Advertising Framework

Visitors to the forum will notice that a lot of discussion evolves around nutrition, supplements and lifestyle. We realize of course that these factors are just one element of the larger mission to conquer the blight of involuntary death, but that makes it all the more important to make sure that the strengths that LongeCity has in providing a great resource for nutritional information exchange are leveraged effectively. 

Sometimes, it may seem like there are two 'factions' at LongeCity: on the one hand the committed 'activists' who realize the truth that nutritional supplements by themselves will have very limited efficacy in extending the human lifespan and who consequently have little patience  for 'supplement pushers'. On the other hand there are the 'supplementers' who have little to no interest in 'living forever' and whose priority is a healthy lifespan and enhancing their fitness. For sure, examples of both 'camps' can be found if one looks for them, but on the whole the distinction has very little merit: firstly, nutrition, drugs, vitamins and lifestyle - even apparently peripheral topics like cognitive enhancement, are an important factor in the portfolio of life extension technologies. These are the factors that we can do for ourselves, today and for that reasons alone are worth discussing. 

This fact- that supplements are at the 'applied' end of life extension discussion also means that the information and expertise joining at LongeCity around supplements can be much more effectively leveraged for fundraising. This makes LongeCity pretty unique: we are trying to siphon some of the financial overheads from the commercial end of life extension and re-allocate them to chronically underfunded scientific research and advocacy programmes. LongeCity has been really successful in this regard: with very little funding we have made a real difference in creating pioneering information material and funding important basic research as well as supporting community projects. 

Thus 'activists' can appreciate a measure of advertising at the sitefor making an important contribution to the common cause. Ad exposure for Members is reduced but not fully eliminated not least because we think that some ads can actually be useful and interesting. There are at least four types of  advertising available: 

'Google ads' - are context-related ads. Google offers these individually based on your browser's settings and the content of the forum. Consequently please bear in mind that LongeCity has very limited control about what ads are displayed.

'Banner ads' - these paid for adverts usually leading to a sponsors website. More about LongeCity's relationship with other institutions can be found in this article. To quote: "LongeCity does not endorse any advertisers beyond the fact that they have made a donation to the community in exchange for exposure. Advertisers never influence our policy, ever. (...) Having said that, advertisers featured at LongeCity very often have a real commitment to the cause- they would not have found us otherwise". Members are invited to comment on the policy

'Links' - these are links in text and elsewhere that are monetized if the link is used to make a purchase at the external site. One well known example is Amazon.com: If you use the LongeCity 'referral' page to make a purchase, Amazon makes a small payment to LongeCity at no cost to you. We may be experimenting with other link concepts in the future. Note however, that the connections on our links page are not used in this manner. They are simply a project index interesting sources that all members can contribute to. 

'Ads by discussion' - sometimes advertising momentum is generated simply by discussing a particular product. Over the years, marketers have become very sophisticated in pursuing such 'viral' strategies - and they are generally NOT WELCOME at LongeCity. There are only two sub-forums where product-and vendor related discussions are tolerated: for supplement companies/ for other companies. Any attempts to initiate product-related discussions elsewhere will be considered a breach of the LongeCity user agreement. The limited discussion that is allowed in this context is tolerated only because we feel that some information exchange about products and providers is potentially part of the LongeCity mission. Where this link cannot be made clearly, ads by discussion -whether inadvertent or not- will not be permitted.

We have experimented a little bit and are always keen to find other ways to generate funding for life extension research and advocacy from the LongeCity website in a way that is not overly intrusive and that does not compromise our mission and values. 
Potential sponsors are invited to get in touch. 
Members with new ideas about are invited to share them in the suggestions forum .