I plan on 2 levels. I plan what I am going to do on any particular day, and I have a very broad long term road map…. but nothing in between.
As a professional software developer, planning occurs more on a month time frame (you know what there is to produce at least 1 month ahead).
I did create a spreadsheet outlining the milestones for the next 6 moths … but the document has already become irrelevant. Perhaps the lesson to learn here is that the 6 month project plan needs to be massaged constantly.
Anyway, there are 5 clear milestones that I am currently aiming at. These are:
- Deliver DTS conversion. Deliver easy access to surround sound via home theatre systems. Delivery: in the next week.
- Deliver Binaural conversion. Deliver easy access to surround sound via iPods. Note: binaural is a reduced surround experience and this needs to be stated. Delivery: by August 2007
- Embed Binaural playback in the browser window. Deliver ‘click play now’ access to surround sound directly from the websita page. This is by far the most immediate access. Delivery: by August 2007
- Upload application. A ‘super easy to use’ upload application to help the non-technically minded contributors publish their recordings. I think this will boost content significantly. Delivery: by Dec 2007
- Monetise. Complete focus on creating the micro-economy. Delivery: Must be able to sustain my full-time effort by Feb 2008.
How far are you in your goal #5. I noticed there is ‘donate’ button. How well is going? What about google adsence – getting better. In general what should be visitor numbers to purely rely on adsence?
How far are you in your goal #5. I noticed there is ‘donate’ button. How well is it going? What about google adsence – getting better. In general what should be visitor numbers to purely rely on adsence?
I havn’t begun on monetising the site yet. I have lots of ideas, but I need to start advancing on the ideas. I wont do that till I complete the above 4 milestones.
Google Adsense can only really work if you have a) large numbers and b) easy-to-target demographic.
An average google adsense earning rate might be a CPM of around $2.50 (earnings) for 1000 page impressions. I’m currently doing around 8000 page impressions per month … so I’d need to multiply my traffic by 500 or 1000 to be able to survive off the Google adsense.
The site _does_ have a well defined demographic, but Google adsense isn’t doing a fantastic job (so far) at targeting advertising towards that.