Pixel Sites -- Do they work?

You may have heard the story by now. In August of 2005, Alex Tew, a 21 year old British student, was trying to think of a way to pay for his University expenses. He wondered if he could set up a website and sell each of one million 'pixels' (the extremely tiny dots of light that make up your computer's display) for one dollar. He knew that the screen held a million pixels, so he figured if he sold each one for a dollar he'd eventually make a million dollars.
At first the going was slow. He sold a few to his brother and some friends.

But then a newspaper picked up the story, and then another, and then more media outlets. More and more people were intrigued by this crazy idea, and bought pixels. At first, pixels were bought as a lark, because the typical block was so small (100 pixels, enough space to display the 'e' at the end of this phrase) that you couldn't get any sort of message across, despite the fact that each block has a link on it that can lead to a website. But then a few brave souls bought bigger blocks, enough to convey an advertising message-and things took off!

Alex Tew was interviewed by CNN, the Times of London, Fox News. The Wall Street Journal did a piece on him. And all the while the sales kept on coming, from all over the world. By the end of December, 2005, only four months since the idea occurred to him, he had sold 990,000 pixels, just a thousand short of the goal.

He decided that since the 'last' 1000 pixels were 'historic', he would sell them through an E-bay auction. An American company bought the last lot for 38,000$, meaning that Alex Tew's whole 'take' from his enterprise was 1,028,000 dollars.
Oddly enough to many, at the end of the year Tew 'retired' from the pixel business.

He decided that to add another page to sell more advertising would dilute the quality of the original one million pixels.
But by that time hundreds of pixel sites had appeared, from all over the world. There were pixel sites in Chinese, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. Some just slavishly copied the original gimmick, but some developed new twists on the idea. Pixel sites continue to crop up everywhere, and there is no end in sight to public fascination with them

This invites two important questions: Are pixel sites a transitory fad? And: Should YOU advertise on a pixel site? (And perhaps a third question: Should you OWN a pixel site?)

There are many answers to the first question. It's beginning to look evident that pixel sites ARE a fad-IF-and this is an important if-they only try to duplicate the original.
In August of 2005 it was quite a unique experience to see one screen shot with hundreds of tiny blocks of color, some with recognizable messages, some not-but it's not so unique any more.

After all, if a friend called you up and said "Hey, I've got hundreds of little confetti-sized pieces of paper on my living room floor, which are largely advertising for all sorts of products! Would you like to come and see?" you would have to have a pretty dull life to want to take up your friend's offer.
However, many people have expended a lot of time and effort to create unique variations on the theme. They have used animation, contests, 3-dimensional effects, optical illusions, and all sorts of gimmicks to refresh the concept.

They have discovered that targeting a pixel site to a niche market is usually better than a general interest site.
They have found that adding free content which is compelling and useful to many viewers can keep interest in a pixel site fresh, so that Net users return again and again, and advertisers can realize a decent return on their investment.
So the best answer to the question "Are Pixel sites a fad?" is "Yes, if they're just a collection of boring static ads.

No, if they are imaginative and intriguing enough to capture the attention of their target audience, and if they offer enough free content related to their core interest that people visit them repeatedly.
To see some fascinating examples of sites which meet this standard (and, quite frankly, some that do not) visit ClickPixels.com, which has a directory of pixel sites, and large ads from many of them. Or just enter 'pixel sites' into your search engine.

To see the original site created by Alex Tew, go to MillionDollarHomepage.com.
Let's look at a site under development now to see why this form of website can serve an audience, and therefore the advertisers who want to reach that audience, better than traditional methods. We'll look at it from the standpoint of the Internet user, rather than from that of the site builder.
Imagine that you are an avid skier who lives in Switzerland. Every weekend day in the winter, you anxiously scan the horizon to see if optimum conditions exist for you to grab your gear and head for the hills.

There is a lot of information you need to make an intelligent decision; you want to know the weather forecast, you want to know about snow conditions, you want to know about lodging, restaurants, places to rent or buy gear, you want to know which places are too crowded, you want to know the condition of the roads, you might want to inquire about après-ski entertainment.

Now, using traditional methods, such as newspapers and websites, can you access all this information? Sure! But it will take you quite a while!
But now imagine that you can turn on your computer and go to a site which we might call 'SwissSkierPixels.com'. What do you find? You find yourself looking at ONE PAGE which contains: current weather conditions for ALL Swiss ski slopes; Snow conditions and depth, targeted ads for resorts and ski lifts offering coupons and daily specials, updated information on road conditions and closures, notices from restaurants and clubs near the slopes, links to blogs written by skiers who have just returned from various ski areas, AND, even links to 20 or so Webcams which give you LIVE pictures of each ski slope!
 

The first time you use this page it might take you 10 minutes to find all the information you need to plan your trip. But as you get used to the system it may eventually take you only one or two minutes to learn everything you need to know! And because the site is so convenient for the user, it will attract advertisers who want to reach that user!

And what about when ski season is over? Then the site magically converts to a site devoted to HIKING in Switzerland (or trekking, or rail tours, or whatever).
So the pixel site has admirably served the USER, because of convenience and saved time. It serves the ADVERTISER, because not only can he reach a devoted niche audience, but the relatively small size of his ad gives him a better 'bang for his buck' than traditional advertising. And-another huge advantage for the advertiser is that each of the 100 or so OTHER people who advertise on the site are marketing it as if it were their own site-which means everyone benefits from everyone else's promotions! It serves the SITE OWNER, because he can sell many more ads per square inch than non-pixel sites can.
Pixel sites aren't a magic answer to every website owner's dream. But if planned and built carefully, and designed to serve a particular public segment efficiently, and (most important) if they have lots of useful and entertaining and updated free content, they can be quite successful indeed.

You are welcome to re-print this article or send it anywhere, as long as you give credit to the author and mention the website dxpixelsite.com. Actually, you can even claim you wrote it yourself as long as you mention the site.

About the Author

John Toomey is a freelance writer and the webhost of dxpixelsite.com

Source: ArticleTrader.com
 

Home