if trees could speak
posted by max on November 07, 2006 at 08:01:51 AM
hallo! guten tag!
I know I haven't updated in some time, I've been visiting the fatherland. I'm not back yet but I figured I'd pop in for a little contest.
Some promotional company asked me to do a promotion for the new Borat movie, and while I profit nothing and the prizes are lame, I figured it might cause a spurt of creativity.
More inside.
Some junk the promotional company sent me:
Borat Conan Interview - WMV - part 2
Borat Conan Interview - Quicktime - part 2
Badly resized copy of the soundtrack cover
Use this stuff or find whatever you want. The basic rules:
1. put borat in the keywords
2. make it somewhat relevant
3. contest ends on sunday the 12th.
4. i am the only judge (aka funny police)
lame prizes:
1 "Grand Prize": 1 Borat soundtrack and 1 poster
2 "You fail prizes": 1 Borat poster and sticker
When I have some more time I'll set up an easy listing of Borat sites.
Now, to address something else entirely, ads. I know you guys have been getting raped by all the ads lately, especially the popups. To clear things up, every time YTMND shows a pop-up, I die a little. AdSense revenue has been slipping for months so I've finally dropped it all together for the time being. In the next few weeks you will be seeing a lot of changes to how the site is organized, mainly to benefit the advertising. Pop-ups can't be a long term solution for YTMND's lack of revenue, so I'm working on a few things to try to avoid them. They pay more than any other ads and they lower traffic, so it's sort of a double whammy. If you have a family member or friend in media buying or internet advertising, tell them about YTMND and to drop me a line at max@ytmnd.com.
More (and better) updates soon.
Cheers from Germany
-Max
I know I haven't updated in some time, I've been visiting the fatherland. I'm not back yet but I figured I'd pop in for a little contest.
Some promotional company asked me to do a promotion for the new Borat movie, and while I profit nothing and the prizes are lame, I figured it might cause a spurt of creativity.
More inside.
Some junk the promotional company sent me:
Borat Conan Interview - WMV - part 2
Borat Conan Interview - Quicktime - part 2
Badly resized copy of the soundtrack cover
Use this stuff or find whatever you want. The basic rules:
1. put borat in the keywords
2. make it somewhat relevant
3. contest ends on sunday the 12th.
4. i am the only judge (aka funny police)
lame prizes:
1 "Grand Prize": 1 Borat soundtrack and 1 poster
2 "You fail prizes": 1 Borat poster and sticker
When I have some more time I'll set up an easy listing of Borat sites.
Now, to address something else entirely, ads. I know you guys have been getting raped by all the ads lately, especially the popups. To clear things up, every time YTMND shows a pop-up, I die a little. AdSense revenue has been slipping for months so I've finally dropped it all together for the time being. In the next few weeks you will be seeing a lot of changes to how the site is organized, mainly to benefit the advertising. Pop-ups can't be a long term solution for YTMND's lack of revenue, so I'm working on a few things to try to avoid them. They pay more than any other ads and they lower traffic, so it's sort of a double whammy. If you have a family member or friend in media buying or internet advertising, tell them about YTMND and to drop me a line at max@ytmnd.com.
More (and better) updates soon.
Cheers from Germany
-Max
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To continue CaptainObvious' attempt: They see me trollin', they hatin', downvotin' and tryin' to Spy me fivin' dirty TRYNA SPY ME FIVIN' DIRTY, TRYNA SPY ME FIVIN' DIRTY, TRYNA SPY ME FIVIN' DIRTY, TRYNA SPY ME FIVIN' DIRTY mah sites be so hot, they Fav-in', they hopin' that they gon' Spy me fivin' dirty TRYNA SPY ME FIVIN' DIRTY, TRYNA SPY ME FIVIN' DIRTY, TRYNA SPY ME FIVE IN' DIRTY TRYNA SPY ME FIVIN' DIRTY (someone do the rest or sumthin, I got things to do)
Citibank is the kind of company that gives me an ambivalent feeling. On the one hand, I want to hurt them for valuing name recognition (see: the CitiField deal) over customer service (see http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/07/0254246 <shamelessPlug>and also my comment</shamelessPlug>)...but on the other hand I want to f*ck the brains out of their ex-VP Erin Burnett.
http://ualuealuealeualestolenbycravevideo.ytmnd.com/
someone get rid of these *ssh*les before they ruin are already horrible reputation even more.
also if you check the comments. 99% of those who want to raid are new to the site. some are from like june all the way to last night. unf*cken-beleivable.
...and Sony's blunders while the Rev.--Wii thing was going on (CD rootkits, the whole E3 enemy crab/$599/Riiiiiiiidge Raaaacer thing, etc.) made Sony seem bad. That's when Nintendo stepped up, offered the old games (it's disappointing me a bit, how few they're offering so far) and stuff like that, and suddenly people took the Wii as a much-needed alternative to the PS3 as voters took Democrats as an alternative to the GOP. also digg.com. (Me, I'll just play free PC shmups while y'all pay out the nose.)
Max I think something broke. The total votes on each of my sites were in the higher 50's and 60's, and now they're 10's 20's0, and some of the comments people left have disappeared. Also I am shmorky's biggest fan!
ALSO, the mailing system has a bug in it. It shows I have mail, but there is nothing there. It happened when I blocked a user who's messages I didn't read. Now it's stuck like that, tried everything, cookies, fresh install of vista, logged in on other computers. No go.
i remember one time, i chanced across a YTMND on the recentlycreated. the site featured a mediaclip that could be found anywhere on the web, like many YTMNDs, so i downvoted it, as i do many YTMNDs. i presumed that was the last i'd heard of that site, and i'd never have to worry about seeing it ever again. AND I NEVER DID.
pettit, I'm sorry to say that this site is dying out. The mods aren't doing their jobs, which has allowed YTMND to become a troll/retard magnet. Anyone who wants to troll and act retarded comes to YTMND since apparently nothing short of posting child porn will get you banned. Soon, max will probably find out that he's lost half his traffic, that his sponsors don't want to fund him anymore and he'll have to let it die out. Just look at it dammit, half the sites in the recently created list are either...
... shock sites, retarded high frequency square wave sounds, demands to raid or to spam a place or person and stolen sites made by people who think they reinvented funny by pretending they made it. Worse is, the retards upvote each other, and downvote to hell all the other sites. The only sites that still have a chance are those created when there's as little retards watching this site as possible. So, point is, admins/mods/whatever have some work to do...
korf, I know that. But those guys used to get banned, and there's a greater concentration of them now than ever. I've been coming here for quite a while. and I know for a fact that the recently created wasn't always populated with such crap. Hell, it wasn't like that 6 months ago. It's the last two months that have been really bad. And they need to do something.
Actually cooke, the majority of high votes is again the doing of the retards. Most of them are e-vengers, and anyone with sites who downvotes these guys' crappy sites gets downvoted to hell. Damn, one of my sites, "Evolution for dummies", would probably score over four if it hadn't been downvoted by e-vengers. Right now, I've counted 8 or 9 people who downvoted it as a response to my downvoting their sh*tty sites. Not everyone is ready to sacrifice their score, so they vote high when they leave a comment.
"I've also seen a rise in preference to flash over substance" I've seen a steady flow of rehash over creativity since... forever? Rather than trying something new, people wait for something new to try. That's a shame. Of course, since trying something new and failing is an offense punishable by flame, it's not that hard to see why.
There are still quality sites being made all the time. The problem is, with the 300 vote cap on the U&C, they mosty dissappear from the front page before everyone has a chance to see them. The only way they have any staying power is if they are sponsored or have an extremely high rating and make the Top Rated box. Then you have the same site making 2 or even 3 different lists on the same page. There is no reason for that redudancy. The Top Sponsored Site ends up making Top Viewed and as well as
the most Voted list, regardless of the quality of the ytmnd. So basically we have this expanded layout yet half the sites are either repeats, broken sites on the Worthwhile list, or sites everyone has seen (HOF and Mod favs). It just seems to me that there is a better way. Of course, the site is also in desperate need of updating, as we all know that the search engine doesn't include sites made in the last month.
anyways, what i miss is how you used to be able to click 'more' after the top rated and see all the sites in rating order as far as the eye could see, now its what like 7 pages? and theres errors on two of them skipping who knows how many sites... so many sites, trapped in limbo unless i know where to look
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One thing that makes me thankful that I dont have the time/software to put effort into creation is that I can offer honest critique, and can 1 with a comment, and never worry about my sites ratings. Honestly, my sites sucked in the first place, I just wanted to participate. I am glad I can downvote with no fear, and I am actually HAPPY when somebody will PM me about my opinion... I like giving feedback. That said, alot of you guys still put up prime YTMND's, I never said "YTMND is dying"... as long as
Maybe if you realize that higher votes on your sites will not make you happy you'll discover that, if you have any integrity at all, you can offer honest and objective criticism and votes and flame and do whatever the hell you want. If you're seriously affected by a 12 year old kid pushing 1 star instead of 5 on his computer, you've got serious emotional problems.
I'm with cooke re: ratings, they matter merely because if you spend time on something, you want it seen and rating in comparison to the rest of up and coming at the time is what you go by. i dont care if its X percentage "better" overall because I know ratings are really about what pleases the widest group of people, not a true mark of overall quality. REGARDLESS, seeing what gets highest ratings can be a good measure of what YTMNDs demographics are or have become. and to gr33nscr33n:
"ratings, they matter merely because if you spend time on
something, you want it seen and rating in comparison to the rest of up and coming at
the time is what you go by." I agree, and yet I stick with my original point. You'd like it to be seen by people, but if your life revolves around 12 year olds' ratings, then you have a sh*tty, emotionally unhealthy life. The rating/views and your happiness should be independent. If not, then you're an attention whoring, empty person.
I'd prefer for everyone to be happy and everyone to like and see my sites, but that would make everyone the same and that's not a realistic expectation and you can't even affect that change, so it's pointless to think about. Make what you want to make and let the pieces fall where they may. If you make a site that people could like were they not on an ego trip and looking for sites to downvote yet they choose to dislike it, then that's their problem. No reason to be any more or less happy. Also DIRECTORY IS
You guys srsly, My theory is more of trying to know your audience. And I've always stood by what works and what doesn't. Think of it in marketing aspects, and how to channel your efforts to get maximum impact. Also try to maintain your own integtrity by doing what you want, but if you want high scores and a lot of views, stick by what is relevant and put your own twist on it. You can call me a sell out of a f*get for making popular sites. But I do this for everyone, and I take my time on sh*t.
I get nothing out of the aftermath of my comments. I spoke my mind and you're free to take it and run with it. If you disagree, it doesn't matter to me. If you call me gay for saying what I said, well heyguysitsasurprise.ytmnd.com, and you can infer that I don't really care. I don't. If what I'm saying is completely off base, and you make an intelligible response that convinces me, then I'll change my opinion. It won't make me any happier or sadder. Or, I guess, maybe it would if that were your point.
Also, as for, "I wouldn't make sites if I didn't get views." I would. I did. I do. I don't really care. If you enjoy them and don't leave a comment and don't vote then that's good for you. If you don't enjoy them and leave a nasty comment and downvote then that's good for you, do whatever you want. If I make a site, I prefer to release it rather than not, and I do regardless of whether it's good or not or whether it is meant to be good or not. It doesn't make me any happier, but I do it cause I want to.
Doing what I feel like... that makes me happy. Doing what others want me to do or doing what would make other people that I don't know or care about... that doesn't do anything for me, and I find it to be ludicrous that it would (and not a smart investment on my part). Would I rather make my best friends slightly happy by... waving from a distance or make a site that pleases 2 million people that I'll never meet? I'll go with the former, because the latter gives me 0 happiness regardless.
"Case in point: hamjamt Ran into his hilarious sh*t stalking
TheOminousThey's comment trail." agreed, one of my favorite users. even his comments are great. he makes, in my opinion, the best comments on this site. also agreed with the favorite users thing, i also first check all my favorite users for new ytmnds and i often forget about a few people.
I think Adverb is a douche and if he gave me a 5 I'd wash my hands afterwards. Wouldn't have any other affects, though, as it is not my intention to make sites that please Adverb. If your point is to make sites in order to please other people, then go and do that and I guess you'll be satisfied when you succeed, but you'd be pandering and that would make you a tool.
"I'll be honest, I'd rather please 2 million people. I just don't want them to be 12
year olds." - I like cooke's answer, but I'd change "12 year olds" with "idiots". When I first started viewing YTMND I saw a successful site as having pleased the super elite internet nerds on this supposedly cutting edge way to make humor. Now to some degree I see it differently, not entirely idiots of course, but definitely YTMNDs growing popularity has made it a different place....
I make sites to please certain other users I know and myself, and hope that maybe one of them will occasionally have a mass acceptance. But at the same time I can look beyond my own little corner and hope that new users wont come in and make the site a place I dont want to visit, and that the users who entertain me, which is FAR more important, stick around. In order for the users I like to stick around, in some cases, that means I need to stick around too. Its a community...
I fail to see how making sites for the people you know and admiring other people's sites is relevant to votewhoring as a means to happiness. I'll agree with you on your last point only because people are egotistical bastards, but this place and every place would be a lot better if people had some integrity and worked more along the lines of what Atrahasis was talking about with no ego. Regardless, I see no reason that a 12 year old that I'll never meet or (speak to)'s vote should impact my life at all.
Korf41 - good votes = more views = if youre not someone i dont already know, i see your site. if people downvote the clever and upvote crap i can see on a dozen other websites, i just stop looking altogether. You treat ego as if its inherently bad. What matters is who is in charge of your ego. in our gaytmnd little terms, Ego makes many people try harder to be a user that you or I would check in on regularly, but it can also turn an unsatisfied user into a gimmick account punishing other people To make up for his own failings.
I'll use ego in terms like this (nobody actually uses Freudian psych anyways so this is the commonly used negatively connoted version): A person who does something for the inflation of their self worth by way of popular opinion rather than actual merit. "Good" and "clever" are entirely subjective, and most collections of people are mostly filled with idiots, or "people of differing opinions". That's just how it works. No matter where you go, the popular "good" and "clever" are neither unless you're average.
"Ego makes many people try harder to be a user that you or I would check in on regularly" The most interesting user to me right now is ______ less known as directory because he makes so many sh*tty sites, and so many genius sites. He makes a lot of sites. Regardless, all of them bomb because none of them are appealing to "people of differing opinions" aka the average, unexceptional person. And the average, unexceptional person has the majority. I'd rather see originality, and votes are not representative.
ugh, we're getting to definitions. f*ck that. i dont care what drives people to make good sites if the end result is that i like them. i just want to see good content, and dont want to users reach the point they feel its not worth making sites. i want people to produce good content for my own selfish reasons, and i want the users i like to feel good about their content for my own selfish reasons. if good content is rewarded with the little rewards YTMND delivers - ratings, Views - they'll keep making Views - they'll keep making more good content for me to look at. If they are ransacked by gimmick accounts, pushed to expectations so high that the site becomes no fun for them, or get sick of sifting through crap to find anything good and stop coming to this site, in the end it comes back to me. As such, I'm happy to lose 100 12 year olds who might upvote me to keep 1 user that keeps me coming back. YTMND can be art, but when we get to definitions of "ego" I think we're forgetting this is a humor site.
Atrahasis - if anyone tried to have this discussion on the YTMND forums, everyone saying something would be banned and any conversation would be sandwiched between humongous pictures of bill cosby and posts that just say "care". As for newbies, i have my own theory - while i hate seeing a newly registered user with skills immediately start making fad compilations and YTMND tributes, on another level it makes sense - all the fads are new to them, its a lot to walk into, they dont know whats Currently relevant to a regular viewer.
Classic ytmnds rule. F*ggy short films rule. Why can't they both rule on the same website...kind of like how it is now? That is the beauty of YTMND, the versatility. You can make a site with a jpg. You can make a static site with a short looping gif. You can make a linear site that syncs (hopefully) with an audio file. I really don't see why people have such a problem with that. As long as the concept wouldn't be better suited on Youtube, then there shouldn't be a problem.
heres my biggest pet peeve right now - I like fads. but YTMND has gotten so large that a) potential fads drown amongst so many sites - you can create a fadworthy site but by the time the other versions of it are up people might not have any idea what its based off of and it doesnt get attention. b) actual fads are eaten up and chewed out amazingly fast - if you go away for the weekend you might miss one entirely
"NEDM seems so far in the past. Although hated by many, that's the last fad I can
remember that totally dominated the site like fads should. Those were good times
people. What happened?" too many people think joined and think they are hot sh*t and make sh*tty sites and think they know everything tho the've been here for 2 hours.
The problem with fads nowadays is that people take a fad, spit out the first thing that comes to mind, and it gets upvoted as if it were original and new and funny. Bringing a creative spin on a fad takes time to execute let alone time to come up with a fresh idea. "Red leader, where are you ____________". Filling in the blank 50 different ways is not creative or funny. Doing it once can be, twice is already tired. Sadly, there were 2 or 3 that merely filled in the blank on the U&C at the same time.
i have lots of things to say about this site and the people how they are dumb and the fads are overused and i use lots of words and people give up reading half way and end up repeating what someone else said a few posts ago anyway so i doesnt really make a difference but we feel like talking anyway because theres nothing else to do so why not amiright no im not but still i love talking alot without using periods also germans are funny and talk wierd and 791st
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"The problem with fads nowadays is that people take a fad, spit out the first thing
that comes to mind, and it gets upvoted as if it were original and new and funny.
"Red leader, where are you ____________". Doing it once can funny, twice is already
tired." no kidding, red leader was INCREDIBLY lame. half of them didnt even make sense, but that didnt stop those from up and coming. i hate sites with basically the same joke, and i hate even more seeing the same joke over and over again.
^ that got messed up. i meant why did the chicken cross the road? to get to the other side. why did the chicken
cross the road? to get from one side to the other. why did the chicken cross the
road? the chicken didnt like the side it was on. why did the chicken cross the
road? the other side looked better...all hilarious
abridged version of what i'm thinking: users won't hate a site that 'lacks humor.' they hate anything that brings any sentiment besides humor; anything empty, devoid of emotion (sheet music, unfunny truths) is fine to them. understand that there is a world of difference. ps, previous commenter is probably a moron.