Meta: Complaints about Xfinity ads

I think they should probably pay a premium for the way Brian included them. I actually read all of them and looked forward to the humor. Some of the best integration I've seen.

Wait, people are actually complaining about this? That arguably the best sports blogger in internet history is (gasp) trying to make money off his blog! For shame. /s, if it wasn't obvious enough.

I don't see any problem with people hating on advertisers. Or letting those that host the ads know how they feel about the companies they are pushing. This happens with "big" media all the time and this site is larger than it feels. Comcast gets hammered whenever "comcast" is written on the internet. That's their fault. Regardless, nobody is going to stop reading MGoBlog over this.

I'm happy to live in an area not served by Comcast and will probably never voluntarily sign up for Xfinity but I have zero issue with the ads.  They're clearly ads.  Nothing unethical about them. They're even reasonably amusing.

 

Is it football season yet?

Anyone complaining about having to endure ads, of the "sponsored" variety or otherwise, is free to step up to the ol' Beveled Guilt trough and make a donation that's large enough to make them unnecessary.

I'm all for the site making as much money as possible from sponsors, merchandise, magazines, and donations.  That being said, "Beveled Guilt" should be renamed.

Ad Blocker

...haven't there already been ads embedded in posts? I think there have been, though I can't remember for which company/companies.

they're inlcuded in the conversational style of sports talk radio. feels a lot like sam webb's contrived ads during the michigan insider.. seems to be consistent with the industry, so it doesn't bother me.

As long as ads aren't masquerading as content (or as posters), I have no reason to complain.

I'll cop to being one of the complainers. I completely understand if this site needs advertising to run. That's cool. No problem with the mortgage guy who gets his name on the UFRs. He's local, seems to care about michigan football. Comcast is the devil's ISP. They are just... the worst. So I'll try to be understanding, but it sucks seeing them promoted as being a good thing on here. Just my two cents.

People look at the ads?

shocked to find out that capitalism exists on the Internet.

maybe some of us don't mind ads... but we don't like how they are *PRESENTED*....

I have Charter, but recently had Comcast. All I will say is, it can be a lot worse. A LOT worse.

I am, I think, in the minority in that I'd gladly pay a reasonable annual fee for an ad-free experience. And I do on other sites where it's offered.

Not at the table Carlos!

I am 100% in favor of MGoBlog getting a sponsorship from Comcast or any other company that keeps the guys paid.

That said, had Comcast for 6 years and I've had none of the issues people complain about. No customer service disasters, repackaged easily when contracts ran out, etc. I know that's just me but just throwing it out there as a data point.

I agree 100%  I have no problem with the ads, but I also very much enjoy shitting on xfinity/comcast whenever possible. hehe.

Comcast is devil's cable company. Their services are overpriced, and they nickle-and-dime the shit out of you. Oh, you thought the package you signed up for came with HD? Nope. I know we told you that you get 140+ channels, but you really only get the package that the channel guide stipulates is 90+ channels. Those will each be another $10 a month to upgrade, please.

They sent me to collections when I closed my account on the basis that I hadn't returned my equipment. When I called and stated that I was holding a receipt for the return, they "adjusted" my account, and refused to talk to the collections agency. Cue two months of back-and-forth phone calls and a hit to my credit. From what I've read online, I'm far from the only one.

Fuck Comcast. I hope every single office gets hit by a meteorite. Unfortunately, where I live I have no other options, not even satellite.

I get that Brian et al want to make money from the blog, as they should. That said, I respect the mortgage lender and the Stubbs dude because they've used their services and they seem to have vetted the people they are advertising for. Comcast is the worst. Everyone knows they're the worst. Isn't taking their money akin to switching to Adidas for a bigger payout despite crap uniforms and multiple alternates? Sometimes it's just not worth it.

Haven't seen one

1) Like it or not, MGoBlog has created its own culture that visitors have come to expect when they visit the site. The frontpage content, the content providers, diaries, MGoBoard, users, even the moderation contribute to the best sports blog you can find (moreso when you filter by Michigan-specific blogs). Up until now, the only sponsored content promoted local businesses that were also devoted to Michigan, so their inclusion fit within the culture. XFinity, on the other hand, doesn't fit the culture at all. Whether it's bad service or high costs, I recall numerous threads in the past complaining about Comcast or bragging about cutting the cord/finding alternate ways to watch their Wolverines and their other favorite shows. New Coke outperformed both Pepsi and Coke Classic in taste tests, but people hated it because it betrayed peoples' expectations when they bought Coke; [insert example involving Dave Brandon here]. It is a net positive for the entire blog to stay consistent within its own culture, including the sponsored content it allows on its front page.

2) Making MGoBlog profitable is something we all want, even if not all of us donate to MGoBlog. My uncle owned a bakery that my hometown rated as #1 for decades, so when a newspaper article revealed it was going out of business, sales turned around immediately (unfortunately, it was too little too late). None of us want MGoBlog to die, or for contributors to get laid off, or anything like that. If XFinity-sponsored content keeps MGoBlog profitable or expand its capability, I doubt anyone would object. 

So can more be done to help MGoBlog preserve/expand its profit margin without defying its culture? What about advertising a Patreon account, or modifying the Donate button? Maybe an internet guru knows how to change my preferences to ensure the MGoBlog tag gets added every time I visit Amazon? I get these other options can happen in parallel to XFinity-sponsored content; tbh this single infraction isn't enough for me to declare MGoBlog a sellout.

DirecTV

Comcast is literally Satan. Fuckers continue to lobby against net neutrality-- something this blog and most decent people are strongly in favor of. Still love the blog and respect business and making money and whatnot. Brian should post a gofundme with a tracker called "hit this and we don't have to sponsor xfinity". I pledge 20 dollars.

Isn't this why we have a scroll bar?  Don't like it, just go past it.  I love this site too much to worry about how they are keeping it going.  Selling out?  When you have a family to raise and employees to worry about, you make choices to ensure you can endure.  Comcast/Xfinity may not be the favourable choice, but they obviously see a good thing here and want to support it.  And in doing so, this site remains free, extremely informative about our favourite school with a strong community of like-minded folks that make it a pleasure to visit on a daily basis.

If an advertiser wants to try and alter what content appears on this here site then there would be hell to pay and we can exert claims of 'selling out' if that were to pass, but I've been around here long enough to know that won't happen.  Brian would have been scooped up to write for ESPN or another site by now if that was the case.