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Total posts in this thread: 29
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searsfamily
Newbie
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Oh, no. Google Ads embedded in my calendar. I understand the need for income, but this is FAR more invasive than ads on the side. The ads make it very hard to see important events. I really like localendar, but if this continues I will have to look elsewhere. I know $10 per year is not much, but I take care of several charity groups in addition to my personal calendar. How about $10 per year for up to 4 calendars with no ads and a printable view? I don't need any of the other features. - Don |
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support
localendar Expert  Joined: Aug 9, 2022 Posts: 6452 Status: Offline |
The new ads actually provide for greater calendar space by removing the dedicated ad area formerly to the right of the calendar. Also, no more than 3 ads will be shown on the entire calendar, and no more than 2 per row. In the old format, Google was able to place as many as 5 ads on the calendar. Ads are also not shown alongside other events and are clearly marked as being from Google. You can also use colors to set off your events. A Premium Basic subscription is still the same $.83/month that it has been for the last 5 years and there are no current plans to change subscription pricing  ---------------------------------------- Marc Higgins Support Associate, localendar.com Follow us on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/localendar_news |
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BQYC
New Member
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Sorry guys, not good enough. "Greater amount of space" is just spin. I know that, you know that. The perception among our visitors is that, since these ads are inside "our" calendars, then we, the Club site organisers, endorse the products offered in these ads. And I, as web support for our site, am getting real stick from my Board over this. Previously, it was clear that the ads were placed by the calendar providers, and not us. Now that distinction has gone. Of course, we may well be prepared to endorse advertised products, but only if we actually know in advance what these ads promote. Otherwise, we're simply not having it. So I'm afraid we're outta here, after several years of a satisfactory relationship, unless you can assure us, within a fairly short period of time, that you will cease and desist. Of course I know that this is your service, but you should know that we are not required to use it. |
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alvinonline
New Member
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Embedded ads on calendar, makes calendar look like crap, totally not acceptable. If localendar can't make it without this intrusive ad program, please do go belly up. |
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331dragons
New Member
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I agree - it seems clear localendar is trying to "clean house" and get rid of the freebie accounts. |
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support
localendar Expert Joined: Aug 9, 2022 Posts: 6452 Status: Offline |
In the past, we have ads at the top of the calendar, the bottom, and most recently on the right. So we have experimented with different layouts in the past and will continue to do so in the future; including the recent embedded ads. The total amount of screen real estate devoted to ads is actually less now since the number has decreased from 5 to 3. Plus, the lack of a dedicated "ad space" actually gives the calendar more room. Only the month-block view (M0) was changed in this area. As for this being a "spin", it is a matter of mathematical fact. The old ad area was "125x600" and now it is "125x125"*3 (often, less than 3 or even 0 ads are shown) We are monitoring member reaction to the change and are using it to inform our work in this area. For 83 cents a month, Premium Basic removes all ads, plus enables other features like the ability to upload custom clip art. Comments like this are interesting: >Previously, it was clear that the ads were placed by the calendar providers, and not us. Now that distinction has gone. I disagree. Ads have always been on the Event Pop-up windows and a similar argument could have been made that this was just as intrusive. However, all ads have always clearly been labeled, "Ads by Google" >If localendar can't make it without this intrusive ad program, please do go belly up. alvinonline; you have used the service freely since 2004 while other Premium Subscribers effectively subsidized your usage. I'm sorry that you feel your rights to use the service on your own terms trump our needs to pay for servers, bandwidth, etc. Traditional ad revenue has declined drastically since October when the economic crisis began and advertisers began to drastically scale back. Certainly, we could raise subscription prices - they have been unchanged since 2001. However, it doesn't seem fair to penalize those members who have contributed to the site. If you can propose a business plan that allows us to continue to meet localendar expenses without any sources of income, we would be happy to know about it. ---------------------------------------- Marc Higgins Support Associate, localendar.com Follow us on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/localendar_news ---------------------------------------- [Edit 1 times, last edit by support at Feb 12, 2009, 3:02:10 PM] |
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BQYC
New Member
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All very well, and you can continue to try out ad placement since it's your service. But it's quite clear that these embedded ads are far too intrusive as far as your users are concerned. Nevertheless, I decided to upgrade to Premium. But I didn't complete the process. I have produced an extensive user guide to Localendar event management for my Board so that they can easily used the service, so having the Board pay $10 per annum seemed to me to be worth it, saving me from having to produce another tutorial for a different calendar system. But I didn't subscribe. I got as far as entering all my credit card details, contact info etc, but your system insisted that I also take out a PayPal account too. That's too much for me. I just won't do that. If you can't take a credit card number, you don't want my money. So goodbye, Localendar. |
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support
localendar Expert Joined: Aug 9, 2022 Posts: 6452 Status: Offline |
Yes - this is how Paypal grows their community. Alas, it is also how they have become the dominant online payment service. We used to use an alternative service to Paypal that didn't require an account. But Paypal effectively ran them out of business. I understand your concerns, but we have to outsource our payments/subscription handling because it's simply too onerous to manage ourselves. For better or worse, PayPal is the leading vendor in this space. ---------------------------------------- Marc Higgins Support Associate, localendar.com Follow us on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/localendar_news |
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bsimon
New Member
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I don't like this at all. It looks so confusing to our users who need to see the dates of our scheduled classes. Please switch it back to the side bar! It is also throwing off the proportion of my calendar. It looks terrible! |
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tfrombridges
New Member
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I use this calendar for posting activities and schedules for our church. I can understand the ads appearing on a free version of the service, but I would have hoped for a bit more sensibility and propriety. Considering that the calendar was identified as being Christian in nature during the sign up process, I was greatly disappointed to find ads for "Hooters cards and calendars" on there. Again, I understand the need to pay the bills, and appreciate the free web space, but if Google decides to start posting ads for pornographic materials, can I expect to find them on the calendar too? |
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Re: Google Ads