Does Canon realize...

[ajbalazic]

Just a thought...removed

Alan Balazic

[Carzee]

You can't have Canon "SPONSOR" the POTN. They could -however- put in a banner advert. In a similar way magazines carry adverts.

But then.. if Canon later discontinued their advertising for some reason, and POTN faced hard times because it had become dependent on that financial help... does POTN continue with the idea of the banner space and offer the space to other companies, perhaps B&H, Adorama, Sigma, Nikon..

[Rob612]

Discussed in another thread, and it came out that it was not a good idea. It will lose the forum total freedom to say whatever has to be said, even bad things about some pieces of equipment.

[ssim]

This was discussed quite some time ago. There are many here that would love to have Canon provide some support to this forum. In the end though it is really only Pekka that matters and (if my memory serves me correctly) he did not want Canon's participation. As with most large corporations once they start to support you they want to exercise some level of controls as well.

One of the things that I enjoy about this board is it's openness an certainly its lack of popups and advertising. If there was some way of getting $$$$ from Canon without having any conditions then I would be all for it.

I would be surprised if all the large camera manufacturers didn't monitor some of the more active forum boards out there. That would be just good business practises.

[ajbalazic]

I did a search on previous discussions but came up empty handed. Obviously, Pekka has the final say. In any case, hopefully Canon realizes how good this forum really is (maybe they should send him some 'perks'- a complimentary EOS-1Ds Mark II for all his hard work and promotion).

It's still nice to hear everyone's thought though....

[Pekka]

If there was some way of getting $$$$ from Canon without having any conditions then I would be all for it.

Me too. I'm not against Canon sponsoring the forums at all, but as a company they have company rules (like with the logo) and it seems it is impossible that they can do exceptions (as seen with logo usage) - this would most likely mean for example that content would have to be controlled to get rid of con-Canon material or rumors. Would you like that? I would not.

If someone at Canon would realize the potential of positive attitude in marketing they would be e.g. supporting the forums by donating lenses, cameras or printers as competition prizes, or arranging anything special like discounts for POTN members. I'm open to suggestions from their part. Just PM me and talk.

One other way to make Canon "support" the forums is to add few Google ads, that money would surely in the end come from major Canon dealers and Canon. I'm not sure how that would be accepted here, even if Google ads could be done very discreetly on forum layout.

[jfrancho]

I would think that the lack of corporate sponsership adds to the objectivity of the content of this forum. I would also think that this would increase our power in terms of credible feedback that Canon may consider when evaluating products, features, ideas, etc.

[dannym]

Or we could just tell people to start buying Nikons. Did I just say that?

[sixshot]

I have no problem with google adds, I use gmail and have adds on there but never look at them. If this can generate cash for the site, then why not. People then have the option on looking at the links if they wish.

[GPR1]

One other way to make Canon "support" the forums is to add few Google ads, that money would surely in the end come from major Canon dealers and Canon. I'm not sure how that would be accepted here, even if Google ads could be done very discreetly on forum layout.

Pekka, you're the one who has poured the time and money into this thing, with the able and generous help more recently of a few additional mods. If you want to do something to subsidize that cost I think few of us have reason or right to complain, even if we have kicked in a few dollars. I do like that we aren't annoyed by pop-ups, and I'd hate to see any sponsorship that limited free content and opinion, but I can't imagine anyone could really complain about limited ads. Heck, we couldn't complain about much unless we're willing to bear the full cost.

This is a great forum. I'm not a major poster considering my nearly two years here, but I'm a daily lurker and most of what I know about the digital side of photography has come from this site. I have much gratitude to all the people who add their knowledge to this site (though my wife might regret your equipment posts...). But more than anything I appreciate your enormous generosity hosting this site, Pekka. Do what you think is appropriate to take care of the forum and you. I trust you to take good care of the site.

Greg