Guess it's time to take the donation button down, huh

Way2Curious · Post by **Way2Curious** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 6:38 pm

gogo wrote:
(Now, I can go to Happy Hour...I know who I'm praying to tonight . )

Not "the porcelain bowl"...I hope

gogo · Post by **gogo** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:05 pm

d'oh! I should have totally caught that

I'll definately be holding my liquor. Just some fun 10 yr. anniversary drinks with my husband.

(sorry to advertise my love.)

Feel free to get back to the topic at hand.

Way2Curious · Post by **Way2Curious** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:08 pm

gogo wrote:d'oh! I should have totally caught that I'll definately be holding my liquor. Just some fun 10 yr. anniversary drinks with my husband.

(sorry to advertise my love.)

Feel free to get back to the topic at hand.

Congrats on the anniversary!

gogo · Post by **gogo** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:18 pm

thanks!

iamcool · Post by **iamcool** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:22 pm

gogo wrote:d'oh! I should have totally caught that I'll definately be holding my liquor. Just some fun 10 yr. anniversary drinks with my husband.

(sorry to advertise my love.)

Feel free to get back to the topic at hand.

u didnt tell me you were married, i hope our relationship hasn't caused a rift

lesbrent · Post by **lesbrent** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:23 pm

I feel bad. I should just keep my opinions to myself. I'm sorry Miles, Mesh, and Greg. I don't want to rain on your parade anymore.

khjq · Post by **khjq** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:29 pm

In that wired article it said that they make over $10,000 a month off the revver ads, plus now they are getting fan donations, plus they say that they have a team of people working for them for free, so there is no way they are scraping by on their personal savings like they have been saying.

iamcool · Post by **iamcool** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:32 pm

khjq wrote:In that wired article it said that they make over $10,000 a month off the revver ads, plus now they are getting fan donations, plus they say that they have a team of people working for them for free, so there is no way they are scraping by on their personal savings like they have been saying.

i think they meant it to get up and running, but still i don't really see where the money was going ...
decorating a bed room, paying for petrol for them to be on the run and a webcam and a few other stuff
but nothing seems to cost as much as they make out, i could be wrong tho

trainer101 · Post by **trainer101** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:47 pm

iamcool wrote:
khjq wrote:In that wired article it said that they make over $10,000 a month off the revver ads, plus now they are getting fan donations, plus they say that they have a team of people working for them for free, so there is no way they are scraping by on their personal savings like they have been saying.
i think they meant it to get up and running, but still i don't really see where the money was going ...
decorating a bed room, paying for petrol for them to be on the run and a webcam and a few other stuff
but nothing seems to cost as much as they make out, i could be wrong tho

You forget that each of the actors and actresses draws a salary and the Creators quit their jobs to focus on this project. That will eat up $10k per month EASILY.

Way2Curious · Post by **Way2Curious** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:33 pm

trainer101 wrote:
iamcool wrote:
khjq wrote:In that wired article it said that they make over $10,000 a month off the revver ads, plus now they are getting fan donations, plus they say that they have a team of people working for them for free, so there is no way they are scraping by on their personal savings like they have been saying.
i think they meant it to get up and running, but still i don't really see where the money was going ...
decorating a bed room, paying for petrol for them to be on the run and a webcam and a few other stuff
but nothing seems to cost as much as they make out, i could be wrong tho
You forget that each of the actors and actresses draws a salary and the Creators quit their jobs to focus on this project. That will eat up $10k per month EASILY.

Especially in California.......I hear the cost of living is really high there.

I kind of don't see why they quit their jobs for it, but maybe there is alot more going into it than I realize.

Post by **The Creators** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 3:28 am

I would like to clarify a few things:

1) Greg's statement was incorrect and based on an estimate of processor load. He didn't have the full information. We did not know the exact numbers at the time and since analyzing our webstats we have determined that we were wrong. The number was closer to 30,000 unique visitors. I apologize for our mis-statement. It was merely an error... everyone makes mistakes.

2) Revver has their own opinion and own agenda. "Substantial money" is a subjective statement that has very little bearing on the actual dollar amount we are making. I would definitely not have used the word "substantial." We are making a small amount of money from Revver that only covers a miniscule fraction of our operating expenses.

3) Wired likes to make things sound rosy because it sells more magazines. The dollar figure they quoted is exaggerated... and it's revenue... not profit. It costs us a lot more than $10,000 a month to produce this show. Bear in mind that one episode of "Lost" costs several million dollars. Entertainment is not cheap. The fact that we are able to do this so inexpensively is because our team (Miles, Mesh, Greg, Amanda, Kevin) works CONSTANTLY and each of us is doing the job of five people. This is truly a labor of love. Miles, Mesh, Greg and Amanda are currently unpaid and draining their savings. We are paying the actors and Kevin so they can make their rent.

4) Your contributions help. We are in the process of working with advertisers. We have multiple revenue streams in the works including banner ads, sponsorships, product integration, premium accounts, mobile content deals, DVD's, merchandise, etc. We want to continue producing lonelygirl15 as long as their is an audience but we need to make money to survive. We hope you will continue with us in this journey. We promise that we will let you know when we start deciding how to make money... tell you about product integration, talk about our sponsors, etc. We hope you will support us.

Thanks

Miles/The Creators

trainer101 · Post by **trainer101** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 3:57 am

If I may...

You really need to get the merchandising started yesterday in order to take advantage of the Holiday Season. The iron is hot right now! Waiting will push you behind Christmas for deliveries and starting any marketing campaign in January or February can be suicidal. (Marketing is my thing, can you tell?)

Also, many viewers are under 18 - which means there is an added step in the buying process - convincing mom or dad to make the online purchase for them.

If you can find ways to generate revenue without 'premium accounts' that would be great - for the same reason. Young folks might have a tough time convincing mom and dad to pay so they can play.

Just my 2 cents...

Post by **twjaniak** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 9:59 am

The Creators wrote:I would like to clarify a few things:

1) Greg's statement was incorrect and based on an estimate of processor load. He didn't have the full information. We did not know the exact numbers at the time and since analyzing our webstats we have determined that we were wrong. The number was closer to 30,000 unique visitors. I apologize for our mis-statement. It was merely an error... everyone makes mistakes.

I would also like to point out the that 350,000 number is closer to our page view count for the day. The number wasn't pulled out of thin air, it was unfortunately misattributed to the wrong statistic.

Killthesmiley · Post by **Killthesmiley** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 10:28 am

another thing that I would like to point out is that people are thinking the actors are working for free.
They aren't It's been stated By Jessica and Yousef that they ARE getting payed. Little...but they are getting paid.

On top of that they have to pay for internet connections, servers (which i've been told they are leasing .. so its a monthly fee i'm assuming) they have to pay for the web adresses and email accounts they have to ppay for gas in cars (probably for the whole crew), they have to pay motel rooms, props, editing equipment, new computer equipment if it breaks, labour on the equipment, etc. etc.

SO the estimate that they are giving us (10,000 a month)(if I read that right) is SURPRISINGLY LOW. I say they're getting one hell of a pile of deals if you ask me.

and just a quick edit...
I find is absolutely disgustingthat we as fans are ever DISCUSSING THIS. To me this isn't being supportive at all.
As someone who works in the journalism business in entertainment, I know that when an editor asks you to do a story about a successful actor or venture, your told to spin a negative story. One that will defame and discredit it. Not all the time but 20% of the time i am asked to do this.
The fac thta people will 100% believe the statistics that they are reading in the tabloid articles (And that is what I would call it) disgusts me, and leads me to believe that you were among the group of people who truely believed that the series was in fact reality.

I feel extremely horrible for the creators being put into this situation. They are eing put into a rock and a hard place, and they could loose viewership because once again people could betrayed. I don't know what it is like for them, but I've seen many struggling projects in my career of journalism and I've noticed the same trend. People trying to defame it because of money.

So what if they are looking for sponserships. These guys no only are probably bleeding their saving account, but have maxed out every credit card, every redit line, have gotten loans apon loans , re-morgaded their homes...who knows...but they have to pay it all back. And if you think that that money is just going to come from the 30 cents a clcik on revver, or the 5 bucks people donate on pay pal, you guys are sadly sadly mistaken.

lesbrent · Post by **lesbrent** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:16 am

The Creators wrote:I would like to clarify a few things:

1) Greg's statement was incorrect and based on an estimate of processor load. He didn't have the full information. We did not know the exact numbers at the time and since analyzing our webstats we have determined that we were wrong. The number was closer to 30,000 unique visitors. I apologize for our mis-statement. It was merely an error... everyone makes mistakes.

You're right, we all make mistakes. Thanks for your honesty about the numbers. 30,000 is still an astonishing amount.

2) Revver has their own opinion and own agenda. "Substantial money" is a subjective statement that has very little bearing on the actual dollar amount we are making. I would definitely not have used the word "substantial." We are making a small amount of money from Revver that only covers a miniscule fraction of our operating expenses.

I realize that it benefits Revver to pump the LG fandom. Substantial money is subjective but does indicate "a lot". My "a lot" and your "a lot" could be vastly different, especially with COL differences between CA and the rest of the States.

3) Wired likes to make things sound rosy because it sells more magazines. The dollar figure they quoted is exaggerated... and it's revenue... not profit. It costs us a lot more than $10,000 a month to produce this show. Bear in mind that one episode of "Lost" costs several million dollars. Entertainment is not cheap. The fact that we are able to do this so inexpensively is because our team (Miles, Mesh, Greg, Amanda, Kevin) works CONSTANTLY and each of us is doing the job of five people. This is truly a labor of love. Miles, Mesh, Greg and Amanda are currently unpaid and draining their savings. We are paying the actors and Kevin so they can make their rent.

Comparing yourself to LOST is a little much Miles! LOL! I have no doubt that this a very time consuming effort.

4) Your contributions help. We are in the process of working with advertisers. We have multiple revenue streams in the works including banner ads, sponsorships, product integration, premium accounts, mobile content deals, DVD's, merchandise, etc. We want to continue producing lonelygirl15 as long as their is an audience but we need to make money to survive. We hope you will continue with us in this journey. We promise that we will let you know when we start deciding how to make money... tell you about product integration, talk about our sponsors, etc. We hope you will support us.

Thanks

Miles/The Creators

I think you will soon be making so much money off of advertisers that indeed the need for the button will go away. Product placement is a very smart way to go. Just as long as it doesn't become more important for product placement versus the storyline. You've already stressed the importance of finding the "right" advertiser so that doesn't happen. I don't think you'd let that happen either.

Personally, I would reign in your admins and "production staff" slightly so they are not speaking on your behalf or on behalf of LG. The three of you need to take personal responsibility for all things LG and everything that is released for the media or it's the 3 of you that will get the flack.

The poster above thinks it's insulting to even question your numbers and promote negative feedback. I did have an "oh shit" moment and apologized for raining on your parade. I will say that honesty and integrity will always win you WAY more points than spin doctoring with your older audience. I think you'd be surprized at your percentage of the audience outside of the reported demographic. That said, I'll refrain, and more importantly, I'll keep watching! I don't think that at my age I'll be wearing a LG15 shirt around town, but hey maybe I'd buy a coffee mug.

Again, thanks for your honesty.
Leslie