Information, pricing and instant ordering of
pixel micro-ads on InfoSysSec.com,
  SecurityNewsPortal.com and HomeLandSecurityX.com
 

The idea is simple... to try and make some money by selling 120,000 pixels of advertising space for $1 per pixel.  Hence,  'The 120k Security Pixel Ad Pad" was born.  The main motivation for doing this of course is to try to generate some revenue while having a little fun and doing something that is a little different from what all the other security web sites might be doing.

I am sure you have all read by now about the 21 year old student who created  the "Million Pixel" web site ( http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/) and  was able to generate sales of 1 million pixels and bank over $1 million dollars with the only thing on his lame web site being these pixel ads.

So I figured that it would be interesting to simply try a smaller scale version of  the milliondollarhomepage with only 120,000 pixels and place them on my two highest profile security focused web sites.   At least my sites have content, a large and continuously growing viewership and have a  proven  usefulness to people.. 

Maybe the world is ready for micro-ads.... and maybe it isn't... but I took the plunge and so did a number of our advertisers. And now two years later their micro-ads are still online on our front pages, all for the just the price that they paid when they first opted in. We only make you pay once. There are no annual renewal fees. You pay once... the ad goes up.. and it stays there.  

So why does the SecurityNewsPortal.com, InfoSysSec.com and HomelandSecurityX.com
want to raise some money ?  Is it need or greed ?

You have to remember that unlike almost every other security web site out there, these sites are owned, operated, maintained and updated by one lone person.  It is one of the few truly independent and non-affiliated security sites on the Internet..   It is a fact that almost all the other security focused web sites are owned and bankrolled by some large company and the continued existence of  my sites sites over the years as an independent resource  is a bit of an anomaly...  

So the short answer is that these funds will help me to dedicate my attention exclusively and fully to the updating and maintenance of these web sites without worrying about where the next money will come from to pay the rent.   I guess you could say that puts us in the needy category and not the greedy.

Are you going to get rich with this pixel thingy ? 

I seriously doubt it.  Didn't you just read the previous section about how most security web sites, even the ones owned by large companies, are starving or losing money ? 

But the concept of the pixel micro-ad thingy appealed to me on quite a few levels... with the most important being that I could offer something in return to the micro-advertisers for the financial contribution generated by the pixel ads.  It struck me as a potential win-win situation.

So no... I doubt I will get rich with this pixel micro-ad thingy... 

 

Why should I buy your pixels ?

Because you will have an image and a link to your web site on the homepage of a group of security specific web sites that are viewed by millions of security professionals, network professionals and folks with an interest in these fields.  The pixels that you buy will be displayed on the homepage of the SecurityNewsPortal.com,  InfoSysSec.com and HomelandSecurityX.com web sites.  

I believe the pixel micro-ads will offer good value to potential micro-advertisers with clickthroughs and your hyperlink on my sites will even possibly raise your rank positioning on the search engines that add weight to the inter-relationship between a web site and who it links to ( Google for example ). 

But most of all your purchase of a pixel micro-ad will allow me the financial freedom to carry on with the ongoing updating and maintenance of these web sites without having to spend time and worry looking for potential advertisers to keep the boards going.
 

What's the point of pixels ads ?  Aren't they too small to be effective or useful ?

I asked myself that same question.   It just didn't seem logical that such a small ad could have any real impact or return on investment.   But lately there have been more and more news articles talking about micro-ads and the conclusion was that they were proving to be cost effective for the advertisers. 

If you take a quick look at the testimony from satisfied advertisers on the http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/testimonials.php page you will see that those folks were quite pleased with their small ad and small investment.   Now keep in mind that one would have to assume that a 'security related' micro-ad - placed on a 'security specific' web site that features 'security content' should hopefully generate a better return on investment than a micro-ad - placed on an ad only web site - that features no content other than micro-ads.

Now I can't guarantee that you will have the success of those happy advertisers... but at least it does show or suggest that the pixel ads do generate interest and clickthroughs to the advertisers.  And with the micro ad being in front of the viewership for the one low price on three security specific web sites it might just turn out to be the bargain of the year for the smaller advertisers. 

Can I buy one single pixel?
 

Although it would probably be cool if individuals could buy a single pixel each, in practise, it wouldn't be so effective. The reason I believe this is because you can't display anything meaningful in one pixel - nor click on it easily - so visually, it would be totally pointless. Can you imagine thousands of random tiny coloured single pixel dots all over the place, the homepage would look pretty artistiic but not be very meaningful or useful.

This offer will probably appeal more to people with businesses or websites to advertise than it would to individuals, or to put it more accurately, businesses would pay more to have a meaningful graphic on the homepage. Hence the minimum purchase is $100 - a 10x10 block.   

And yet for some of the individuals who are regular visitors to the SecurityNewsPortal.com or HomelandSecurityX.com or InfoSysSec.com, the $100 cost for a 10 pixel by 10 pixel ad space is not beyond their means and it would allow them to financially contribute towards these sites and feel feel good that they have a fun and silly way to contribute to the ongoing existence of these security specific  resources.  

But if you really want to own just a single pixel, there is always the option of clubbing together with your friends/family/colleauges and buying a 10x10 block together..

Can I buy some pixel space just to help make a donation to the
web sites without having any commercial purpose in mind ?

Absolutely yes.  If you would like to buy some pixel space to help out in the financial operation of these web sites, you most certainly can buy some.

You do not have to provide a hyperlink link to a commercial web page.   You might for example choose to have no hyperlink attached to your graphic... or maybe you would like to have a hyperlink from your graphic leading to your favorite football, baseball, hockey team or whatever.   ( (.... Just as long as the hyperlink you provide does not lead to obscene / offensive / adult destinations.)

And if you need a graphic designed to fit your 'donated space' I will be pleased to build one for you.
 

What happens if you only sell a few pixel ads ?  Is my pixel investment safe ?

Absolutely !  No matter what happens... your pixel ad will remain online, on the front pages of InfoSysSec.com and SecurityNewsPortal.com and HomelandSecurityX.com for one full year.     Yes... even if there is only one or two ads on it.      Hey... they have now been in place on our main index pages for almost two years now... and the folks who opted in early have already enjoyed two years for the one low price they paid back them.

I am taking a chance trying something that has never been done before on a security specific web site.  I owe it to those who are adventurous enough to join me to complete my end of the bargain.   This pixel thing will either become a roaring success and suddenly be imitated by all the other security related web sites... or it will fizzle.   But no matter what happens your pixel investment is safe because your pixel ad will remain online as promised.

Terms and Conditions

• The minimum purchase is $100 (100 pixels), and the maximum purchase is whatever amount of pixel space is left available to buy...
• When you 'buy' my pixels you will not 'own' any part of the homepage or this site, but rather you are granted the right to submit an image, link and ALT text which will then be published on the homepage grid in the respective space that you have paid for
• You cannot change the image or link once you have submitted them, so you must be sure of the image & link you want on the homepage, which will be there for at least 1 years. The only exception is if you have a strong reason why you need a change to your image/link, eg. your site no longer exists, major structural change to your site, lawsuits, etc.
• If your image and link are accepted and published on the homepage, you cannot get a refund
• Some of our earliest advertisers have already had their micro-ad online for over 2 years now for just the cost of their original ad placement. >
• No obscene/offensive/adult images/links will be accepted, and I decide what is appropriate for my site. If you submit an image or link that is rejected, you will have the opportunity to provide an alternative, otherwise your money will be refunded and you will lose your pixels
• If your link is accepted and you later change the content of the linked site to show offensive/obscene/adult material then your link will be removed until you provide a new one, and you will not get a refund of any kind for the link downtime
• If for whatever reason in the future you want your image and link removed from the homepage, you can do that, but you will not get a refund and the space will become publically available again
• Images must be the exact size you have paid for (eg. 100 pixels = 10x10 pixels)
• Images must be in GIF or JPEG format, and a reasonable file size
• Images must NOT be animated (imagine how messy the homepage would look)
• Links must be to web pages only and begin with http://
• You must have the authority to provide the image and link for the website you submit
• Funds must be fully recieved and cleared before your pixels go live on the homepage
• There might be occasional downtime for site maintenence but I'll try and keep these to a minimum
• Once you have ordered and the funds have cleared (eg. in my PayPal account), I will aim to get your pixels online within 24-48 hrs (but please have patience if things kick off quickly and loads of people order at the same time)

1 )  Determine what size pixel ad you want and how much it will cost.

2 )  Send money via PayPal using the following convenient shopping cart.   PayPal allows you to use credit cards, debit cards, PayPal accounts, bank transfers and more at the lowest cost in the industry.  PayPal payments can be made from anywhere in the world ( Click here to see if your country is listed ) .  Plus you can send any of the various types of payments accepted by PayPal even if you do not already have a PayPal account.   Naturally we have enabled the 'secure' PayPal transaction method to ensure your privacy and security.

  Secure PayPal Shopping Cart to Instantly Purchase and Reserve your pixel ad space.... :

  Vertical or Horizontal Size       Payment Method ...        

3 )  On payment for your pixel space you will receive an acknowledgement and/or receipt from PayPal of the payment for your record keeping purposes.   At the same time PayPal will notify me instantly of your payment details so that I can reserved the best available space while we await receipt of your media materials...

4 )  You will next forward to pixels@infosyssec.net
    a )  your gif or jpeg graphic ( no animations please... )
    b )  the URL that you wish the graphic to link to ( starting with http:// ) and...
    c )  the ALT text of 120 characters or less describing your product or service

5 )  Once steps 2, 3 and 4 are completed, within 48 hours or less your submission will go live on the main index pages of InfoSysSec.com and SecurityNewsPortal.com
 

But Marq... What if I can't use PayPal...  do you have any other ways of getting the payment to you so that I can get on board with this pixel thingy  ?

Well... it's slower and less convenient but I can also accept a certified check or bank draft that is sent by mail or courier service.   I could even arrange to accept a bank-to-bank wire transfer...  But these methods burn up valuable time, get delayed in the system and are not the most efficient way to get funds from point A to point B.   If you have some special requirement, please feel free to write directly to me and we can figure things out together at pixels@infosyssec.net

Should you have any questions please feel free to write directly to me at  pixels@infosyssec.net

What about regular banner advertisements on the SecurityNewsPortal.com, InfoSysSec.com and HomelandSecurityX.com ?  Should you wish to get information about our low monthly 'flat rate' regular size banner ad placements you can write to me directly at :

 pixels@infosyssec.net

And thank you for considering this micro-advertising offer from InfoSysSec.com, SecurityNewsPortal.com and HomelandSecurityX.com
where your pixel investment will work three times as hard - because it will be displayed on three top ranked security specific web sites
for the price of one low pixel investment.....

  Marq