openswitch

Nicholas Cage happens to be one of my favorite actors. I don’t know why, but there’s just something about him that appeals to me. But even though he starred in Ghost Rider I was completely disappointed in the film.

The plot was sketchy and disjointed and the acting was below sub-par. I got the feeling that it was trying to have a comic book feel but it completely missed the mark. Instead it was cheezy, akin to a bad 80’s B-movie.

On a side note I was somewhat disturbed by all the dark imagery. Maybe it’s because I see Satan as a real adversary, but it disturbed me in the same way I was disturbed by The Stand. Though, The Stand was a much better movie, they both disturb me on a spiritual level.

openswitch.org is a well-read blog written and maintained by me, Ben Gray. Topics tend to be centered around Christianity and culture. At points I write about technology and blogging though these tend to be much less pronounced.

Important statistics

Here are some of the more important statistics. Other stats are available upon request.

• The post frequency averages around 3 articles per week.
• Current Alexa Rank around 290,000
• 10,000+ visitors a month
• 20,000+ page views a month
• 500+ feed subscribers
• 1,900+ articles

Ad format

There are two ad formats to choose from. Each ad duration will be for one month.

Article graphic ad

One graphic-based ad spot featured after the article, before the comments.

• Ad size: 468×60
• Up to four ads randomly rotated across all article pages.
• An ad can be locked in (essentially purchasing all 4 ad rotations).

Site-wide Graphic Ad

Two graphic-based ad spots to appear on all pages on openswitch.org (with the exception of 404 pages).

• Ad size: 120×90 as per the IAB standard
• Up to four ads randomly rotated per spot.
• An ad can be locked in (essentially purchasing all 4 ad rotations for a single spot).

Pricing

Things to keep in mind

Please note the following:

• All ads will have a rel=nofollow attribute assigned to them in accordance with Google’s Page Rank guidelines.
• All ads will require approval before going live. No animated GIFs or Flash animations. Graphics may be provided in GIF, JPG, or PNG formats.
• If ad capacity is below 100% for a given format, your ad will receive a higher ad rotation free of charge. In other words, if only 3 out of 4 ad spots were sold, the 3 ads will share the rotation for the month.
• All payments can be made via Paypal. Alternate payment methods can be arranged upon request.
• Campaigns can be started at any time of the month and are only limited by ad spot availability. For example, if a campaign is started on the 4th of the month at 00:00:00 then the campaign will end on the 4th of the following month 00:00:00.

All interested parties should contact me.

For the first time in recorded history I’m offering paid ad spots on openswitch. Basically, I’m selling out to the Man, why sugar-coat it?

As you can see, ad spots will be 180px by 60px 125px by 125px (explanation in the next post) and while taller ad spots can be requested (for a slightly higher price) the width of the ads are fixed. Ads will be sold on a per month basis and any ad spot purchased will be displayed on every page (all 1,900 of them) for the duration. Once purchased, I guarantee to display your ad and not change the positioning or design of openswitch which might adversely affect the performance of your ad.

I reserve the right to turn down any ad request but really will only do so if the ad is of questionable content.

Anyone interested in purchasing an ad should contact me and if you’re interested in openswitch.org’s stats you can view them here.

Suggestions are welcome, as usual. I’d also like to get some input as to the pricing of these ad spots. What is typcial on teh internets?

This is a fun activity for youth or children. It involves them going around to church members (on a Sunday or Wednesday) and finding out information about the church that only older church members would know. It’s a great exercise to help children and youth learn more about their church.

This is a generic permission form for church trip use. Note that I claim no legal responsibility either expressed or implied with any relation to this form. It’s offered free for use, I do not claim anything about it other than it is words printed on a page.

Please look the other way at the dust which you see here. Look away my friends, just look away.

March is my suicide month this year. Every minister has one “suicide” month which is inextricably tied to stress, over-working and general running-around-like-a-chicken-with-its-head-cut-off-ness. Thankfully, March is almost over. As March winds down, I’m cranking up on a couple other things.

First, I’m planning on selling out to the Man and offering a couple slots for paid ads on openswitch for the first time in history. Of course, this will necessitate a contract which cannot be broken, even by me (this will impact the amount and kind of redesigning I do here). Second, I’m currently working on a friend’s site who specializes in vehicle graphics and logo creation. He actually helped me come up with my current “power switch” logo which I love. His site is located here and you should keep your eye on it because it’s going to be sweet. Third, I’m redesigning openswitch. I’m purposefully taking a long time on it because I want it to be “just right”. This redesign will allow those previously mentioned ads to fit nicely in the sidebar. But don’t worry, I’m still gonna be on WordPress .

I’m about to get on my motorcycle, going for a quick ride seeing as the high today is 73^oF and not a cloud in the sky.