p2pnet’s final days?
p2pnet.net special:- p2pnet is on the verge of going offline. Our income dropped by 80% as of December 28.
Several times in 2006 I said I was able to keep going only thanks to the advertisers and some people believe that, like certain other sites, I’m raking it in. But scraping by would be more accurate. Revenue generated by the advertisements keeps us going and at the beginning of 2006, it amounted to slightly less than $C3,000 a month. This allowed me to feed my family, pay my mortgage and service the debts I’d incurred largely to establish p2pnet. Because it took quite a while to get to that point and before it was reached, we lived off our savings and a couple of bank loans. So I wasn’t then, and definitely am not now, getting rich. Moreover, all costs and expenses have gone up considerably.
Early in the year, the Big 4 Organized Music gang turned on LimeWire, one of my advertisers. LimeWire pulled their booking, and then it was BearShare’s turn. Two down, and I was in deep trouble. Again, I had to borrow money to stay online. But in July a small group in Europe offered to make up the difference between what I was getting in ad revenues and what I needed to keep posting, and that’s the way things stayed during the summer and fall.
Then a few weeks back, one of my remaining advertisers unexpectedly cut back on its booking as well and finally, on December 28, the money from Europe was also abruptly cut off. This means my income has now been slashed by four-fifths which is, of course, a huge amount.
In a Q&A with Slyck, “p2pnet isn’t an entrepreneurial effort,” I said. “It’s a commitment. And the staff is me.” I went on, “I write everything that doesn’t have someone’s by-line on it – between 10 and 20 stories a day, 24/7. I slow down on Saturday and usually post only three or four items on Sunday. I also do the graphics, excepting photos, of course. I do my best to serve up news, information and commentaries that haven’t been spun, filtered and pre-digested by self-serving entities.”
Actually, sometimes, it’s been 30 stories and I normally get up at between 3:30 and 4:00 am and work until around the same time in the afternoon, and that’s fine with me. But if I’m to continue doing that, and if p2pnet is to survive, it has to reliably generate income. And this, in turn, means I must find firstly, a host (not in North America, preferably), and partners or collaborators who can take on p2pnet’s development and help me turn it into a self-supporting entity.
Maintaining the status quo
It’s the digital 21st century and I’m totally fascinated by the amazing possibilities and opportunities offered through peer-to-peer communications, p2p. In a world that was free and open, I’d have been writing about the excitement generated by the new collaborations between and among independent creators, developers and musicians, and the corporate music industry.
Instead, I’m writing about how Warner Music (US), EMI (Britain), Vivendi Universal (France) and Sony BMG (Japan and Germany) are doing everything in their power to maintain the status quo – to keep us locked in time back in the tightly controlled, physical 20th century.
Nor are they alone. The same applies to Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney, the major Hollywood studios, and to all the other huge corporations such as Microsoft, Apple Computer, Google, Yahoo. The line forms on the right, babe.
To them all, ‘free speech,’ ‘openness’ and ‘competition’ are filthy words.
Direct access to knowledge, information and data
In the Q&A mentioned above, “p2pnet.net has become well known for its original news content,” said Slyck, going on:
Do you see news regarding p2p and file-sharing becoming less obscure and more mainstream in the years to come? For example, do you see p2p and file-sharing niche publishing becoming as prominent as other niche publishing sites (such as sports or political publishing)?
I answered:
A kind of an independent parallel communications portal has already developed. And it’s becoming mainstream. People tend to think of the music/movie file sharing thing as separate from ‘important’ world events. However, sooner or later, what’s happening with in this arena will also happen in other areas, and let’s not forget the studios and media outlets the entertainment industry owns, which is most of them, have tremendous influence over what people think and do around the world. The establishment print and electronic media depend almost wholly on corporate advertising and the goodwill of governments and their many and various agencies to survive, which means the news and information they carry is often very badly skewed. In the parallel universe, blogs and sites such as p2pnet carry the news and I think eventually, there’ll be a huge Blog-cum-Web Page Directory. It’ll have information categories people will use to find out what’s happening, where to find services and products, and so on. And it won’t be another kind of search engine.
Because thanks to the Net, for the first time in history, people can do more than wave banners, stage marches and write letters to the editor.
Thanks to the Net, they can use blogs and web pages and email and chat and IM and forums and comment areas to talk to each other, p2p, person-2-person, completely by-passing the corporate media.
And it’s frightening the living daylights out of the Powers That Used To Be.
For the first time in history, people have direct access to the knowledge, information and data which hitherto have been completely denied them, carefully filtered and controlled by the governments and companies which should be serving us, making our lives rich and full, but which are instead doing the exact opposite in their own vested interests.
I was one among the first people to start a dedicated, 24/7, 12/12, site aimed at unspinning the spin spun by our corporate controllers who want to keep us firmly in the dark and under their collective thumbs.
I believe people should be able to say whatever they want without fear. I also believe that for the first time ever, that’s possible. And that’s why p2pnet has never demanded that people who want to say something must register before hey can speak their minds.
I want p2pnet to keep on doing what it’s been doing and if you’d like to help, and you think you can, or if you’d like to become an active part of keeping it online in some way, please get in touch: jon@p2pnet.net. No reasonable offers or suggestions will be turned down : )
Or should I should just give up and sell the p2pnet.net domain name, although I have no idea what it’s worth, if indeed it’s worth anything at all? What do you think? Please tell me.
And one other thing.
Normally, I leave 99.999% of comments up, whatever they say. But for this, I’ll delete negative posts which move things off track. So if you see something from Gachnar or any other troll that’s not directly relevant, please don’t respond to it. I’ll delete it.
Cheers! And thanks. And all the best now and for the future ….
Jon Newton
Vancouver Island
British Columbia, Canada.
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
December 31st, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Advertise motherboards or something, mobos that do not support TC, etc… People who use p2p apps normally don’t even pay for the p2p apps, thus the companies that sell p2p apps eventually pull the plug on advertising, if they’re not sued by the **aa thugs before.
One more thing, people go by, institutions remain, if you can’t no longer be this boat’s captain, transfer command to someone with ideologies similar to yours (ours), and the boat will remain afloat, you could be an article writer instead, I mean it seems a better option than just letting p2pnet sink.
Also, there must be in 2007 a better option than old fashion centralized hosting, using p2p technology to host web pages distributed amongst all of p2pnet’s readers, for instance.
My 2 cents.
December 31st, 2006 at 10:21 pm
I like the distributing computing idea to have p2pnet readers help in hosting the site. Also I think you should give the ability to members of this site to write articles on the issues p2pnet discusses. Because of p2pnet, I know about the RIAA lawsuits. To help with the financial burden of keeping this site alive, why don’t you have a monthly donation button like twit.tv has to make it easier for readers to give a monthly donation.
Anywho, I enjoy your articles and read your blog like someone would read cnn.com.
Cheers,
SiSi
January 1st, 2007 at 12:25 am
___you could be an article writer instead___
If that’s what it takes, that’s what I’ll do.
___using p2p technology to host web pages distributed amongst all of p2pnet’s readers___
Fascinating idea. I don’t have the technical knowledge to implement this, but I’m going to ask around.
Cheers!
January 1st, 2007 at 12:44 am
whatever you do, even if it means turning p2pnet off temporarily until things are sorted out, do not give away your web name.
January 1st, 2007 at 3:25 am
Good idea. Have a look on the left, SiSi. And thanks for the donation as well. Both are very much appreciated : )
Cheers!
January 1st, 2007 at 3:59 am
I think that the idea of letting other readers contribute stories is a great idea! This would take the load off of you and let it be shared with others.
There IS one thing you ned to consider though…you need to consider reviewing ALL stories before they are to be put on the site if they are done by someone else.
For as long a I have been comming here, I have never known you to “spin” a story…you just tell it the way it is! And do a great job of it and I appreciate that.
I am not saying that others would intentionally spin a story, but they could do it without realizing they did it and that is where you could come into play. You could help them if a story is hard to report or has a very sensitive subject.
I also think that the ideas of getting a legitimate advertiser like a motherboard manufacturer or some other company would help. As well as the idea of NOT selling your domain name! You may want to set up the site again even if it is a year or two down the road, so if you DO go offline, please save what you can from the site.
I hope that is not what happens, as it is the “worst case scenario” I can think of, but it never hurts to be prepared.
January 1st, 2007 at 6:25 am
If p2pnet were to become (by way of purchase and thereby right-to-name) simply a redirect site to **IA…. :::: SHUDDERS ::::
January 1st, 2007 at 6:37 am
Jon, this is my first comment but Ive read your site loyally DAILY for some time now.
Quick question. What typse of requirements (with respect to the server itself) do you require?
How much bandwidth, space, etc…
email me if you dont want that out here… im just curious to know (for now)
January 1st, 2007 at 6:38 am
slimbergj@gmail.com
January 1st, 2007 at 7:38 am
want an offer?
January 1st, 2007 at 7:50 am
Your welcome
Happy New Year
January 1st, 2007 at 8:08 am
I read p2pnet everyday. Most of the time even before I look at other news sites. It would be great to see ads that maybe people are more willing to go to. It would be great if companies that are involved in the tech industry to advertise on the site. Companies like atic.ca and a-power.com or even tigerdirect. All 3 are companies that sell computer parts online. I go to their sites every week to check on deals.
I can see how p2pnet is seen worldwide so local ads may not be benificial, unless they want to be seen worldwide.
Hopefully everything works out and everything will be clicking along in 2008 and beyond.
January 1st, 2007 at 4:07 pm
While I don’t have money to donate as I’m already at my voluntary limit with Digital-Copyright.ca , cluecan.ca , goslingcommunity.org and FLORA.org work, I wanted to voice my support for what you are doing at P2Pnet. I hope you are able to get financial support for what you do.
I believe the domain name should be quite valuable if you are forced go to that route. It is quite high on various rankings, and has a lot of links to it. I hope that it will be a media site interested in keeping alternative media going, and not some mainstream or SPAM site (which often look similar).
January 1st, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Interesting. I was thinking exactly the opposite. It is keeping the people in the game that is important to me, not any specific brand names. If p2pnet.net is valued such that Jon is able to pay many bills and continue to haunt the legacy labels and studios, then this is what needs to be done.
Institutions come and go all the time. People and their ideas are what remain, whether they be ideas we agree with or ideas we do not. We need to support the people we share ideas with so that we can together keep the bad ideas from harming us.
January 1st, 2007 at 4:31 pm
Actually that may not be a bad idea, how much do you want for the site in total where it is now. Most banks will loan for a going business. The new owner simply keeps you on staff managing the web site, more “silent partner” type.
Afterall, we use your feed on our site, more than happy to kick over a couple of bucks. But need to get some hard numbers to go along with that assumption.
R/
The management of http://www.bytorr.com a Bittorrent Community.
January 1st, 2007 at 4:41 pm
What a way to start the New Year.
It would suck if you had to sell this Website but you have to put your family first. Thanks for being upfront and letting everyone know that this might happen.
In my opinion, if you put this site for sale there will be a lot of interest and you could demand $50,000 + since you generate 10-20k unique visitors/day. After the google ads mess, you never really monetized this site efficiently aside from your ads from your regular sponsors. There are a lot of alternatives to Google Ads so increasing revenue should be a major problem.
If you decide to keep the Website, maybe you can contact the people at The Pirate Bay. I think they have their own advertising system in place and although many of their ads are adult oriented, they might have other types of ad options.
I’ve always been a fan of your Website and you’ve helped a lot of people, no matter what your detractors say. Good luck and I hope things work out for you.
January 1st, 2007 at 4:44 pm
I meant to write; “There are a lot of alternatives to Google Ads so increasing revenue *shouldn’t* be a major problem.”
January 1st, 2007 at 4:45 pm
I am an executive in one of the companies you frequently call the “entertainment cartels”. I have been visiting P2PNet regularly for some considerable time and I know the same applies to many other people in my line of work.
Your site clearly has its own special point of view and is more often than not intelligently presented, although there have been occasions when the haste with which you produce your articles has been evident.
You have a wry sense of humour which often adds flavour to your posts and you have your finger on the pulse of the peer-to-peer community.
I sincerely hope someone comes along who is able to help you continue to publish P2Pnet. It is genuinely unique in the world of online journalism and I sincerely hope you are able to find a way to continue.
Morg.
January 1st, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Thanks, Morg. I’ve seen you post from time to time. Maybe one of these days you’ll let me know who you are : )
Cheers!
January 1st, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Yup. I sure don’t want to have to sell p2pnet. I honestly believe I consistently cover an area which would otherwise be largely ignored.
___maybe you can contact the people at The Pirate Bay___
Worth a shot. Do you (or does anyone else who might read this) have a contact name/email addie for them? If so, please send it to me at jon@p2pnet.net.
For now, Liz and I worked out our finances yesterday and we think we can keep going for two more months.
As I said to someone in an answer to an email, “They say as one door closes, another opens, so now I’m looking for the door-knob : )”
Cheers, Drake, and all the best …
January 1st, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Howdy Jon,
You know, if your hosting costs are high there’s nothing stopping you from hosting right off one of your home pc’s (presuming your using broadband with at least a 512k upload). Sure, it’s not the best choice but it’s better than going down due to excessive costs (on top of advertisers leaving).
As for advertisers – there must be untapped pools out there somewhere. Sure, we’d prefer to see tech/p2p related ads but frankly what’s important is the stories you have here so if you have colgate toothpaste or toilet paper ad’s then go for it. You could always try another adsenseless account too ( I’m sure that’d last about a week given the past happenings with them ).
Anyway, come on new advertisers – you know you want to market to people in our market segment (teen through senior aged geeks).
Just my 10 cents,
_-Jile-_
January 1st, 2007 at 11:28 pm
Howdy to you too, _-Jile-_
Good idea and I’ll check it out.
Cheers!
January 2nd, 2007 at 4:42 am
Jon, I contacted the pirate bay about your situation and asked them if they could help, either by way of placing ads of their site on your website or giving you links to advertisers that could help you.
I also gave them a link to your story about the sites possible closure.
It is not much, but I hope it helps.
January 2nd, 2007 at 5:42 am
Probably time to follow your wife’s advice (which you reported some time ago) and pack it in.
What you have been doing all of these years is everything you can to rip freedom of choice from the hearts, minds and soles of creators … In your railing against record labels, and everyone else who speaks up for the rights granted to them by law, you’ve encouraged your readers to take whatever they like, from whomever they like, whenever they like. That’s simply wrong headed… and, quite frankly, tired and tragically out of date with reality.
You’re advertisers are leaving you because they have been found guilty in courts of law around the world … including, of course, the unanimous decision in the US Supreme Court against Grokster … of encouraging their users to break the law.
Not dissimilar to what you do.
The world has changed, Jon. Can’t you see? You are truly out of step with the reality of what’s going on around you. No one is trying (or has ever tried) to stop P2P as a technology. If fact, P2P is being universally embraced as the most efficient way to distribute huge legal files across the Net.
Although it appears you haven’t noticed, there are now millions of free songs legally available for distribution via P2P through the Creative Commons, artist’s web sites, YouTube, MySpace and dozens of other outlets …. Thousands of artists have chosen to make their work available without charge … and, that’s as it should be … they’ve always been free to do so.
But, many artists, songwriters, musicians, background singers, and record producers haven’t made that choice … they would like to be paid for what they do whether they are associated with a record label or not. Through your words and deeds you have demanded that freedom of choice for those who would like to be paid be taken away from them and that their rights be thoroughly trampled. That’s not right … It’s never been right.
What you are really saying, Jon, is that you and your minions should have the right to do whatever you like with something you don’t own … against the will of the owners … and you fully expect the owners to sit back and take it because technology allows you to flaunt the rule of law. Your position is morally reprehensible – irrespective of how clumsily you try to spin it.
You also may not have noticed, but today artists have thousands of ways to communicate directly with their audiences and market themselves any way they see fit. Nothing stops them. Nobody is trying to shut them down. Though it destroys your reason for being, major labels are no longer a bottleneck … In fact, artists who decide to release their music as unencumbered mp3s may have a great leg up over the majors who offer their product in DRM straight jackets.
If you don’t like the way the majors operate, you now have the broadest array of legal options ever known to man… many of them free. The majors can be totally avoided and never missed.
Here’s a thought. If you want to stay in the digital publishing business, and really want to do something to help artists, why don’t you turn P2PNet into a site that promotes artists who are offering their music for free through P2P. That would finally get you into doing something positive rather than destructive … and might open the door to advertisers, most of whom are no longer willing to be associated with sites that advocate breaking the law.
One final note. I see that you intend to restrict freedom of speech with regards to responses to your column. Now, let’s see, you advocate doing away with freedom of choice … and, now, freedom of speech — what was that you were you saying about “‘free speech,’ ‘openness’ and ‘competition?’ I guess it’s OK everywhere but on P2Pnet.
January 2nd, 2007 at 10:13 am
OK let me call you on ALL of your points!
1.Probably time to follow your wife’s advice (which you reported some time ago) and pack it in.
WHY should he “pack it in?” because YOU or the recording or movie industry doies not agree with him and therefore that make YOU right? Seems to me kinda a nazi way of thinking. I hope he sticks around just to be a thorn in your and the industries side!
2.What you have been doing all of these years is everything you can to rip freedom of choice from the hearts, minds and soles of creators … In your railing against record labels, and everyone else who speaks up for the rights granted to them by law, you’ve encouraged your readers to take whatever they like, from whomever they like, whenever they like. That’s simply wrong headed… and, quite frankly, tired and tragically out of date with reality.
NO what he has been doing all of these years is telling the TRUTH! The truth may hurt, but it is the entertainment industries that have charged outragous prices for their merchandise and then re- package it so you buy the same junk over and over again. It is the entertianment industry which has sued 14 year old girls, dead people and people that were completely innocent without taking time to even see if they had a case or not! Quite frankly, I think the day is comming when the cartels are going to be sued for racketeering and extortion, because of the way they conduct their “shotgun” lawsuits!
3. You’re advertisers are leaving you because they have been found guilty in courts of law around the world … including, of course, the unanimous decision in the US Supreme Court against Grokster … of encouraging their users to break the law.
Regardless of his advertisers….Jon has done absolutely NOTHING WRONG! He does not even provide links to material that is copyrighted…all he does is have a p2p news site! How is that wrong? And where do you get off saying that you know the reasons his advertisers left him? You have no clue and neither do I. Regardless, he can get other advertisers…unless now you want to say something idiotic such as freedom of speech should be outlawed?
4.Not dissimilar to what you do.
WHAT exactly has he done? Provide p2p stories for the masses? THAT is your “criminal behaviour” you accuse him of? Ok, lets hang everyone else that expresses views you or the entertainment industry does not agree with! (sarcasim…in case you did not understand)
5.The world has changed, Jon. Can’t you see? You are truly out of step with the reality of what’s going on around you. No one is trying (or has ever tried) to stop P2P as a technology. If fact, P2P is being universally embraced as the most efficient way to distribute huge legal files across the Net.
Oh the world HAS CHANGED, but NOT the way you believe it to be. If you would try to get your head out of the sand, you would SEE that DRM is NOT WORKING, lawsuits are NOT WORKING and people have gotten PAST the idea that the industry controlls or should control what is out there FOR THEM. They want to make choices for themselves and the industry shot itself in the FOOT with Napster! They had a great oportunity to draw in the crowd they now hate, but instead they got greedy and that cost them and will continue to cost them dearly!
6. Although it appears you haven’t noticed, there are now millions of free songs legally available for distribution via P2P through the Creative Commons, artist’s web sites, YouTube, MySpace and dozens of other outlets …. Thousands of artists have chosen to make their work available without charge … and, that’s as it should be … they’ve always been free to do so.
I think he HAS noticed and I agree it should be this way. Why do you think he has not? But mark my words, the cartels are fighting a losing battle when it comes to filesharing. In case YOU have not noticed, filesharing is GREATER now than in the early days of napster! Why do you think that is? Could it be that the price of a dollar a song is ridiculous? Most think so weather you do or not.
7. But, many artists, songwriters, musicians, background singers, and record producers haven’t made that choice … they would like to be paid for what they do whether they are associated with a record label or not. Through your words and deeds you have demanded that freedom of choice for those who would like to be paid be taken away from them and that their rights be thoroughly trampled. That’s not right … It’s never been right.
So WHAT IS RIGHT in your opinioin? The customer AND ARTISTS to get screwed by the industry that claims to protect the artist and have the customers intrest at heart? I guess you never heard of the law coingress had to pass that NOW music companies must show artists their income on a label? Why did they PASS that law? It was because the record companies were hiding profits from artists…so THEY pocketed the money that was owed the artists. It is not right and NEVER WILL BE RIGHT for the legal practices the cartels are taking right now on average citizens and the way they treat their own artists! Think about that before you go spouting off about how rightous the labels are!
8.What you are really saying, Jon, is that you and your minions should have the right to do whatever you like with something you don’t own … against the will of the owners … and you fully expect the owners to sit back and take it because technology allows you to flaunt the rule of law. Your position is morally reprehensible – irrespective of how clumsily you try to spin it.
You want to talk about putting a “spin” on things? your own words sound like you are accusing Jon of encouraging copyright violations. When in fact all he does is report what is going on in the p2p world! If a reporter reports about a plane crashing in Bolivia, for example, does that make HIM responsible for the plane crashing? Kind of a stupid and desperate accusation if you ask me! You are so intent on branding him a criminal, you do anything to justify it, weather it is right or wrong! Oh, and one more thing, get this: I would rather be a minion and have a mind of my own, than a become a copyright troll like you.
9.You also may not have noticed, but today artists have thousands of ways to communicate directly with their audiences and market themselves any way they see fit. Nothing stops them. Nobody is trying to shut them down. Though it destroys your reason for being, major labels are no longer a bottleneck … In fact, artists who decide to release their music as unencumbered mp3s may have a great leg up over the majors who offer their product in DRM straight jackets.
Again, playing God I see? How do you know WHAT Jon notices or not? And thought it is true that artist NOW have a place to put their content….ON P2P…HOW do you think p2p came about in the first place? It seems you miss a LOT of history on p2p, because there WERE NO legal alternatives when Napster first came out…there STILL are NO legal alternatives for first run movies at theaters! Why? Because of greed. Pure and simple.
10. If you don’t like the way the majors operate, you now have the broadest array of legal options ever known to man… many of them free. The majors can be totally avoided and never missed.
Who is saying otherwise? Yes choices are SLOWLY comming because the industry is getting it’s ass beat by free services. But YOU STILL do not have any legal options when it comes to first run movies, games, books, etc. All of this COULD be made available with an idea known as creative licensing , but the major players are too greedy to even think about it! Now tell me WHO is being “unfair”?
11. Here’s a thought. If you want to stay in the digital publishing business, and really want to do something to help artists, why don’t you turn P2PNet into a site that promotes artists who are offering their music for free through P2P. That would finally get you into doing something positive rather than destructive … and might open the door to advertisers, most of whom are no longer willing to be associated with sites that advocate breaking the law.
Well here’s another thought, why don’t you try to at least THINK about some of the things that have been problems with ordinary people and try to look at it from THEIR point of view? The averagee customer today has to put up with DRM, rootkits, incompatible formats and technology that is threatening to take away even the very freedom to make ONE BACKUP COPY OF SOMETHING THEY ALREADY OWN!! Now I ask you, are the cartyels playing by any BETTER RULES? I don’t think so.
12. One final note. I see that you intend to restrict freedom of speech with regards to responses to your column. Now, let’s see, you advocate doing away with freedom of choice … and, now, freedom of speech — what was that you were you saying about “‘free speech,’ ‘openness’ and ‘competition?’ I guess it’s OK everywhere but on P2Pnet.
BOY! You really are desperate! Let’s see….he let YOU post your entire message of crap and do it without anyone knowing who you are…and YOU satnd there and accuse HIM of doing away with freedom of choice?
Seems you have a problem with understanding the difference between him “delete anything that’s obscene or denigrates gender or religion.” OR “And we delete all lame efforts to get free advertising by posting in Readers’ Writes.”….AKA SPAM and the freedom to write anything else you want. Now who is trolling? You really ought to take a look at what you have wrote and ask yourself if you will be happy the next time a OS program windows vista denies you viewing a legitimate movie you bought and paid for, because IT thinks it is illegal. It is about control and the cartels are losing it! I hope they go down and something else takes their place, but then again, I am not as happy over other people controlling what I do as you seem to be. Have a nice day.
January 2nd, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Hi Jon,
I was wondering what the bandwidth requirements for this site are?
Rince.
January 2nd, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Thanks. It all helps. I contacted them as well. Haven’t heard back from them.
Cheers!
January 2nd, 2007 at 3:44 pm
I know that EFF’s pockets are not terribly deep but perhaps you could syndicate your content to their site for a fee… or perhaps they could just understand that Electronic Freedom cannot be protected without the kind of journalism that you are doing here and they will voluntarily share of their grants.
Also:
Apple seems to be raking in the download dollars now with their i-Tunes store. I myself have transitioned some of my P2P interest in their limited offerings. I realize that what I am about to propose might seem to be dealing with the devil but they’re advertising would work quite nicely here — especially for people who are presently sharing low quality copyrighted work (especially cams — these are a terrible idea). You could pitch to Apple that they might feature the quality and reliability that their store offers over the low quality and unrealiablity that plague the P2P experience.
That having been said — I am a fan of P2P and would like to see your project continue to report on it as it evolves and survives the attacks of the **AAs.
Best of luck. When I feel like learning a bit about what’s happening in P2P I turn to this site. Seek avenues to make it work.
January 2nd, 2007 at 5:39 pm
If the readers of p2p were to email potential advertisers ( Tiger Direct,Pirate Bay,etc. ) it might help. Email is free. Can’t hurt.
January 2nd, 2007 at 8:53 pm
< applause >
January 2nd, 2007 at 8:54 pm
I sincerely hope p2pnet can find a way __STAY PUT__ where it is very badly needed!!! A one-off site like this will be extremely sorely missed.
January 2nd, 2007 at 11:19 pm
I already have emailed TPB. I hope they can give Jon some help.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1:40 am
Hear Hear! An excellent response. Funny that it is that those complaining about freedom to express themselves are also the same type of folks that have gotten Yahoo to pull its support of open messenger chats.
It seems that every troll on the net only believes that it is fair if they are given full and free reign. Whenever that is contradicted or restrained in some manner it is no longer about the trolls’ viewpoint but then it is about freedom to express themselves.
That freedom is never guaranteed on the net. Everything is digital and can be changed. It’s not carved in stone and it gives nor grants the right to be obnoxious, to violate rules given to ensure an equal stance in debate, or to be just a contrary SOB to the determent of others.
I can say that I’ve posted here for a long time without fear of editing nor censorship because I have something to say and something to contribute.
We’ve others here that seem to have no purpose in life but either spam or trying to pretend they know what Jon is doing in his personal life. Again those two do nothing for the site nor its stated theme. Their sort of like scum on a pond and not welcomed.
I can say at least the poster of the original response is not so much of those two types as at least for the most part he does have something to say but even there he shows his true colors before the end of the post with going back to Jon and his personal life. You always see in those types of posts that the poster has no really good points and so it has to go there because he has nothing else to say to really back up his points or to show good sense. In those cases they always have to resort to personal attack for lack of data to actually discuss.
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:15 am
Me too I am reading your site every day.
According to alexa you have a lot of traffic and ironically the ranking of your site is way higher than riaa.com. (This tell us where the wind is blowing!)
For reducing the cost of hosting Try: http://www.basichost.net/ I maintain a web site with them and the service is pretty decent at a very low cost: (ie 4gb web site 100gb/month for $100 (US $/year!) You share the server though and Considering your high traffic I don’t know if it will work.
For maitening an income I believe you would need the pro bono help of a business developement gourou that migh be able to land you deals with companies such as samdisk.
Anyone voluntering?
Your site clearly has advertizing power.
Try to contact http://www.nettwerk.com/ This guys are in Business. They are now offically opposing the RIAA too.
They might have a great deal advertizing their CD release at P2Pnet for few thousand $/month. Tha will be a nice way to whoo their publics!
Just my two cent.
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:20 am
When I shop for an MP3 player, it is very hard to find one that would behave as a hard drive and that requires no hardware. Not that there is a lack of those on the market, just the companies like Apple and iRiver do not mention that capability in the marketing descriptions. However, having support for USB mass storage is a strong selling point for me: if I spend so much money on a player, it better have USB mass storage support included so that there is no software to install, and there is NO obstacles for moving ANY file TO and FROM the player.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_mass_storage_device_class
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:22 am
So, p2pnet could have a hardware section as well and post advertisements featuring such hardware. After all, p2p is people to people and it does not need to involve Internet.
January 3rd, 2007 at 5:31 am
There should be ads for DRM-free products like Neuros, the open-source electronics company that makes drm-free portable video/audio players and dvr. This company actually gets what the entertainment industry’s putting us through and respects digital freedoms.
http://www.neurosaudio.com/
There should also be ads for eMusic and other DRM free services.
I’m going to contact these companies and see what they say.
January 3rd, 2007 at 10:26 am
I just sub at $5 which works out at about £2.61 (pounds-uk) today.
I will be e-mail you Jon shortly as I have some idea’s for you.
(private message it me the $5.14 guy)
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Usenet companies like Giganews, Newshosting, Easynews, Powersusenet – and many more – can pay well. It’s something that probably should be promoted to readers anyway, since downloading from newsgroups is virtually 100% risk free, with no chance of being sued (or possibly jailed) compared to participating in P2P networks.
It seems UseNext probably pays the best rates, since they sponsor nearly every major torrent and edonkey download site, but they appear to have a rather bad reputation as a company.
As the only remaining commercial P2P segment, and charging customers around $10 to $25 per month, they have plenty of money to throw around. The industry is rapidly expanding, with more new companies coming online, and the major providers have been busy investing in substantial server farm expansions.
While commercial P2P is all but dead, binary newsgroups have become file sharing’s new growth industry, and they’re always looking for sites where they can advertise.
Considering its target reader base, P2Pnet would be a prime location to advertise newsgroup providers.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Jon,
I echo Russell´s moral support and hope that you find some new advertisers to back you and p2pnet – over here in the UK the struggle with Fading Ways continues – still broke / scraping by after all these years, but like you said, what would people like me and you do without our commitments? p2p net shouldn´t shut down altogether – even if at certain times we have to do other things for income to supplement a disapointment, that route is better than giving up in my view…
All the best regardless of the route you choose to go, Jon.
Neil
January 3rd, 2007 at 1:49 pm
WHO CARES ?
YOUR WEBSITE DON’T EVEN HAVE DOWNLOADABLE GOODIES LIKE DOOM9.ORG.
YOU PEOPLE SOUND LIKE THE CRYBABY AUTHOR OF DVD DECYRPTER WHEN HE SOLD OUT TO MACROVISION.
BOO HOO HOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 3rd, 2007 at 8:10 pm
If Jon had encouraged an open dialog with the cartels maybe he wouldnt be having close shop
January 4th, 2007 at 6:28 am
GIVE IT A REST TROLL! This site is worth saving, sorry if you don’t agree…too bad. We will go on trying to save it no matter what you do.
January 4th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Hi
I have written very nice email to bittorrent inc (bittorrent.com) hoping that they could host your website or make some kind of deal with you. I don’t know what else I can do, besides having faith and hoping you will succed.
We really appreciate with my GF your work and use it sometimes as base to our news and short stories
Regards
Lukasz Bien
news.torrent.pl
January 4th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
One thoughtless troll in the midst of all this love isn’t too bad considering other discussions I have read. I hope that while people are generously giving of their ideas for ad ops, they also click the donate button. This thing is heating up like V for Vendetta.
January 4th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Thanks, Lukasz. It all helps : )
Cheers!
Jon
January 4th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Hi: Sorry – I can’t find $51.4. But you could email me — jon@p2pnet.net.
Cheers! And thanks …
Jon
January 6th, 2007 at 10:20 am
I don’t want to get philosophical and stuff, but I was more thinking along the lines of people being constantly replaced by people, because forces of diferent kinds move them around, whether it’s death, or someone not being able to continue with a project. The institution does remain do, at least in the short run, on a larger scale even the institutions get replaced.
I doubt for instance that if Steve Ballmer has a heart attack and dies today they’ll be like “Ok people let’s wrap up here and everyone go home, you don’t need to come to work tomorrow”. I agree with you, people is the most important element of instututions, yet people do get replaced often. When Dubya is no longer president, he’ll move out of the White House, not the other way around, yet the government will continue.
~ Leo.
January 7th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
It’s said news to hear, but in some ways I’m not surprised. When the string verification was added, the number of readers comments seemed to drop off rather sharply. Very few articles receive comments these days. Even I was put off and came here less and less because of it. It’s nice to see that posts are no longer lost when the string is typed in wrong (it’s still hard to tell what some letters/numbers are though), but I think it came too late to prevent folks from moving on to other related websites.
Another put off is the filler. You know, those so-called news articles that proclaim the evils of the MPAA and RIAA, how they’re victimizing children, moms, and so forth. It gets old fast, and none of it is really news. After a while it starts to feel like I’m being hit over the head with a baseball bat repeatedly.
Don’t get me wrong as I’ve always loved this site. Being able to leave anonymous comments has always been one of the primary features that made me love it in the beginning, and I’ve commented many a time over the past year or two. There aren’t many sites out there willing to risk doing this. So please, take my comments above for what they are, as constructive criticism.
I have to admit that I’m impressed at the number of folks that seem to have come out from lurk mode to post in support of Jon and this site. It’s good to see that there are still some folks out there that value all his hard work and care what happens to him. Money is really tight right now for the wife and I, otherwise I’d be donating right now. I wish I could do more than simply comment, but alas that is all I have to offer. Since that is a part of what makes p2pnet so great, I suppose it is better than nothing.
Anyways, keep up the good work. You always done the community a great service, especially in regards to fund drives for people facing lawsuits. Above all, I wanted you to know that is has always been appreciated by this reader, and that I hope things work out for you in the end. Always remember to look on the bright side of life. If you end up having to sell the site, at least you’ll have more time for your other hobbies, and in particular your family. Take care!
January 7th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
” Another put off is the filler. You know, those so-called news articles that proclaim the evils of the MPAA and RIAA, how they’re victimizing children, moms, and so forth. It gets old fast, and none of it is really news. After a while it starts to feel like I’m being hit over the head with a baseball bat repeatedly. ”
I love how you always sign your posts.
Yes, the constant mainstream cries of “stealing”, “theft”,
“artists going broke cuz of p2p” ..etc .. all untrue, get
to feel like baseball bat hits as well.
The Lie Oft Repeated strategy is VERY effective when the
the liars control major media.
That’s why sites like Jon’s are so frightening.
The TRUTH can be repeated as often as the lie.
For now, the net cannot be fully censored or controlled
by conventional means ( now, as we are seeing, financial
censorship is being used ).
The ARE victimizing children, Moms, the dead etc..
Using their vast financial weight as a club to force submission,
regardless of fact.
that’s the truth.
That’s why sites like these exist, and are needed.
January 7th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
… for taking the time to leave a post. It’s appreciated.
On the verification: I had absolutely no choice, and you can thank the spammers, mostly in China, for that. And I still regularly delete them by hand.
But I am, as they say, exploring possibilities and who knows maybe we’ll be able to figure out a way to dispense with the VF system? That’d be good.
It’d also be good to re-start the newsletter which I had to drop for technical reasons I wasn’t able to deal with.
Cheers!
January 7th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
… is one of the cartels’ most valued weapons. I’ve called it the dripping tap principle several times.
Say something often enough and eventually, it becomes accepted truth. Ask Hitler’s propagandist.
So Yes, I’m saying the same thing over and over again, but not because I’m trying to pass a lie off as the truth. What I’m saying _is_ the truth. I’m doing what I can to make sure it isn’t completely swamped by all the bullshit the labels and movie studios are able to get into the mainstream media.
Cheers!
January 7th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Seems to me your troubles stem more from your inability to provide a product that has value, or be a journalist and your unwillingness to separate your “journalism” from your own biases and advertisers – that’s my opinion. Slyck seems to be able to support itself. Real journalists comply with the ethical code below – do you? How can you justify not disclosing the identity and motivation of the European group that was so anxious to keep you alive? How can you justify not disclosing the advertiser that has kept you alive and the influences both have had upon your “work”. How can you claim to be a journalist and have such clear biases against certain of the subjects of your so called “articles” and in favor of those who pay to keep you going. Is it not telling that you do not have the quantity and quality of readers to attract sufficient advertizing to keep p2pnet going? What does the survival of Slyck tell you about honesty, disclosure and market forces? I am really interested to receive your comments on how the disclosures in your article/sob story above allow you to claim compliance with the Canadian journalism code of ethics:
CEP Journalism Code of Ethics
(A code adopted on 17 December 2004 by the CEP, the Communications, Energy and Paperwork Union, one of the largest unions in Canada, formed in 1992 through a merger of three smaller unions)
Preamble
Journalists report, analyse, and comment on the facts that help their fellow citizens understand the world in which they live. Complete, accurate and diverse information and commentary are necessary for the proper functioning of democracy.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms recognizes this by guaranteeing freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Journalists must defend the freedom of the press and the public’s right to information; they must fight any restrictions, pressures and threats that aim to limit the gathering and dissemination of information.
Facts and ideas that are in the public interest must circulate freely.
Our legal traditions give media privilege and protection. We must return this trust through the ethical practice of our craft. A free press should serve the public interest, not personal or specific interests. Serving the public interest must override any desire to favour the financial and competitive needs of news organizations or their parent companies.
The rights and responsibilities of a free press apply to both individual journalists and to news organizations that employ them.
Journalists must take their role very seriously. They must demand of themselves the same ethical qualities they demand of newsmakers; in other words, they cannot denounce other people’s conflicts of interest, and at the same time, accept their own.
This Code establishes the principles that should guide journalistic work in organizations where CEP collective agreements are in force. These principles lay the foundation for a journalist’s most precious asset: credibility.
Therefore, those of us engaged in journalism and newsroom management commit ourselves to: truth, honesty, fairness, independence and respect for the rights of others. To achieve these goals the following principles shall govern our activity in the collection and dissemination of news and opinion:
PRINCIPLES
1) We shall at all times defend the principle of the freedom of the press and other media in relation to the collection of information and the expression of comment and criticism.
2) We shall strive to eliminate distortion, news suppression and censorship.
3) We shall strive to ensure that the information disseminated is fair and accurate, avoiding the expression of comment and conjecture as established fact and falsification by distortion, selection or misrepresentation.
4) We shall give an accurate account of what people say. Quotations, editing, sound effects, etc., and the sequence in which they are presented, must not distort the meaning of people’s words.
5) We shall rectify promptly any harmful inaccuracies, ensure that correction and apologies receive due prominence and afford the right of reply to persons criticized when the issue is of sufficient importance.
6) We shall give people or organizations that are publicly accused or criticized prompt opportunity to respond. We shall make a genuine and exhaustive effort to contact them. If they decline to comment we will say so.
7) We shall tell sources who are unfamiliar with the media that their remarks may be published or broadcast and thus communicated to a large group of people.
9) We shall ensure that photographs, graphics, sounds and images that are published or broadcast represent reality as accurately as possible. Artistic concerns shall not result in public deception. Edited images and photographs shall be identified as such.
10) We shall always credit the originating news organization or reporter so that readers/viewers know the sources of their information.
11) We shall never plagiarize. If we use an exclusive piece of information that has just been published or broadcast by another media organization, we shall identify the source.
12) Subject to the justification by over-riding considerations of the public interest, we shall do nothing that entails intrusion into private grief and distress.
13) We shall respect everyone’s right to a fair trial. We shall respect the presumed innocence of everyone before the courts. When we have covered an incident where individuals have been incriminated and prosecuted, we will continue to follow the story as closely as possible, and ensure the public is informed of the end result.
14) We shall identify sources of information, except when there is a clear and pressing reason to protect anonymity. When this happens, we will explain the need for anonymity.
15) We shall endeavour to protect confidential sources of information, but since there are no shield laws protecting journalists in Canada we may be ordered by a court or judicial inquiry to divulge confidential sources upon threat of jail. Therefore we must convey that clearly to our sources.
16) We shall not accept bribes nor shall we allow other inducements to influence the performance of our journalistic duties.
17) We shall not lend ourselves to the distortion or suppression of the truth because of advertising or other considerations.
18) Columnists shall be free to express their views, even when those views are contrary to the editorial views of their organization, as long as the content does not breach the law.
19) We shall only mention a person’s age, ethnic background, colour, creed, illegitimacy, disability, marital status (or lack of it), gender or sexual orientation if this information is strictly relevant. We shall neither originate nor process material that encourages discrimination, ridicule, prejudice or hatred on any of the above-mentioned grounds.
20) We shall not take private advantage of information gained in the course of our duties, before the information is public knowledge.
21) We shall not use our positions to obtain any benefit or advantage in commercial transactions not available to the public.
22) We shall not by way of statement, voice or appearance endorse by advertisement any commercial product or service save for the promotion of our own work or of the organization that employs us.
23) We shall clearly identify infomercials so they are not in any way confused — even by their layout — with information.
24) We shall cover events sponsored by our own organizations with the same rigor we apply to every other event.
25) We shall not act as police informers or as agents for any country’s security or intelligence services.
January 7th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
have you considered merchandise? p2pnet t-shirts, mouse mats and the like?
January 8th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Jon Newton, you have been a great voice of news and inspiration for those of us who have a benevolent stance towards filesharing. Your services are greatly appreciated.
I think that you are asking way too much to have a website not only support your webhosting costs; but also you, your wife, your child, and your mortage. Most people are happy just to have part of their webhosting costs paid for with their advertisements.
While it sucks getting reduced revenue, take heart that it means people are becoming more savvy about what is being thrown before them, and they can’t be taken for granted to be consumers. So isn’t it a good thing for the people if marketing and advertising suffers a decline? You support the will of the people. So support their desire to not be marketed. Also much of your revenue comes from shady DCIA “filesharing” companies. The best filesharing programs are open source and are non commercial. The DCIA and its affiliates are poison for filesharers.
I suggest you try to send your daughter to public school rather than home school her. It seems that you or your wife should get some kind of jobs which draw in an income. And you will be surprised to find that actually taking time off from your hobby of filesharing, will give you a better grasp at it because it will make you more well rounded and give you a fresh perspective.
People are fundamentally lazy and will make mountains of the molehills which are their daily hobbies and chores. I know because I actually seem to do more at home during a work day in which I also go to work, than when I am off on the weekend where I have the leisure to procrastinate and lounge at home all day. It seems that most people work better on a budget, or with deadlines and outside disciplines imposed upon them.
January 8th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
January 8th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Bye Bye. Your supposed \\\\\\\”reporter\\\\\\\” status is finished. You only edit and keep what you think you like. either its open or its closed- but when you take down posts that dont agree with you or critisize you, then you deserve to go down.
I dont think somehow you will keep this up for long either but I will cache it so everone can see!
Bye Bye.
January 9th, 2007 at 2:25 am
Hi eclectica.
It’s nice to have someone with points to make sign his name : )
___I think that you are asking way too much to have a website not only support your webhosting costs; but also you, your wife, your child, and your mortage. Most people are happy just to have part of their webhosting costs paid for with their advertisements.___
I work at p2pnet, and I do mean ‘work,’ for between 12 and 14 hours a day weekdays, and for six or seven hours on week-ends, and often more than that. In other words, I’m now a full-time online publisher, but I’m not getting fat on it. Nor is this an entrepreneurial-type business. It started out as a personal page and became the way I earn my living by accident.
___Also much of your revenue comes from shady DCIA “filesharing” companies. The best filesharing programs are open source and are non commercial. The DCIA and its affiliates are poison for filesharers.___
100% incorrect. I have nothing whatsoever to do with the DCIA or companies associated with them. To the contrary, I’ve frequently criticised them. Here’s an early post. http://www.p2pnet.net/story/1720. Sharman Networks got the DCIA rolling and Sharman’s Nikki Hemming is suing me.
___I suggest you try to send your daughter to public school rather than home school her. It seems that you or your wife should get some kind of jobs which draw in an income.___
There’s no way on earth Liz or I be willing to send Emma to a pubic school. If she wanted to go, we wouldn’t stop her. But she’s tried it and prefers things the way they are. I believe you’re a fairly regular reader so you already know how I feel about the increasing corporate incursions into the public school systems. So we’ll continue to take on the direct responsibility of educating her ourselves, working with, and often helped by, other home-schooling families.
___And you will be surprised to find that actually taking time off from your hobby of filesharing, will give you a better grasp at it because it will make you more well rounded and give you a fresh perspective.___
It’s not a hobby, and never was. I had my own music online for free and it’s still there. http://www.p2pnet.net/jonmusic/index.html I’d planned to try and get a kind of collaborative jam session going but in the end, I didn’t have the time.
As far as uploading and downloading files are concerned, I used to do both, but not any more for reasons which should be obvious to you if you think about it for a moment. I’m already the victim of one lawsuit, and there are two more in the wings.
Cheers!
January 10th, 2007 at 3:44 am
Jon, I don’t have any money to spare, (similar boat as you) but I gave P2pNet a free banner at http://independentmusicnews.com
I don’t have much traffic yet (just started the site as a “side-project” of my own …mostly to teach myself html/css/etc.) But maybe it will help ya some. Who knows?
–Shmoo, aka “independentmusician”
of the band Electric Gypsy
(still serving voluntarily as an admin at Boycott Riaa)
January 10th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Ya Right!
Another RIAA drone Talking!
This is the 4 majors “coprorations” (Vivendique/universale, Sony/BSHG, EMI and Time Warned) that have an inability to provide a product that has value!
The Value of P2Pnet is measure by it’s tremendous traffic that I am sorry to say is way higher than the traffic at Riaa.com.
You! Parasite tell the piece of shit that are your friends at the RIAA that the people are nolonger inpressed by the britney-slut and other Madona-Crap they are producing.
Tell your friend that they are all in trouble and that if they don’t drop their lawsuit and campaign of harassement and extortion very soon
against the citizen of this country they are going to get it!
yes they are consequences for breaking our laws, trempling our constitution and corrupting our governement.
These consequences could be dear!
January 10th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
RIAA Parasite:
You are taking your desire for reality just like the 4 major organized criminal organization Vevendique Universal, Sony/BMG, EMI and Time Warner! Tey are reporting great income while every day bring them closer to BK! it like the RIAA reporting their success against P2P while their sale are down and the P2Ptraffic continue to go up!
You are pathetic!
This is us that are saying Bye Bye to you because this is youthat is going to dissapear soon!
You see we don’t need crap like you dude!
The artists and their public no longer need you for advertizing and distributing their production because they hav internet.
ByeBye Bye RIAA!
And as far as P2Pnet is concern it is not going to dissapear because we will support it! But you can day dream!
January 13th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
“How can you claim to be a journalist and have such clear biases against certain of the subjects of your so called “articles”
Gee why don’t you ask Fox news, MSNBC, and CNN, the New York Times etc… the same question
April 9th, 2007 at 6:32 am