Many of you are familiar with our Project Wonderful ads. Those are the little gems that usually run across the tops of pages. They feature a lot of web comics, games, and bloggers, as well as small businesses, such as those who sell “goodies” and handmade jewelry.
I have always preferred Project Wonderful to other platforms because of their mentality and ethics. The people who post ads through them are small sites like us, and so in using Project Wonderful, we have been supporting small businesses. In fact, one of the cool things about them was that, if we didn’t have a paying sponsor for a space, we could actually give up the spot free. Although rare, that did happen with some of the smaller more obscure placements, but I personally didn’t mind it because I liked helping out the little guys, particularly because so many of them are very talented creatives who wanted nothing more than to share their craft with others.
Sadly, Project Wonderful just gave notice that it’s closing in July. I’m disappointed because I don’t know of any other ad platforms that are like it. I’m also heartbroken because of what it represents. Project Wonderful failed because the little guys are floundering. It’s the same reason why we saw large platforms like AB and EP close, and R2T recently. People use the net more than ever, but they’re spending the majority of their time on a handful of Goliath sites, like Facebook and Twitter. It’s an awful lot like what we see in real life, as homegrown mom-and-pop shops shut down and big box stores and chains take over. That’s not to say FB and others are the root of all evil. They’re not. Yet, as “progress” continues, unique independently-operated sites seem to be falling at breakneck speeds.
We didn’t make much from the Project Wonderful ads, so losing them won’t impact site operations at all. I’ll be in search of an alternative. Failing that, we’ll move back to Google ads. You’ll likely see those changes around the middle of July.
In times like this, I’m reminded to be humble. I’m reminded that we have a really good thing going on here. We have a whole lot of people who have made the Mug their home. We have mods and other volunteers who help keep this site running. (Serious hat-tip to our two longest-running volunteers, M2C and Alf!) Without them and others, I don’t know where I’d be. I surely could not do it all myself. We also have had some pretty amazing donors. An unknown Mugger totally covered the cost of our new chat a couple months back. I don’t know who you are, but I seriously cried when I saw it come in. That’s something. To know the site is that meaningful to someone- anyone- I don’t even have words. We also had another unknown donor make a significant contribution last month, covering roughly half that month’s site fees alone. The note with that one said they block ads and wanted to help. While I will never suggest anyone should feel obligated to pay for the site’s upkeep, as I genuinely want people from all walks of life to always have access, I am, again, humbled and grateful for the support.
These gestures you guys make, in donations, in volunteering, in your thoughtful words to others, in your mere presence here- they matter. While they’re certainly meaningful to me, you should know that they’re meaningful to everyone else here as well. Moreover, as other independently-run sites shut down around us, I also believe they’re meaningful to the global audience too. We may not be huge, and we may never be, but we’re here. We are making a mark. We stand for something (and often lots of somethings all at once lol). We are Muggers.
Thank you for being here.
