I just got a letter from them which says, in part:
"basically, bla-bla.com is building an online community (we presently have almost 400 sites in our community) and are constantly seeking independent sites that provide exceptional content to the web surfing public. Our goal is to drive web users away from bigger sites by offering a community that fills their every need through partnerships with sites like yours and beyond. Bla-Bla.com's endeavor is to be the best independent channel on the web. For select sites we offer: Ad sales, optional free hosting and promotion and exposure through the network. Partnering with us means that we will provide you with paying ad exposure, and free hosting in exchange for a percentage of ad revenue and the ability to count your traffic as part of the bla-bla network."
Since ad revenue from Burst (and all the other ad companies apparently) is currently in the toilet, this might be an option. Has anyone here every been with bla-bla.com? Any pros or cons you'd care to share?
Travis posted this at 03:22 — 26th January 2001.
They have: 153 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
I am currently with bla-bla and they have had their ups and down. I think right now they are in their down period. They used to have minimum payouts for sites (like if your inventory was only sold for lets say a total of $800, but you had a minimum payout of a $1000, they would have to pay you a $1000).
Recently they cut the minimum payout and just got rid of it. I am looking into this to see if it is a breach of contract because most sites were guaranteed the minimum payout for 12 months and only got about 5 months of it.
I can tell they are now trying to sell the space for whats its worth, they sent out new ad codes that includes:
pop up windows, small banners, large banners.... which shows they are realizing they are gonna have to sell a lot of space to make up for the $$$ they lost when they were paying partner sites more than they were actually making.
Anyway a few partner sites I have talked to have said that they aren't making what they could be with other places. Bla-bla really doesn't drive my site much traffic, I am sure the logo for bla-bla I have on my site gets them more traffic then they get me. It is extra cash though, and they have fixed the problems I have run into very quickly (delayed checks...). They still haven't paid me for November or December, so I am starting to wonder..... I would look around first and wait if you get any other offers.
Travis
Eboarding.net
eva2000 posted this at 22:08 — 26th January 2001.
They have: 27 posts
Joined: May 2000
i was with bla-bla.com for 3 web sites in March 1999 and it was okay for the first month and a bit and then they changed the contracts terms etc and i lost 90% of my monthly income
there was a lack of correspondance by bla-bla with sites such as mine and i decided to leave and thank goodness i have
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dumblaws.com posted this at 16:39 — 27th January 2001.
They have: 14 posts
Joined: Jun 2000
blabla was great when they offered a set payout (about $2.70 CPM). Things got a litle worse when they changed to 50/50 split with a minimum payout (on 2,000,000 impressions/month it was $2500/month). Then they dropped the min. payout and I began receiving check for half that amount and even less. I left bla-bla and haven't looked back. Maybe they will be the right company for you, but I've found myself to be very pleased with my new advertising rep. Best of luck!
mjames posted this at 04:19 — 28th January 2001.
They have: 2,064 posts
Joined: Dec 1999
Excellent topic!
Maverick, I received virtually the same message from them - and on more than one occasion from more employee.
I have talked with a friend who used them for a while and never got payed - so he left and also hasn't looked back. The part that I really liked was the promotion on their web site - which I now know is very little and insignificant. That right there, with the doubts of them paying on time, turned me off.
Marc James - marc@sports-central.org
Sports Central - Beyond the Scores
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Maverick posted this at 17:44 — 28th January 2001.
They have: 334 posts
Joined: Dec 1999
Alright, thanks for the feedback everybody. I guess I'll just try to ride things out with BurstMedia rather than jumping from the frying pan into the fire.