Oh! Gizmo

So that’s it guys. This is how we’re going to fund a professional, top-notch redesign of OhGizmo: with the $100,000 Banner.

What’s the idea? Well, let’s just say I was inspired by Alex Tew, of Million Dollar Homepage fame. He is selling adspace on his site, $1 per pixel in 100px blocks. He’s made over $140,000 so far and I’m sure he’ll make his million.

While there already are other cheap copycats around (making money as well!), I’ve at least made an effort to modify his idea a little. In fact, I think I’ve modified it enough to make it better!

See, while his site is getting tons of traffic now, as soon as the novelty aspect wears off, people will stop visiting, whereas here I’m already getting a decent amount of traffic (traffic that doesn’t depend on any gimmick). So it stands to reason that my sponsors’ investments will gain value over time, as opposed to lose.

Yes, yes… you can turn blue and tell me that I’m a unoriginal twit. That’s fine, I can live with that. Just ask yourself though, for fun: what’s originality? Is there really such a thing? Aren’t other people’s ideas the building blocks of all thought? Isn’t our entire system of thought predicated on an empirical paradigm by which other people’s achievements are integrated into the next guy’s “creation”. Could we have cars without someone first inventing the wheel?

So this is what I believe I’m doing. I’m turning one guy’s truly remarkable idea into an economically viable advertising model. I’m taking his idea, and upgrading it.

Down with the old, stale banners!

In with the new, “per-pixel” ads.

And with that, fellas, why don’t you order some pixels?

One fine morning in early September 2005, a young British fellow by the name of Alex Tew woke up with a fantastic idea: to make a million dollars selling a million pixels at $1 each, in blocks of 100. He would sell these blocks as adspace and promise his sponsors a spot for a minimum of five years. Thus was born The Million Dollar Homepage.

The concept was explosively ingenious. Word of mouth spread like wildfire and within three weeks he had amassed over $140,000 ($140,200 as of Sept. 25th, 2005). As of writing, traffic is still pouring in, and his daily Alexa rank hovers at around 800. Curiosity at the sheer audacity of his plan, and most importantly, astonishment at his success is driving hordes of onlookers to the site for a peek, and I, for one, have no doubt he will achieve his stated goal.

Copycats are already popping up and making money as well. For proof, visit The Million Penny Homepage. Now, I believe this phenomenon can teach us an important lesson: “Per-pixel” advertising is an economically viable advertising model. For this reason, I’ve decided to launch my own, modified and improved version of the concept:

That’s right, you can now purchase adspace on OhGizmo.com for a dollar a pixel, in blocks of 100 and you can keep that space for one year.

Why improved? Aren’t I just another copycat, banking on someone else’s brilliant idea? Well, yes and no. Consider the advantages of buying space on OhGizmo’s $100,000 Banner:

-The Million Dollar Homepage does not provide any real content. The huge traffic spike it is experiencing right now is a consequence of people’s curiosity. Once the novelty aspect will have worn off, there will be no other incentive to visit the page, diminishing the value of the sponsors’ investments.

-We produce quality content. We have increased our readership from 50 daily visitors to 7,000 in four months, without the use of any gimmick and expect this number to keep rising over time. Our Alexa rank currently stands at 41,777. We receive over 230,000 unique visitors a months, totalling over 360,000 page views. In a year’s time, these numbers will be even higher, not lower.

-You get space for 12 months. Our current advertising model gives you a spot for $20 a week or around $1000 a year. For a tenth of the price, you can be featured on OhGizmo.com. Of course, you only get a 100 pixel (10px by 10px) block, yet it is clear from The Million Dollar Homepage’s success that this form of advertising drives traffic to sponsors in a way that traditional methods don’t. People will come to the site everyday and think: “I wonder who bought some adspace on OhGizmo.com today…” Obviously, you can purchase larger blocks and drive even more traffic to your site.

-The size constraints actually spur creativity in a way that traditional banners don’t.

-For the first two months, we will offer a 50% rebate on the pixels. That’s right, until November 26th, 2005, you can purchase a 100 pixel block on the $100,000 Banner for $50, instead of $100.

So that’s it folks. Call it an investment. Call it an experiement in alternate advertising. Call it anything you like. I can guarantee you will be able to drive serious amounts of traffic to your site, and do so for at least a year. More if you re-order.

To place your order, visit this page.