Geir Freysson - The Internet Industrialist » Uncategorized

Banner art from IndieClick

geir — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:03:05 +0000

One of our products at Transmit is Smelltu (an english version is on its way), a web-app that measures banner pageviews, clicks and ROI. According to Doubleclick, the average clickthrough rate (CTR) on their network is ca. 0.1%. Our findings are similar although the CTR we measure can vary greatly according to size and placement. Furthermore, banners with high CTRs don’t always offer the highest return on investment. Sometimes a banner with a low CTR can bring in more clicks for less cash.

Anyway, let’s say I’m the average use and my personal CTR is around 0.1%, i.e. I click on one out of every 1,000 banners I’m exposed to. I clicked on this one from IndieClick:

It’s a beautiful banner with an interesting message. It’s not animated and still got my click. So, if you’re from IndieClick and you’re reading this, what kind of clickthrough rate is this banner of yours getting?

Déjà vu – a quote on a financial crisis

geir — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:19:01 +0000

A quote on a financial crisis (via 37signals):

The financial crisis in America is really a moral crisis, caused by the series of proofs which the American public has received that the leading financiers who control banks, trust companies and industrial corporations are often imprudent, and not seldom dishonest. They have mismanaged trust funds and used them freely for speculative purposes. Hence the alarm of depositors, and a general collapse of credit.

—The Economist, 1908

Tim O’Reilly on the global economy as a Ponzi scheme

geir — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:24:26 +0000

Tim O’Reilly on the global economy as a Ponzi scheme:

Since Bernie Madoff has put Ponzi schemes back onto the front pages, it’s worth considering whether we are all complicit in the biggest Ponzi scheme of them all, the idea that the global economy can grow indefinitely.

I recommend the article. It’s not as crazy as it might have sounded a few months ago.

David Heinemeier Hansson, Darth Vader and Merb

geir — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:09:49 +0000

The Rails and Merb web frameworks merged recently and following the announcement, DHH wrote an interesting blog post on his blog, Loud Thinking.

You can’t and shouldn’t try to make everyone love you. The best you can do is make sure that they’re hating you for the right reasons.

Another good quote on the Rails/Merb merger surfaced on Hacker News:

Rails: Merb, _I_ am your father.
Merb: Nooooooooooo!