Regarding the Different Color Ads You are Seeing

I realize NOBODY likes ads. Whether on TV, radio, or websites. They are annoying and there's always something MORE fun that could take their place. It would be dreamy to not need them at all. Believe me...I've resisted ads for a long time, but they are quickly becoming necessary--one of the things that allow us to continue to give you DoodleKisses.com

Doodle Kisses is my baby. I care about this site and its members immensely. Probably too much. It's what I wake up to in the morning and what I check last before I go to bed (as well as constantly through the day--even if just on my phone). I want to do the best I can by you! While I realize not everyone will be happy with each and every decision we make and we will get complaints, these complaints DO hurt ME personally. They really do. I'm not so far removed as an admin that I can just slough it off because I like you and I want to see you happy with what we have created and maintain with love.

This is not to say nobody should complain. Complaints give us important information. But sometimes they aren't constructive and just feels like criticism of my baby. Please send ME your complaints whenever possible.

At this point managing a site with nearly 8,000 members and all that comes with it is more than a part time job. Most of my free time is spent checking in and administering and making sure things are running smoothly. I don't even participate in discussions half as much as I used to because there's not enough time in my day to do so. I'm doing the BEST I can to make and keep DK an excellent place to be. In the past few months I've started moderating membership so that we can keep out those annoying dreaded spammers. It's not that any one thing is time consuming on its own, but it adds up through the day and with growing membership. And this is with Clark's help as well.

There's no way to sustain my putting in this level of commitment to you without the site actually doing more than paying its monthly/annual fees. It just isn't realistic to expect otherwise. The new ads aren't saving me time or making my commitment to you any less. But, YES, we are experimenting with new ways to display ads so DoodleKisses.com brings in more revenue -- what you see is pretty minimally invasive in my opinion. It may or may not be a permanent change. We have a lot of ideas for improvements but realize that every change can be really dangerous and make members feel intruded upon. We really do try to tread carefully.

Every page that has one of the new colorful ads added, has had a different banner ad removed from the top of the page. This actually moves the important content UP on the page. The only difference is that it is a picture instead of a text ad. Nobody has to click on the ads if they don't want to. And the content isn't really much different than what is on the side of pages. They are obvious ads, in my opinion, and aren't going to be misconstrued as 'DK suggestions'. If something horribly inappropriate pops up, do let us know.

And please remember that 25% of all proceeds the site earns is donated to doodle and dog rescue. So even if you really despise these things and vow to never click on them, at least remember that every time someone else clicks on one of the ads, doodle rescue will be earning some money too! You might wonder "what rescues does DK support?" Historically we have given to DRC, IDOG, and a local all-breed rescue near us. We plan on giving to these three organizations and perhaps others again this year.

Moving forward we will continue to look for ways to support Doodle Kisses and doodle rescue more. In the next few weeks we are going to introduce a DoodleKisses/Amazon.com store that will allow you to make all your Amazon.com purchases in a way that supports DoodleKisses and doodle rescue. It seems like a win-win to us. You shop at Amazon anyways, now you can do it and support doodle rescue and DK at the same time.

I'm on YOUR side. I am the most active user of this site. I don't want to do ANYTHING that makes the site suck. I started this site because I absolutely love doodles, not to be the next Bill Gates. I feel that we have succeeded in creating the best doodle lovers' community available and we will constantly strive to improve it and keep you happy. I realize this is one of two kinda noticeable appearance changes lately, but DoodleKisses.com is still the same place it's always been. The same great doodle loving members, the same rules and standards as before.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on July 4, 2011 at 9:18am

I don't think any of us who made negative comments about these new ads were complaining about advertising in itself. There have always been ads on DK and we have all been fine with them, even when the things being advertised were questionable and/or in direct opposition to some of the philosophies of DK.

What I object to is the placement of these new ads within the text of people's discussions and blogs. Many people work hard writing entertaining blogs with photos, and these animated ads being right up front and center within the text portion really is annoying, distracting, and most importantly, negatively affects the meaning and impact of what is being said. In some cases, it actually contradicts the point being made, such as in the case of food or choosing a breeder. Particularly for newbies, there is often confusion in general, and these ads that look at first glance like part of the discussion itself canniot help but confuse people. The subject matter of some of them borders on sleazy, which does not reflect well on DK. You have worked very hard to educate people on issues of responsible breeding, training, and many other important issues. Some of these ads are contributing to the misconceptions you have worked so hard to help eliminate.

Many people have written blogs about tragedies that have occurred in their lives; I hate to think what kind of ad might pop up right in the center of a blog about the death of a beloved family member. To me, this would be disrespectful to the author. I do not think large, moving ads belong within the body of individual members' original contributions. As you have pointed out many times, we the members are the ones who contribute most of the content here on DK, and I do not think it is unreasonable for us to ask that our contributions not have these ads within the body of the blogs or discussions we have worked hard to contribute. Surely there must be somewhere else to place additional advertising.

In terms of your being hurt or feeling like someone is criticizing your baby, surely those of us who have made negative comments about the ads have proven by the volume, frequency, and sincerity of our participation that we care very deeply about DK and you. If I didn't care so much about DK, if I wasn't so happy and proud to be an active member here, if I didn't feel so deeply involved and invested in this website, I wouldn't care about the ads or anything else. So please know that any negative comment I have made was made with deep respect, caring, and love.

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Permalink Reply by F, Calla & Luca on July 4, 2011 at 9:21am

Well said Karen. You made some good points I hadn't even thought of.

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Permalink Reply by Joanne ~ Spud* on July 4, 2011 at 9:22am

As long as the SOUND DOES NOT ESCALATE AND THE ADS BEGIN TO SCREAM AT ME ( TV commercials ) .... fine.

Of course, I would call Congress and report the situation for sure!

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Permalink Reply by Lynn D. on July 4, 2011 at 9:52am

Sounds like you need some site administrators or webmasters to take some of the burden off.

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Permalink Reply by ERIC A. NATER on July 4, 2011 at 10:41am

I am a huge fan of DK. I have not joined a lot of groups, nor have I participated very much. However, I know how much love and work Adina puts into this site. I have spent many years using the Internet, and Ads are just a way of life. I guess over the years, I have learned to use these sites without even seeing these Ads. Until I read the complaints, I did not even notice the Ads! I don't care where they are placed, you can learn to read around, and not acknowledge them, and everyone has the choice to not click on any of them. I currently have another Foster for the DRC, and if these Ads can help keep DK alive, and contribute to these needy Dogs, then I welcome them. I totally support, and approve of Adina's decision to do this. I am old enough to be opinionated and grumpy, but there are more important issues in the World now to be upset about than some Ads on DK!

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Permalink Reply by Anne & Mr. Haley on July 4, 2011 at 10:53am

After reading all of the replies to this discussion I agree with Dori & Rua, Sue, Murphy & Bella and Karen & Jack that it is the placement and, in some cases, the content that is the problem. In my opinion ads belong in the sidebar and not in the middle of a discussion or blog. As one of those “grumpy old ladies” it is very distracting to have an ad in the middle of the text.
I do not wish to hurt any feelings. I am only giving my opinion just as I would do in person to any friend or acquaintance.

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Permalink Reply by Adina P on July 4, 2011 at 11:43am

Thanks everyone for your support in general. As I read my post the next day I hope I didn't come across as whiney or melodramatic. It's not that I can't take criticism or I sob in a corner when someone doesn't like my opinion or didn't vote for the logo that we chose. It's just that it does affect me because I care about this site and the members of this site. I genuinely want you to be happy with the site. I wasn't upset about members noticing the ads or wondering about them...it was just the stronger responses that weren't addressed to me but simply took up the responses to a blog. I know I can't please everyone always. I know it in my head, but I still get all worried and feel bad when our active members hate something because I feel I know them better...and thus I respond more emotionally to their dissatisfaction--especially when it's not something easily changed or something that we've put a lot of thought into - something that is in the best interest of the site. So that's what I wanted to say: I Care and your satisfaction matters, here is why we did XYZ.

Now to address some of the specifics a few of you brought up:

--Part of the reason such ads are effective is that they are visible. We could put giant ads at the bottom of the site and then they'd be virtualy useless. Google text ads are minimally effective because they are boring and not as noticeable. So obviously color and positioning makes a difference. This is the spot that works best with our current site layout. We have thought about changing (layout) before but for now, I think we've made enough visual changes. Not moving any cheese for a while =)

--Content of ads. Google controls content. We don't have any contracts with specific brands/advertisers featured in these ads. They really aren't terribly different in content than what has been on the side of the page for a while. I'm happy to remove links to puppy brokers, but I haven't seen these in the color ads myself. So when you notice it, give us the url of the site it links you to and send it to me and we'll have it removed from the options. As to dog food, I think the Food Group does an excellent job of educating members who are interested in learning. I don't think the ads will influence anyone who isn't already buying or willing to buy Purina. We believe in the freedom of people to choose as well as the intelligence of our members. We don't want to be the decider of What's Good ENOUGH -- every individual has to make the decision for themselves. A site has to be MUCH bigger than we are to have clout with a single advertiser like Fromm or Nylabone and other such companies. But again, these ads are obvious ads, not a DK endorsement. We have categorically removed dating, gambling, religion, get-rich-quick ads and several other categories.

--Clicking on ads. Please don't make a job of clicking on ads just for the heck of clicking. Google really frowns on that--in fact we are not allowed to click on our own ads. So if something interests you or makes you curious respond as you normally would.

--Cookies and tracking and all that jazz. Google does not collect or serve ads based on personally identifying information without your permission. Here is Google's ad privacy page: http://www.google.com/privacy/ads/

--As to volunteers. I totally appreciate everyone's willingness. When we have gone out of town for an extended period, we have occasionally appointed a few moderators. However, while running this site is time consuming, it is something I enjoy. One of those things where it is work, but it's not because it's fun! When there is such a temporary need I'm happy to appoint volunteer moderators. Because it's SO easy to access the internet just about anywhere, we can still do quite a bit even when out of town. Part of the reason that I ask members to post their how-to questions and tech help questions in the forum is so that they can get quick answers to questions rather than await my response...usually the answer is already there. But quite a bit that we do really has to be done by us, the site owners, and is more than just approving blogs or accepting new members.