Skimlinks on Talk

It's ridiculous. If you go to the eBay message board, every time that website is mentioned it converts to a live link.

I think we all know what that website does, or we wouldn't be posting on that particular board!

we dont know which words do and dont generate a link, presumably they are starting off on a small scale, and will then ramp it up as we get used to it.
Of course it's just to make life easier for those who contribute to the forum
'This makes it easier for you to have a look at products that other MNers happen to mention on the boards'
this is bullshit....totally disingenuous, the purpose is to make a profit from peoples posts on here

Sorry just testing.

That's a weird one. :o

car door

I wonder if MN charge for webchats, particularly where the webchatter has a product to push, e.g. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. This should be a fairly lucrative form of advertising - MN does have a huge userbase and that is its major selling point as you say, peaceout.

I often link users to moneysavingexpert.com and fool.co.uk, both of which have very lively talkboards but as an add-on to the information part of the website, not the main content. Pistonheads similarly has a mix of editorial, forum and classified ads.

Perhaps it would be helpful to understand how close to the margins MN is. Its accounts are available on Companies House and the company made £2m in profit last year - as opposed to £3 million plus for MSE (although I have only glanced at the account filings and MSE appear not to have paid any tax, I'm sure I've misunderstood that!)

From that crude comparison, MN is lagging behind. MSE has lots of (very clearly indicated) affiliate links in its editorial content, I'm sure MN could generate more revenue that way, instead of embedding affiliate links in our content.

So some words make a link and others don't? I take it Nestlé doesn't? Because that would be awkward. I'm not a fan of skimlinks.

when I point that out Tribpot the response is often 'but we're just on here messing about, we're not working
and that is true, but all the socialising has created a very valuable resource, a community that people flock to for all sorts of things, to vent, have a laugh, a row, for support and handholding.

Obviously the managment recognise the value of the community but when they try to extract a profit it just leaves a bad taste for me.
It begins to feel like all the other labours of love that women do for free which are actually very valuable but never properly acknowledged.

There is often a feeling that we should be grateful to mnhq for letting us use the site, that we shouldnt complain because if not for the ads we would have to pay for the service that MN provides.
MN is a facilitator extracting money from the content generated by the members

I'm waiting for the "we see that you are using ad blocker, please disable it"

MN could force (or at least repeatedly prompt) for ad blockers to whitelist the site, the way an increasing number of newspaper sites do. And as noted above, Ad Blockers don't stop your own content being monetised, you just can't see when it does.

That said, I agree with peaceout. Whenever this type of change happens, we come up against the fact that the vast majority of the website's content is user generated. We are both the product and a consumer.

I don't understand why Mumsnet doesn't keep it free with ads for those that want it that way, and a paid for version without ads for those who hate the ads and are happy to pay.

Yes, that might work if enough people paid rather than just used ad blockers to get it for free and without ads.

Maybe we could keep emojis for all, but you get a Green & Black emoji if you pay a little and Artisan du Chocolat if you pay a lot?

this is not the same as a site which uses ads to pay the journalists and writers who create the content.
Or a podcast where you can pay to get extra or ad free content.
We are the writers and we create the network and the content

A 'freemium' model in which you pay to remove ads is very common in the app marketplace. It would give MN users a better choice about how to support the platform.

if MN charged a fee it would collapse, the value of the network comes from the size of the network, very few people would pay, the size would drop and the network would be worth nothing.

I appreciate the MN has staff who need to be paid for the work they do but almost all of the value of the site is created by the effort/work/contributions of the people who post on it.
I can put up with a certain amount of ads on the site but when my writing is turned into an advert to make money for the site, and I dont even get a cut, well thats taking the piss!

I agree!

Yes, I am spending time here. It is fun. It is free. I don't mind a pink link to keep it free, I bet it would be less fun if it wasn't free, a fair few posters might disappear.

I don't understand why Mumsnet doesn't keep it free with ads for those that want it that way, and a paid for version without ads for those who hate the ads and are happy to pay.

if you post content on youtube you can opt to monetise your content, ads are inserted into your video and the revenue is a split 45/55....Google keeps 45 percent you get 55 percent.

On mumsnet when you post content adverts are now inserted without the permission of the person who posted the content and all the revenue goes to mumsnet.

*RedAndYellowStripe

And the articles in the DM, the Sun etc... straight from the threads here, even the ones in Relationships (a new low).

MNHQ has no control over posts being used by the media like this - and they certainly don't make money out of it!

I've been away for a week & just come back on & noticed the word new links things.

And I think they are shit.

That is all.

But that's a CHOICE for the poster to do that.
Here there is no choice, not form the poster and not from MN.
Would you really choose to post a link and promote a site with disabilist attitude or inciting to racial hatred?

Also note that a lot of people are refusing to click on DM links too. And say so. Do you think those people will appreciate to see more of those links to the DM etc...?? Or will it put them off?

But people are generating clicks voluntarily, there must be dozens of Daily Wail links every day. Often in an OP, so in order to take part people have to click the link. This does not create revenue for MN, but for DM.

The people who do the most work on the boards, the popular witty friendly posters who are liked by everyone, their content will be especially valuable to the owners because others will favour the links generated by their writing

I bet it would be less fun if it wasn't free

If members had to pay it would be dead in the water and the owners know that, they wouldn't even suggest it

You feel as if you are getting a free service, cows herded into a miking shed feel as if they are getting free shelter, they are being milked they are the product

Also think about it.

You are posting about feminism and are ranting about xx website that is sooo bad. Except that you now end up with a link to said website that you know is abhorrent. Is that right? Do you want to get money from mentioning (and therefore advertising) a misogynist website? Because that's what YOU will be doing (not MN who isn't writing the post)

Then see what a PP has mentioned. One word that has been taken by that system as another's meaning and then ... yep you have a link to something no one has a clue about, the poster never really wanted to mention but has been promoted nevertherless.

Or what about those sites that will get advertised by MN, thanks to the links, that really are right at the opposite of MN ethos. Websites that maybe will promote misogyny or racial hatred or are just plainly disability. Does MN have any control at all in whether those sites will also appear with the little pink links? I doubt it TBH.
The risk is to end up in the same situation than those advertisers such as the Co-Op, some telecoms companies etc... who use Google Ads and end up with adverts in websites that are less than nice (these companies also end up with big pressure on them and threats of boycotts so that they stop advertising on those websites btw).
How will MN ensure that it doesn't end up in a similar position, linking to some those doggy websites??

A fair few posters have already disappeared after FB, articles in newspapers etc..
And the atmosphere has changed a lot each time MN has been doing big changes like this.

E.g. People are name change a lot nowdays. People are much more careful about posting personal things (see the number of threads that people want deleted by fear of the DM) and more worryingly, people will also think twice before posting to ask for help (see some relationship threads ending up in the DM or the Sun).

Of people stop posting as much or stop posting meaningful stuff, the interest for MN will go down.

Yes, I am spending time here. It is fun. It is free. I don't mind a pink link to keep it free, I bet it would be less fun if it wasn't free, a fair few posters might disappear.