Secret Santa 2012

[reyquila]

Am I the only one looking forward to it?

[ajmrowland]

I am but haventbheardvanything yet

[disneyboy20022]

I'm Big time looking forward to it each and every year

[PixarFan2006]

I am seriously doubting it will be happening this year. Luke usually starts the signup at the start of November. Unless he forgot, it looks like this will be our first year without a Secret Santa. I was also looking forward to it too so don't call me pessimistic. It was just a thought.

[ajmrowland]

Yeah thats what i was thinking. Id still like to do it. Hope he isnt on the east coast.

[Matt]

Ohh no! I was looking forward to it this year. Stupid Sandy!

[CJ]

I'm moving this to feedback, where Luke will have a better chance of seeing this thread.

[Matt]

Has anyone been in contact with Luke?

Luke is very dedicated on here and I know he wouldn't want Secret Santa not to happen. I pray he is ok.

[PixarFan2006]

He is still reviewing DVDs and Blu-Rays on the site, so I guess he is still okay.

[Matt]

He is still reviewing DVDs and Blu-Rays on the site, so I guess he is still okay.

Oh yeah lol

Forgot all about that. hahaha.

So why no Secret Santa this year?

[Luke]

Hi all,

I decided not to do Secret Santa this year for a number of reasons. High among them is the fact that I haven't been an active member of this forum and therefore I don't think it would be fair for me to determine who is. Also, like many others, this time of year is very busy for me, in single-handedly covering as many major new DVD and Blu-ray releases as I can while staying on top of the screenings and screeners for my work as a critic and being qualified to be an informed voter for year-end awards. There's simply no way I can do Secret Santa justice with everything else I'm trying to juggle in an effort to reverse the site's never recovered, still dropping revenues that fell with last year's horrific Google penalty and did not return with the traffic increase.

Running Secret Santa for the past nine has been one of my favorite things about both the site and forum. I am sad not to have a place for it in my life this year. I appreciate the interest and am not opposed to trying to make this work again in the future. But I need to take at least this year off. Hopefully you can understand.

[disneyboy20022]

Luke,

I 100% understand. That Google Hell thing was very stressful. Also you make this forum and site tick, and thanks to you, I have many friends and for that I thank you.

My Christmas Gift this year, is having many friends on this site including you. Take this year off, and Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas

[Sotiris]

I'm trying to juggle in an effort to reverse the site's never recovered, still dropping revenues that fell with last year's horrific Google penalty and did not return with the traffic increase.

That's odd. So the site's traffic has increased but the revenues are still dropping?

[CJ]

Sotiris, I think I can answer this one ^ for you. Just because the number of site visitors has increased doesn't mean people are clicking on the ads or clicking on the Amazon links like they once did. Without those clicks, the revenue that would have been generated for the site doesn't exist. It is the little things that add up in the long run.

[Sotiris]

Just because the number of site visitors has increased doesn't mean people are clicking on the ads or clicking on the Amazon links like they once did. Without those clicks, the revenue that would have been generated for the site doesn't exist. It is the little things that add up in the long run.

So, the ad system on the site is click-based instead of view-based? We should then get the word out and remind members here to click on the ads.

[CJ]

I'm not 100% sure on how the ads work, I'm not sure which system UD is set up for. But I do know clicking on the Amazon links to purchase something is important to this site's revenue. Every time one of the Amazon links are used to purchase an item, this site is given a small referral revenue for the order. You'd have to ask Luke directly about the how the ad system works for this site, but I know for other sites that I visit, it is the clicking that counts.

[Luke]

With ads, it's a mix of views and clicks. Fraudulent clicks are very bad and could get a site booted from an ads program. So obviously, please don't do that. Of course, ignoring ads outright is bad too, which is what the majority of readers everywhere do.

Amazon gives a small percentage of orders through the links. To give you some perspective, this month's earnings on Amazon are at 25% of what they were two years ago in the same period, shortly before the Google penalty struck. Traffic isn't quite what it was then, but it's around 75% or more, so there is real disparity. Home video spending is down, but not to that extent, and remember that anything bought from Amazon qualifies for a referral. This site is obviously a labor of love, but as you can imagine working harder than ever for 25% of your former income is not fun or really sustainable in any way.

[Sotiris]

That's too bad Luke. Is there something we could do?

[Disney's Divinity]

I have been buying things through Amazon lately. I'll try to go through UD when possible from now on. Of course, I know that doesn't automatically solves the site's problem, but it can't hurt either.

[reyquila]