The new age of Internet gaming portals

Black Friday has done a lot more than simply shutdown a handful of online poker rooms; it has also damaged the affiliate market to the point that more affiliates are shutting down than online gaming sites! Fortunately, there are a number of online gaming portals that have managed to diversify themselves enough (being in enough different markets and utilizing more than simply affiliate dollars to  produce revenue) to not only survive, but in some cases thrive now that the market has been scaled-down and there are fewer competitors, and far fewer start-ups to deal with.

Of all the affiliate sites, online poker portals have been the hardest hit, with PokerNewsDaily and BLUFF Magazine cutting back on their content since Black Friday (PokerNewsDaily was actually sold soon after Black Friday and was basically shut-down for a couple of months this past summer) while CardPlayer, PokerNews, and PokerNewsBoy.com have increased the amount of content they are offering their readers and have been upping their advertising.

Gaming portals have seen less of an impact and less causalities because Black Friday was mainly an online poker problem, but by and large the industry has been cut back dramatically with a few noticeable exceptions. One example of a site that is still thriving is GamblingPlanet.org, which is still producing online gaming news, updated casino reviews, and the latest deposit bonuses and offers from those casinos.

Now, the question many in this industry are asking is whether the current affiliate-based model will remain in place if online gaming is legalized in the US?

With the market splintered between public and private sites (most private sites have remained active in the US market and are unlikely to receive a license if online poker is legalized in the US) it would seem that there will always be a need for affiliates, even if the mega-casinos come to dominate the online poker industry and switch to a more traditional marketing campaign.

That said, the historical success of the affiliate-based system may be appealing enough to any new entities that get involved in online gaming. If this is the case than the remaining poker affiliates and gambling affiliates who weathered the Black Friday storm, and in some cases like the ones listed above invested more in their business, should be very prosperous in the future.

There are a number of divergent opinions on what will happen to the industry if the US is suddenly back in play, with everyone from industry insider Bill Rini to Bodog founder Calvin Ayre all offering up their thoughts on the affiliate market industry on their respective blogs –going through the archives of BillRini.com and CalvinAyre.com makes for some interesting reading.

What Tim Thomas and his defenders do not understand

Here is my question to Tim Thomas and anyone who is applauding his decision to skip the White House celebration to honor the Stanley Cup winning Bruins: What precisely does attending this event, shaking hands with President Obama, and having your picture taken say about your politics? Does Tim Thomas really think he will be viewed as an Obama supporter based solely on this visit? That the team picture surrounding the President will be used in attack ads by Obama in the upcoming campaign?

The fact of the matter is that these schmooze-fests have nothing to do with the President in office, or the country’s politics, they are simply a way to celebrate a championship team on a national stage and give the country a little feel-good moment. His failure to show-up overshadowed the entire event, and instead of being asked about their White House visit, the Bruins’ players and the Bruins’ front office instead had to answer questions about Thomas’ absence.

Also, just because you say something isn’t political, doesn’t make what you say non-political! Thomas’ Facebook statement that his decision had nothing to do with party or politics was akin to prefacing an insult with, “don’t take this wrong way,”

I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. [Political Statement]

 This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. [Political Statement, and absolutely absurd when you consider the Founding Fathers ran the gamut of the political spectrum: Hamilton and Jefferson had totally different opinions on government]

 Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT

Now, if Thomas is so worried about the size of the government why didn’t he opt-out of the tax-payer paid for parade we threw for the Bruins in Boston (sponsors did donate money to get their logos on the duck-boats which paid for quite a bit of the cost but not the overtime and cleanup)?

We also learned later on that Thomas told the Bruins’ front office he would not be attending months in advance for “political reasons”. So which is it Tim?

Here is the rub: Why couldn’t Tim Thomas have gone with the rest of his TEAM to the White House, met with the president, his representatives in Congress who were in attendance, and simply make his political statement afterwards? It would have carried the same weight, and would have been void of the controversy. Instead he chose to overshadow his team on what is supposed to be a very special day by making a nonsensical political stand.

What Tim Thomas did to his teammates and the Bruins organization is like an older sibling purposely ruining your 16^th birthday party because they feel there party was not as lavish, or for some other petty reason.

Top 5 signs you might be bad at Facebook

Sign #1 – If your relationship status changes more than three times in a 6-month period

This is probably more of a sign that you’re not good at relationships, but if your status goes from single, to engaged, to single, to its complicated, and finally back to engaged (usually by this time it’s with a different person than the first engagement) maybe you should wait a week or two before announcing the big relationship news and then having to post a retraction.

Sign #2 – When you threaten to delete people for commenting on the nonsense that you post

If you don’t like what your “friends” have to say then don’t post controversial thoughts and opinions on serious topics –if you don’t know if something is controversial or not please don’t post ANYTHING. Guess what? Not everyone is going to agree with you on every single topic, so if you don’t like what people have to say either:

1.       Delete them! But do it without the completely unnecessary tirade in a new status update--that all of your “Yes-Men” friends will then defend you in while the deleted individual has no idea you are now trashing them.

2.       Don’t make controversial posts that people might disagree with! Basically, if you don’t know what you’re talking about; are making a comment on religion, parenting, or politics; or trashing some public figure be prepared for some blowback.

Sign #3 – You talk about “drama” in your life without specifics

Seriously, nobody is going to empathize with you if your update is “So sick of this BS” or “really buddy, you’re going to do this again!” If you want empathy, GET SPECIFIC, otherwise you’re just the comic relief on our Facebook wall –YES, we laugh at your perceived misery and how the world has wronged you because it’s obviously sooo bad you can’t even talk about it.

Sign #4 – the Acronym FML appears in virtually every status update

Not only does this show a penchant for the melodramatic, but it goes along with point #3 above. Unless something really bad has happened: you lost your job, house, limb, etc., the term FML simply doesn’t apply! Stop using it!

Sign #5 – you post pictures by the hundred and 90% are landscape photos

If you take 12 photos of the skyline and they all suck, DELETE THEM! We get it, your cruise was great, but we don’t need to see every single picture you took. Also nobody wants to see a photo that makes no sense and has no caption or tag. Before you post a picture ask yourself one question: Does this photo need an explanation?

Facebook is to share your thoughts and experiences with your friends, acquaintances and family, it’s not a folder on your computer to hold thousands of pictures.

A few other things that crease me on Facebook:

• I know who will post this “Chain Statuses”
• Vague updates
• People who rotate their profile pic every few days using the same three pictures over and over! It’s not a merry-go-round people!
• People who click malware and then claim they have been “Hacked!” you weren’t hacked! You simply wanted to “see what this girl did to get expelled” you pervy wanker!