The National Pixels Blog
04.01.2006I just looked at our stats for the first time in 2 weeks... Wow! I'm so pumped about our statistics. We've been averaging a lot of traffic, and I haven't really even begun promoting the site in all the ways that I plan. My friend Justin has been helping out on the marketing end. (I'll be working on that too, but so far I've spent all my time trying to make the site look good and be very functional. Most pixel sites have only 1 page, but this site has 10 pages (1 featured page and 9 category pages), which is quite a bit more to manage. Also in the news... it looks like the original "million dollar home page" is pretty much full. Good job, Alex! He's selling the last of his pixels on eBay, and it only took about 4 months to do it. And I'm amazed at how much they're worth! He's only got 1,000 pixels left, and it looks like they're going to cost a pretty penny! Last I checked, those 10 blocks were at around $30,000 with about 7 days left to go. Absolutely amazing! I think we've been catching some of that overflow, because we've had more traffic and more sales over the past week or so.
02.01.2006Back to work...Many of my friends had plans to go out over the weekend, but I decided to spend the weekend with my daughter, Ashlyn. We went to go see the new movie, "King Kong". I had to cover her eyes a few times though... parts of it were a bit more graphic than I expected! But after a nice weekend, I was able to come back to the website and find a few extra blocks sold. There was actually a lot more traffic than I expected.
31.12.2005New Year's Eve...2006 is going to be a very exciting year. Customers have been quite happy so far, and I've had quite a few people wanting websites like this of their own. That's pretty cool. I certainly have to welcome everyone else to the arena, because after all, this isn't the original "million dollar" pixel site. After lots of research, I've come to believe that micro-advertising is only the start of something much bigger than a few pixels scattered around. It sure does generate a lot of traffic for everyone, but I think it's the start of something that is going to truly take on a life of it's own. My friend Justin and I have been talking about so many great ideas for the site. I can't give up any "details" just yet, but stay tuned and see what happens. Happy new year!
30.12.2005Can't wait until next year...The year is almost over, but next year will be a good one. The site has been up and running for several weeks and business has been going good so far. I hope everyone has a great new year! Okay, as mentioned the other day, I planned on treating myself to a steak at Macaroni Grill today if I sold pixels on the 24th because sales were going good. Well, I didn't sell any until the 26th, but I ate at there today anyway! Thanks for the pixels, Laura!
28.12.2005Another news article...I'm not used to being in the news, but there's been another newspaper article on the site. "On the lookout..." was the topic, along with a nice little article. I'm sure there will be much more coverage like this (and bigger) once the "big" campaign gets launched.
26.12.2005A new server...The site has been getting a lot of traffic since it started, so I decided to switch everything over to a dedicated server to handle it all. It took a bit of doing getting everything transferred over, but all is running well. I'm also changing up the layout a bit so that the different pages are easier to read. The goal is to make this site enjoyable for people of all ages.
25.12.2005Merry Christmas everyone!I'm not spending today on the website... I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
24.12.2005Last-minute gift idea!Need a last-minute gift idea? Noooo... not pixel ads! Save that for a tax write-off. Go get a gift card from Macaroni Grill. My friend Natalie from Colorado got me one for my birthday and it was great stuff! And if anyone buys pixels today, that's where I'm going to eat next week!
22.12.2005The most important addition to this blog...Even though there a quite a few pixel sites that have popped-up, I thought I should let everyone know (especially other pixel sites) that if you want a website worth remembering, you've got to be different. But whatever it is that you do... do it good or don't do it all. Many entreprenuers are good at beating a good thing into the ground. Well, I've always done things differently. Not easier... just different. I don't want to be another sheep in the herd. So those other sites can try and make their "million bucks". Quite frankly, I've never had a lot of money, and I don't know what I'd do with it if I had it. I'd probably just pay my utility bills to keep my internet alive. :-) Don't get me wrong. I'm glad to see my pixels being sold. But it's more rewarding to hear customers send me an email and tell me how happy they are that I created something that helped them out. My hat is off to good people!<
21.12.2005It's gift-giving time...I'm glad the pixel ads are selling good. I sold another 300 pixels over the past few days. That's good, because my daughter Ashlyn has her birthday and Christmas in the same month, and a good month of pixel selling makes a great December for her!
20.12.2005I must be different...Instead of hording money from sales, I decided to give away a bunch of stuff. I've been a graphic and web designer for about 10 years. So I thought I'd design some cool t-shirts, posters, and stuff for National Pixels (don't worry, they'll be trendy) I have a couple of friends that make t-shirts. So after I sell enough pixels to buy a few hundred shirts, I'm going to send them out to my best advertisers. I'll try to keep that going as long as the pixels are selling!
19.12.2005Good times...Making the website has been lots of fun. I've been getting emails from people around the world who are so curious as to what this site is about. It's so simple, really. I just tell them that it's a big billboard chock full of surprising advertisers. When I ask people what they like about it, I usually here that it's fun, and even challenging to see what interesting sites are out there that they might not have otherwise found. Very cool indeed. I'll have to admit that I've spent some time just going through my own site doing the same thing. Pretty fun, really.
18.12.2005Thanks, Markus!I've been working on this site with support from the talented help of Markus from Germany. The script he created is what makes it so easy to buy pixels instantly on this website, unlike other sites where you have to do everything manually. Imagine having to actually count squares in the grid, then design an image of the exact size to fit it, then sending all that information in an email to the webmaster... hoping that your pixels are still available by the time your payment is processed. A lot of other sites do that, but not here! This site makes it easy for both me and my visitors. Thanks, Markus!
17.12.2005Which country would you like today?Some of these email have been crackin' me up. I never know if the next email is going to be from Italy, Australia, or Poland. I've never had so much fun checking my emails. It's good to see that this "national" site is more of a global thing. Keep the emails comin'!
15.12.2005To cam or not to cam...The web design business has been good, but since I'm at the computer so often, I thought about posting a web cam for all to see... live from my desk in Oklahoma. Why you ask? Well, I think that the internet is so "de-personalized", that visitors would feel refreshed to see a friendly face... constantly working at improving the website for all to enjoy. I haven't decided yet if I'll do it, but if and when I do, I'll be sure to have an interactive chat page for anyone who wants to instant message me. I think it would be great for getting interesting feedback on the website. Not to mention being able to answer all the questions you guys might have.
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