These ads really bother me!

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MallyJack_Secrets
by MallyJack_Secrets
31-Oct-2007
 

Part of the "NEW AND IMPROVED" Iranian.com appears to be a noticeable increase in the bombardment of awful ads. I haven't been hit by this much shit since the dotcom boom when I tried to buy bananas from webvan.com! Flashing everything from online baghalis, and backgammon, to a date with an Iranian "Angel" (yeah right!), to the unending line up of mediocre Iranian music! Click Here! Click There! Click This! Click Now! Click! Click! Baba Kardi Maro Click Digeh! Since I have yet to click on a single one of these ads, no doubt the new advertising department of Iranian.com is even harder at work, trying to sell even more of them! Increasingly encroaching on the priceless hallowed ground of this site, with an approach to commercialism that makes the real estate market crash look amusing. The motto of the sales department is apparently "Adspace is Sacred".

It is no SECRET that Jahanshah Javid, the editor of this publication faced a decade + of financial losses and virtual bankruptcy, but like ISHMAEL searching for MOBY DICK, never took his hand off the helm in his undying quest for our freedom of speech. But recently out of desperation, he was forced (or coerced) and sold off close to one half of the very soul of it, obviously to someone whose fingerprints we increasingly now see more and more of, on the right hand side of this page. Coincidentally and possibly contractually, almost exactly one half of the page!

Is there no better way to ensure the viability of this site than these cheap, ugly, and annoying ads, by cheap, ugly, and annoying sponsors, whose only loyalty to the site is in it's purported (but never proven) ability to sell us their cheap, ugly, and annoying products?

Instead of the outdated kuwaiti-bazari-banner route what about hitting up the esteemed new crop of so called "community" foundations who doltily drip huge amounts of cash uselessly into equally useless organizations who haven't the faintest idea of what community service is, nevermind wants. Can the esteemed (esteamed?) sales department not put together even a 5 minute presentation that states the obvious and more importantly proven benefits and immeasurable value of Iranian.com? To make them understand what the priority is here?

Just an idea!

We know that the Iranian rich after decades of god (spelled correctly) fortune, realize they are getting close to the next phase, namely being wealthy, and they just aren't getting good write offs like they sued to, I mean, used to. Dorost Mesleh Amrikaie-ha the rich have been busy clamoring to open up "foundations" to pool their money in order to get rid of their growing "cash flow problem". One such organization is PARSA whose swanky Bay Area corporate HQ is literally less than 30 minutes from Iranian.com's apartment! Recently and proudly, PARSA announced with a self congratulatory banquet complete with Hollywood's delete, I mean elite, Goldie Hawn and her pet token ethnic "Sherpa" in tow, the list of deserving groups and individuals to whom they gave the cash to. Proving how amazingly out of touch at least PARSA is with our reality and priority.

Here are the "Winners":

National Iranian-American Council: $50,000 to train community leaders on civic participation! Just the "leaders" (whoever they are) mind you, nothing measurable for you and me! For $50k I think a decent series of articles on the topic of civic activism, put on Iranian.com could reach more people in one month than NIAC ever could. Even if it stopped it's open dialog for "peace" (piece?) with Iran.

Promises Films, Global Moms: $25,000 to make yet another boring film about the plight of women in Iran. This time to send an American to live in Iran for a few months and do some interviews? For $25k I think you could get real Iranian moms in Iran to write the actual truth about women in Iran, certainly a lot better than any American's increasingly tainted and biased viewpoint.

Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, Persepolis Fortification Archive Project: $25,000 to preserve and publicize thousands of clay tablets, fragments and seals of the Achaemenid Persian Empire? While arguably worthwhile, especially if you are an Achaemenid, still clearly this is a luxury, when Iranian.com and free speech is barely breathing. Plus I thought "Oriental" wasn't PC.

Iranian Alliances Across Borders, Camp Ayandeh: $5,000 to conduct a camp, which will bring together some 50 Iranian-American high school brats from around the country for a week of building leadership skills and learning about their Iranian heritage? I suggest, we spend it on internships for the youth by working at Iranian.com for a summer, you will learn more about your people from this site than any camp in Maryland could ever teach you.

Children's Hope International Literacy and Development, Youth Ambassadors of Hope: $5,000 to empower Iranian youth between the ages of 12-25 to create and lead projects and organizations which benefit their communities locally and abroad? Don't do the job Iranian parents are supposed to be doing! You want to create hope? Show it by supporting Iranian.com!

Stanford University, Persian Student Association - Business Alliance: $4,000 to get this, hold events to focus on a specific business or research topics? I have an idea why don't you make the first forum a discussion and research topic about how to save Iranian.com! Let me emphasize this, PARSA actually gave money to Iranian Students (none of whom need it) at Stanford!

SO, what are we up to just on PARSA's 2007 grants alone? My Spongebob calculator says at least $114,000 so far, that Iranian.com ought to have gotten, simply on it's 10 year proven track record of selfless, priceless service.

But there's more! In 2006, PARSA proudly and still ignoring the plight of Iranian.com right in it's own backyard, made its inaugural grant of $210,000 entirely to an irrelevant (Hold on, I'll show you why in a sec) organization by the name of Ashoka: "to support an Ashoka fellow of Iranian origin from anywhere in the world where Ashoka operates." BTW, $210,000 in 2006 is a tad more than the $114,000 so far in 2007.

And here's the why in a sec: Apparently in 2006 (or even 2007) Ashoka did not "operate" in the Bay Area. And even if it did, apparently Ashoka has never heard of Jahanshah Javid. Who is most certainly the most deserving "fellow of Iranian (albeit Abadani) origin", I know.

There are more than 20 foundations like PARSA out there, spilling their obscene wealth down the drain like drunk Saudis on a road trip to Dubai. Some even literally shooting it right into outer space. If each one of them funded just one year of Iranian.com's relatively meager bills, we would all be the richer for it. (And the advertisers can go back to Iranian satellite TV)

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more from MallyJack_Secrets
 
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to WW: What's Wrong Style or Substance?

by 1 (not verified) on

The point being made is in the business model, if you can get a grant for a full year from your neighbor foundation PARSA, not 30 minutes away, why go through the trouble getting commercial ads? And bad ones as you admit! Is it not worth a presentation or application to convince them that their grants can do far more good here, than where MJS showed they are being squandered?


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JJ do what you gotta do! You

by layla (not verified) on

JJ do what you gotta do!
You gotta live, you gotta pay the bills!
One or two of the ads are not that easy on the eye, but who cares !
The commercials on TV(some) are not easy on the mind either! So what!
-no one can tell a TV station not to show 'em!
Make everyone pay to join iranian.com, see how quickly they'll come a beggin for the old format with all the ads and more!
Now I'm just gonna go and click on every add there is for support!
Maybe I'll buy something ... if I need it!
*************
Whisper.... just don't overdo it! OK?


Jahanshah Javid

Deal!

by Jahanshah Javid on

OK Markux, the Radio Farda ad is actually ending soon. Give us your contact info. You can donate would we would lose if we dropped their ad and refuse to renew. Mardesh hasti? :o)

The point is, many people have helped iranian.com stay on its feet in the past. (My mother, mostly!) Sooner or later though, things had to change and advertising and e-commerce should be the primary source of revenue.

I have been against running ads that have to do with the military or secret services. I just have a problem with violence and secrecy! And there won't be any sex ads either (yet!). I'm sure there will be other exceptions too.

But I have no problem if Radio Farda -- or Islamic Republic radio-TV for that matter -- wants to advertise. Running an ad does not mean the site endorses it. If I see an ad on TV for a Republican or Democratic candidate, I will not accuse the TV station of taking sides.


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Easy Solution

by NoAds (not verified) on

I have been using FireFox with AdBlock Plus extension for many months now. Internet sites are add-free for me.
Download it for fee and enjoy.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/186...


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Get rid of the Likes of Radio Farda pay by bad intentions

by Markux (not verified) on

I am willing to pay and contribute and I have in the past and I asked all others to contribute regardless of the amount to eliminate specially the the adds like Radio Farda that we know is paid for by those who never have the real interest of the Iranian people.


Wayne Willis

What's Wrong - Style or Substance?

by Wayne Willis on

As between begging for grants vs. having a business, I agree that true independence comes better from the latter.

 

Online magazines like Iranian.com, as businesses have only two viable choices -- selling ads or charging subscription fees. The failure of salon.com and even the recent retreat by the venerable New York Times from charging for "premium content" confirms the decision to rely on ad support as the income source.

 

But accepting ads doesn't mean accepting bad ads. I agree that "punch the monkey" come-ons and garish, flashing ads are tasteless and needlessly annoying. I would like to see iranian.com have less animated ads that intrude on the eye and yet have RELEVANT ads ... offering things that would be of interest to the community.

 

An ad is an interruption -- but if it tells you about something you find of interest, it is a welcome intrusion.
Happily, the advertisers' interests and the readers' interests converge. If an ad is irrelevant, it won't work because no one will buy anything. So, you'll see that most ads on iranian.com are for offers that might appeal to at least SOME people in our community of readers -- a concert event, a magazine on human rights, a discount telephone service with special rates to Iran, and so on.

 

So I distinguish between style and substance: The substance of the ads is relevant and, frankly, useful to some readers. What's annoying is some of the presentation.

 

I would recommend that you not complain about ads generally, but rather complain about garish, ugly ads. Call or write to the advertiser and demand that they respect us more by providing more tasteful ads. That will help everybody.


Jahanshah Javid

Money

by Jahanshah Javid on

Jesus: "JJ for you leftists, and socialists",
What are you talking about? Just because I am against war & Bush (& Ahmadinejad and Khamenei & Velayat e Faghih), I am against money? I am not against money or making money. And if anyone says they are against making money I challenge them to show me an alternative way to pay the bills. We're all selling something.


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JJ for you leftists, and socialists

by Jesus (not verified) on

Come on man, you do everything for the good of society, you don't need cash, let those imperialist, capitalist, ...ist pigs make all the money. Your gang of people(especially the Iranian type) just want the good of the world. You guys are not concerned about nice cars, and houses, only the poor and deprived whom by the way are being sucked dry by imperialists? Did I mention neo-colonists, and imperialist enough?
Be a good do gooder, do it for free, and beg for donation. That is what you have asked the Iranian people to do, why not yourselves?


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Finacial success takes effort.

by Nassery (not verified) on

A lot of them aren't in English so ..... I don't see them. I guess Americans are more tolerant or immune to advertising.

Why would it bother you if someone you like is finanically successful after a long struggle? I'm happy that Iranian.com is doing well.

As to the donations, I'm sure that you can join that organization and over time join the committee that makes the choices. Then, you can help decide who have the better request. I've been on those committees and it's not easy picking out who gets the funds.

Good luck and I hope you do well too.


Jahanshah Javid

Standing on two feet

by Jahanshah Javid on

Thanks Mally. I understand what you are saying. Nobody likes ads. But it's the only way to make an honest living.

The alternatives you mentioned are for almost entirely for non-profit organizations. iranian.com is a limited liability company and does not qualify for many of these grants designed for 501Cs.

Let's assume PARSA gives $50,000. What about next year and the next? Should we be constantly begging for donations rather than finding ways to stand on our own feet?

I could also apply to the U.S. State Department and tell them how much anti-IRI stuff is published in iranian.com. I'm sure I could turn on the charm and squeeze a couple million dollars out of the Iran Democracy Fund... oh I so wish I could... life would be so much sweeter :o)

I really can't foresee an end to advertising (and e-commerce), unfortunately.