or authors...

Being an author is being in business. A server on the Internet cost $99 for 2000 gig of bandwidth... it's not expensive... running a business means having some 'core'.... If an author spends allot of time writing a book, and if he does it right, it becomes a hit, it does so because he knows his shit and he doesn't need to sell cheap junk...

Selling junk and installing a shopping cart for items that don't focus on your successful book is a sign of desperation, and leads me to think, maybe the material in said book isn't worth anything and that that author is just riding a wave and is better at trend following than of po thought.

[Fergus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lutherquick', 'r')ogerhb,

You are missing my point...

My complaint is not of general po web sites... it's of authors, that have books to sell, that do speeches... some of them are merchandizing too much....

You are correct, put up the ads, the popups if a site has no material or authors...

Being an author is being in business. A server on the Internet cost $99 for 2000 gig of bandwidth... it's not expensive... running a business means having some 'core'.... If an author spends allot of time writing a book, and if he does it right, it becomes a hit, it does so because he knows his shit and he doesn't need to sell cheap junk...

Selling junk and installing a shopping cart for items that don't focus on your successful book is a sign of desperation, and leads me to think, maybe the material in said book isn't worth anything and that that author is just riding a wave and is better at trend following than of po thought.

[SoothSayer]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lutherquick', 'r')ogerhb,
You are missing my point...

My complaint is not of general po web sites... it's of authors, that have books to sell, that do speeches... some of them are merchandizing too much....

You are correct, put up the ads, the popups if a site has no material or authors...

Being an author is being in business. A server on the Internet cost $99 for 2000 gig of bandwidth... it's not expensive... running a business means having some 'core'.... If an author spends allot of time writing a book, and if he does it right, it becomes a hit, it does so because he knows his shit and he doesn't need to sell cheap junk...

Selling junk and installing a shopping cart for items that don't focus on your successful book is a sign of desperation, and leads me to think, maybe the material in said book isn't worth anything and that that author is just riding a wave and is better at trend following than of po thought.

[emailking]

I guess I just don't see what's wrong with people selling products on or through their website.

[lutherquick]

Well, go to Kunstler's site and you can click anywhere and find something of quality to read. Simmons, same thing... Even Global Public Media and Post Carbon manage to "focus"... and keep the ads relative to their themes... peakoil.net is very focused...

I guess my point is NOT easy to understand if shopping carts full junk pay for your server.

As po becomes main stream, a few will try to sell chicken flavored dental floss or lemon scented toilet paper.
Professionals and serious business models will simply not market cheap junk from China.

Long term, you can tell who can't pay the bills with their "core".
I guess if PO is a part time side job, maybe the ads are necessary.
They aren't making 1000's of dollars per month, this is peanuts... and if peanuts is making then squeak by, then maybe they need a job in Burger King.

This is what "unofficial" po site remind me of: www.ripusoff.com

[rogerhb]

The irony is that PO is announcing the end of consumerism and in order to do that, or as a by product, or as a way to make money on the side, people are trying to sell things.

Is that it in a nutshell?

Or are they just too in your face and annoying?

Simple answer is don't visit those sites so they don't get the hit-counts to report to the advertisers.

And now a word from our sponsors.....

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lutherquick', 'W')ell, go to Kunstler's site and you can click anywhere and find something of quality to read. Simmons, same thing... Even Global Public Media and Post Carbon manage to "focus"... and keep the ads relative to their themes... peakoil.net is very focused...

I guess my point is NOT easy to understand if shopping carts full junk pay for your server.

As po becomes main stream, a few will try to sell chicken flavored dental floss or lemon scented toilet paper.
Professionals and serious business models will simply not market cheap junk from China.

Long term, you can tell who can't pay the bills with their "core".
I guess if PO is a part time side job, maybe the ads are necessary.
They aren't making 1000's of dollars per month, this is peanuts... and if peanuts is making then squeak by, then maybe they need a job in Burger King.

This is what "unofficial" po site remind me of: www.ripusoff.com

[Guest]

Quibble about the sites and advertising but Kunstler has 'taken' more of my money than Matt has. Love all thier sites.

[lutherquick]

Matt,

I'm also not talking about your site, however, I can't remember it...

I hope you book sales are going well...
If not, think about grabbing a nice domain or two.

Such as: www.iCantSellMyBookSoiWillsellCheapJunk ... ngCart.com

Regards,

Luther

[strider3700]

Since we're talking about advertising can we get google ad words put on the threads? I'd love to see some of the links it comes up with

[PolestaR]

You make some good points Luther. However I wouldn't worry about how people like Matt and people of his ilk make money. Nearly everyone has to make a living for themselves and if they can make people buy their stuff then so be it.

I mean, you can spot the people who _REALLY_ need the money compared to those that don't. The more advertising, the more in your face it is, the closer they are to being broke. So just remember that when you read something they have said (like Matt the self proclaimed entertainer, not enlightener) and how it might be more in the best interests of the author to say what they said instead of "the truth".

You should really be focusing on the "idiots" who buy their stuff and blaming them for feeding these so called middle men who do little. I have a problem with them, not with Matt and co.