The VG Press as it is started November 2, 2008. Since then, we have increased 725% in unique visitors from 476 in November to 3931 for September, and 429% in bandwidth usage from 2.62GB in November to 13.87GB this month, though podcasts play a factor here. This is not a sudden change or anomoly; in fact, it has been quite steady.
While optimizing has played a role in improving performance and handling the increased load, as was the top concern from the start, there is still the issue of growth going forward. Obviously the goal here is not to become a huge massive Internet power or anything silly like that, we would like to build the community. We can do a lot of thing to attract new users here, but it doesn't do much good if we cripple the site in the process.
So what is this all about? Well, I'm looking at trying some simple text ads on the site just to see what the result is. Looking to further in the future, the ideal here would be to get around $20 in ad revenue per month, as that would cover the cost of much better hosting that would essentially eliminate any server concern. If it's insignificant, then they will disappear. If they're obtrusive, they will disappear. If there's any harm to the community in any way, they will disappear. And if in some bizarre happenstance there should actually be profits, it will go back to the community. This is everyone's site, not mine. This is an experiment I think is worth trying, because honestly I have no idea how this will work.
Just a heads up on what you may see something you may see in the near future.
| Month | Unique visitors | Number of visits | Pages | Hits | Bandwidth |
| Jan 2009 | 713 | 3198 | 189399 | 327010 | 3.60 GB |
| Feb 2009 | 1925 | 4728 | 257868 | 470217 | 4.45 GB |
| Mar 2009 | 1556 | 5837 | 304228 | 539653 | 4.63 GB |
| Apr 2009 | 2099 | 6491 | 367720 | 664350 | 5.40 GB |
| May 2009 | 1350 | 8196 | 243476 | 426265 | 8.77 GB |
| Jun 2009 | 1714 | 7964 | 105057 | 252112 | 9.90 GB |
| Jul 2009 | 1671 | 6610 | 88315 | 204346 | 9.16 GB |
| Aug 2009 | 3312 | 9865 | 121933 | 281587 | 11.51 GB |
| Sep 2009 | 3931 | 10383 | 135349 | 317342 | 13.87 GB |
| Oct 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 18271 | 63272 | 1813345 | 3482882 | 71.30 GB |
While optimizing has played a role in improving performance and handling the increased load, as was the top concern from the start, there is still the issue of growth going forward. Obviously the goal here is not to become a huge massive Internet power or anything silly like that, we would like to build the community. We can do a lot of thing to attract new users here, but it doesn't do much good if we cripple the site in the process.
So what is this all about? Well, I'm looking at trying some simple text ads on the site just to see what the result is. Looking to further in the future, the ideal here would be to get around $20 in ad revenue per month, as that would cover the cost of much better hosting that would essentially eliminate any server concern. If it's insignificant, then they will disappear. If they're obtrusive, they will disappear. If there's any harm to the community in any way, they will disappear. And if in some bizarre happenstance there should actually be profits, it will go back to the community. This is everyone's site, not mine. This is an experiment I think is worth trying, because honestly I have no idea how this will work.
Just a heads up on what you may see something you may see in the near future.
Recently Spotted:
*crickets*
It must have been the arrival of Kaz and Iwata that brought them.
Iwata >>> Kaz
Go back to Japan!! Go release SMG 2 already, BITCH!
Super Mario Galaxy 2 has been done for over three months now. I've been playing it at home, and it's fantastic! It's even better than the original. Unfortunately, I cannot ship it out until next year due to there already being a superb Super Mario game coming out this year: New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Also, I am not you're bitch. However, Kaz is mine.
WE'll all have Porsches in no time!
Fuck you Pachter, I can ride in my own.
There is about 20 of us right? The other route would be to use PayPal to fund the site, which I'm more than happy to do.
We do need more users though, there are hous at a time when there is no new content -- how can we get more active users?
Alternatively, you could make some content such as reading blogs or downloading podcasts only available to members who are signed in. Keep the news and stuff accessible to everyone, but just have some "premium" content that requires at least the commitment of signing up. I don't know if this would drastically cut down on visitors or not. Do you have a number for how many accounts have actually been created?
I'm all for the ads. Just as long as they're not any funky flash ads that for whatever reason never get along well with my computer. And congrats on the growth of the site.
The only thing that would be valuable enough to flaunt as "premium" would be GG Weekly, and that would just be impossible to explain without using anyway. The podcasts are on iTunes, so that's another no-no.
In the site's history, there have been 75 accounts made.
In terms of the site as it is, we're well covered so that won't be necessary.
Definitely a nay on anything obtrusive.