Recently, the subject of "profitability" came up over a chat between mithmith and me. mithmith thought that Rankk was profitable to the tune of USD 100 Adsense revenue per month and therefore quite "rewarding".
Wow, if only that were true!
First, let me stress that the idea of "making money" wasn't our motivation for Rankk right from the start. We were looking for a bit of fun, excitement and learning. So far, those elements are there and therefore we're quite happy and motivated to keep it going.
Having said that, we would of course be happier and more excited if Rankk were able to generate some form of revenue.
To date, we have spent a total of S$520 for Rankk's hosting and domain name. The current hosting plan and domain name will run till 16 April 2010, which means from now till then, we don't expect to be spending any more money on the site.
And as far as "revenues" go, we've collected a total of S$194 from the donations and Google ads:
Donations: USD 97.09 (S$132.311)
Google ads: approx S$62
So Rankk isn't profitable, in case you're curious :P In fact, we're incurring a deficit of S$328.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Will Rankk explode?
Recently, ozehka asked about what we plan to do so that Rankk will not "explode" because of too many challenges.
The timing of the question could not have been more apt, because I have been thinking about that too.
First of all, we need to answer the questions whether we plan to keep on adding new challenges and whether there's a maximum number we're targetting at.
I haven't discussed these with Bio so the views expressed here are my own.
Yes, we plan to keep on adding new challenges. We have not set a maximum number of challenges and we don't intend to do so.
So it's quite conceivable that in time, Rankk will grow quite monstrous with very many challenges. Will it crumple under its very own weight?
Here are some potential problems:
1) New comers may get discouraged or overwhelmed by the sheer size, even before they start.
2) With no end-point in sight, players may lose the momentum eventually, no matter how determined they were at the beginning.
3) It becomes harder to keep track of challenges so some ideas may inevitably be duplicated.
So what are our plans to ensure that the size won't become a burden to Rankk?
Firstly, we'll be careful not to pursue a numbers' game. This means we'll need to be selective about new challenge ideas that are proposed, and only add those that are good and relevant to the site.
Secondly, we may need to modify the challenge listing to display only a default number of challenges so as not to "frighten off" new comers. Or we may introduce categories to the challenges and let players select what categories of challenges to display.
Thirdly, at some point in time we'll need to audit the challenges and get rid of those that are "insane" or grossly unpopular.
Finally, we will need to constantly make improvements and introduce new features to keep the site relevant.
The timing of the question could not have been more apt, because I have been thinking about that too.
First of all, we need to answer the questions whether we plan to keep on adding new challenges and whether there's a maximum number we're targetting at.
I haven't discussed these with Bio so the views expressed here are my own.
Yes, we plan to keep on adding new challenges. We have not set a maximum number of challenges and we don't intend to do so.
So it's quite conceivable that in time, Rankk will grow quite monstrous with very many challenges. Will it crumple under its very own weight?
Here are some potential problems:
1) New comers may get discouraged or overwhelmed by the sheer size, even before they start.
2) With no end-point in sight, players may lose the momentum eventually, no matter how determined they were at the beginning.
3) It becomes harder to keep track of challenges so some ideas may inevitably be duplicated.
So what are our plans to ensure that the size won't become a burden to Rankk?
Firstly, we'll be careful not to pursue a numbers' game. This means we'll need to be selective about new challenge ideas that are proposed, and only add those that are good and relevant to the site.
Secondly, we may need to modify the challenge listing to display only a default number of challenges so as not to "frighten off" new comers. Or we may introduce categories to the challenges and let players select what categories of challenges to display.
Thirdly, at some point in time we'll need to audit the challenges and get rid of those that are "insane" or grossly unpopular.
Finally, we will need to constantly make improvements and introduce new features to keep the site relevant.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Focus on aesthetics
In the last couple of weeks, we busied ourselves with small improvements here and there. In the early stages, the more urgent task was to create new challenges. But after we crossed the 150 level, the pace of adding new challenges slowed somewhat, not because we grew tired of adding new ones, but because good ideas were drying up. Consequently, we have had more time to focus on Rankk's other aspects.
1) Ranking page
This has been improved to highlight the particular member's row when he or she is viewing the page and to indicate with up an arrow members who have solved a challenge in the last 5 days.
2) HOFs
Upgraded to include pagination. Previously, only the latest 200 solvers where listed. You had no way of locating the older solvers, which is really uncool.
3) Incoming messages
An earlier attempt at using an applet from the old Cyberarmy to "type" out the news didn't work well, because some members experienced page loading problem. So we did away with this feature until recently, when we found a cool way of doing it with Javascript.
So now every level has a specific incoming message to provide a context to the sacred journey, as well as to give a little expectation of what is to come in the next level.
4) Look and feel
The most noticeable is the masthead. For a long time, the Rankk logo was a tiny little image positioned on the left of the top panel, which is about 800 x 30. The new logo is many times bigger and, imho, nicer. Hopefully that will do a little magic to attract more new members.
And after all the hard work, we were pleasantly surprised with two donation emails . Hurray! Thanks to the kind souls out there!
1) Ranking page
This has been improved to highlight the particular member's row when he or she is viewing the page and to indicate with up an arrow members who have solved a challenge in the last 5 days.
2) HOFs
Upgraded to include pagination. Previously, only the latest 200 solvers where listed. You had no way of locating the older solvers, which is really uncool.
3) Incoming messages
An earlier attempt at using an applet from the old Cyberarmy to "type" out the news didn't work well, because some members experienced page loading problem. So we did away with this feature until recently, when we found a cool way of doing it with Javascript.
So now every level has a specific incoming message to provide a context to the sacred journey, as well as to give a little expectation of what is to come in the next level.
4) Look and feel
The most noticeable is the masthead. For a long time, the Rankk logo was a tiny little image positioned on the left of the top panel, which is about 800 x 30. The new logo is many times bigger and, imho, nicer. Hopefully that will do a little magic to attract more new members.
And after all the hard work, we were pleasantly surprised with two donation emails . Hurray! Thanks to the kind souls out there!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
PageRank of 4!
Yay! Rankk made it to a PageRank of 4 :)
It's definitely a pat on the back for us, in addition to the increasing membership and the kind donations we've received.
In case you're wondering what this PR thing is, it's Google’s system for ranking web pages. A page with a higher PR is deemed more important and is more likely to be listed in Google's search results above a page with a lower PR.
The PR value is viewable from Google's Toolbar, if you've one installed. Otherwise, there are many sites that let you calculate a site's PR value. Here's one: Rankwhere.
So what does a PR of 4 really mean?
Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot wrote an interesting guide about the importance of PR. He gave an idea of what PR values mean by dividing them into these broad categories:
0-3: New sites or sites with very minimal links.
4-5: Popular sites with a fair amount of inbound links.
6: Very popular sites that have hundreds of links, many of them quality links.
7-10: Usually media brands (NYTimes.com), big companies or A-list bloggers.
Wow, Rankk is a popular site :)
It's definitely a pat on the back for us, in addition to the increasing membership and the kind donations we've received.
In case you're wondering what this PR thing is, it's Google’s system for ranking web pages. A page with a higher PR is deemed more important and is more likely to be listed in Google's search results above a page with a lower PR.
The PR value is viewable from Google's Toolbar, if you've one installed. Otherwise, there are many sites that let you calculate a site's PR value. Here's one: Rankwhere.
So what does a PR of 4 really mean?
Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot wrote an interesting guide about the importance of PR. He gave an idea of what PR values mean by dividing them into these broad categories:
0-3: New sites or sites with very minimal links.
4-5: Popular sites with a fair amount of inbound links.
6: Very popular sites that have hundreds of links, many of them quality links.
7-10: Usually media brands (NYTimes.com), big companies or A-list bloggers.
Wow, Rankk is a popular site :)
Monday, February 18, 2008
Our wishlist for 2008
I should have written this at the start of the new year, but I was bitten by a rare procrastination bug that was hard to fix :P
Fortunately, the Rat came and ate the bug alive. And so here I am, with a renewed motivation and energy to write about what we wish for in 2008:
Fortunately, the Rat came and ate the bug alive. And so here I am, with a renewed motivation and energy to write about what we wish for in 2008:
- An average of 5 new members per day. Currently, the average is about 2 per day based on a total of 1035 members and a span of 485 days.
- 200 challenges. Rankk now has 171 challenges, so that's another 29 to be coded, or contributed.
- A Google Pagerank of 4. We achieved a pagerank of 3/10 within a year and we're quite happy with that. 4 should be achievable but 5 is even better :)
- More people blogging about Rankk or linking to Rankk.
- More Google ad clicks and more donations :) So far, we have collected about 295 clicks totalling $52.36 and two Paypal donations .
- More "missing" members returning. Two members came to mind: Intelos and Spoodle58. They reappeared after a long absence.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
End of year update
My last entry was October 2, slightly over two months back. Not too bad by my own standard :)
In between, we published three interviews by our members. I'm happy we did that, because not only are the interviews an excellent way of introducing some of our best members, they are also permanent records of the members and Rankk's journey. Five or 10 years down the road, I imagine it would be quite interesting to revisit the entries and make sense of the passing time.
The number of challenges now stands at 164, an addition of 46 more since my post "Half a year later..." in September, in which I wrote that we had increased the number of challenges from a mere 40 to 118. The number has somewhat stabilized, with a new challenge added every once in a while, when good ideas come by.
I remember we used to add at least a challenge every day, sometimes even two on the same day. It was crazy. There were days when I would eat, drink and sleep with challenge ideas haunting me, until I finally settled on a good one to start coding.
Over the last week, we introduced a profile feature to enable members to check each other's progress, besides finding out about his or her default profile information, such as date joined, blog or favourite site, country, etc.
It's a useful feature to have, all thanks to silverknight who gave us the timely nudge.
The right panel has also been given a little facelift. We moved some of the elements around and restyled a couple of them. The net effect is a more attractive right panel (to me at least). And unless you make the changes, you sometimes make the mistake of thinking that what you have is already good enough, when in fact it can be improved.
And while I am on the subject of changes, let me rant a little about what I think keeps a website going.
A website or blog is like a tree or pond that attracts different creatures to it. As long as the tree is alive and growing, it will attract visitors: insects, bees, birds, butterflies and what have you. And these visitors will bring their friends and relatives along, who in turn will bring other friends and relatives along. Sure, many of these new comers will be casual visitors. But while they are there, they help to make the soil fertile with their droppings and with the dispersal of seeds when they move on. And some of those who came will become permanent residents of the tree.
The opposite happens when the tree shows no sign of life. Its inhabitants will forsake it in search of greener pastures to look for food and a new home. The number of visitors will dwindle as there's nothing to look forward to. Very soon, the entire community will disappear, leaving behind a forlorn, lifeless tree.
A website exhibits that sort of phenomenon. Just like the tree, the more it can keep itself alive and vibrant, the more visitors it can attract. The more visitors it can attract, the more it can sustain itself.
We want Rankk to be a thriving tree. In its short existence of one year and two months, we've never stopped making changes and adding new stuff. As one member remarked: "you can rest assured that the changes made since I was active are adequate.. oh yeah most adequate ;-)".
We believe, and hope, these changes will help Rankk attract new members while allowing it to stay relevant to the mature members.
Have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!
In between, we published three interviews by our members. I'm happy we did that, because not only are the interviews an excellent way of introducing some of our best members, they are also permanent records of the members and Rankk's journey. Five or 10 years down the road, I imagine it would be quite interesting to revisit the entries and make sense of the passing time.
The number of challenges now stands at 164, an addition of 46 more since my post "Half a year later..." in September, in which I wrote that we had increased the number of challenges from a mere 40 to 118. The number has somewhat stabilized, with a new challenge added every once in a while, when good ideas come by.
I remember we used to add at least a challenge every day, sometimes even two on the same day. It was crazy. There were days when I would eat, drink and sleep with challenge ideas haunting me, until I finally settled on a good one to start coding.
Over the last week, we introduced a profile feature to enable members to check each other's progress, besides finding out about his or her default profile information, such as date joined, blog or favourite site, country, etc.
It's a useful feature to have, all thanks to silverknight who gave us the timely nudge.
The right panel has also been given a little facelift. We moved some of the elements around and restyled a couple of them. The net effect is a more attractive right panel (to me at least). And unless you make the changes, you sometimes make the mistake of thinking that what you have is already good enough, when in fact it can be improved.
And while I am on the subject of changes, let me rant a little about what I think keeps a website going.
A website or blog is like a tree or pond that attracts different creatures to it. As long as the tree is alive and growing, it will attract visitors: insects, bees, birds, butterflies and what have you. And these visitors will bring their friends and relatives along, who in turn will bring other friends and relatives along. Sure, many of these new comers will be casual visitors. But while they are there, they help to make the soil fertile with their droppings and with the dispersal of seeds when they move on. And some of those who came will become permanent residents of the tree.
The opposite happens when the tree shows no sign of life. Its inhabitants will forsake it in search of greener pastures to look for food and a new home. The number of visitors will dwindle as there's nothing to look forward to. Very soon, the entire community will disappear, leaving behind a forlorn, lifeless tree.
A website exhibits that sort of phenomenon. Just like the tree, the more it can keep itself alive and vibrant, the more visitors it can attract. The more visitors it can attract, the more it can sustain itself.
We want Rankk to be a thriving tree. In its short existence of one year and two months, we've never stopped making changes and adding new stuff. As one member remarked: "you can rest assured that the changes made since I was active are adequate.. oh yeah most adequate ;-)".
We believe, and hope, these changes will help Rankk attract new members while allowing it to stay relevant to the mature members.
Have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Interview with Sapr0
This is the final instalment of Rankk's interviews for 2007.
We thank Sapr0, who's rankked #2 at the point of writing, for taking part in this interview.
Sapr0 shared his thoughts and views freely. He even let on a little about what his girlfriend thinks about his online life.
Read on...
The second site I found was HackQuest where I managed to solve a couple more of JS challenges and Logic ones.
The third site was the Pyramid. It was all good and nice up till level 3, when I got stuck and went back to HQ. After a month of learning to solve challenges, I returned to the Pyramid and progressed to Geb rapidly with a bit of hints here and there along the way.
Eventually I started to solve tons of sites, including TBS, Slyfx, Arcanum and Xavier.
In my first year at the university, I started to learn PHP and MySQL to create my own site, and I got hooked on PHP. Simple syntax, tons of functions available and a 13-mb installer to use it on any comp.
When it comes to brute forcing or cracking hashes, I usually use specialized tools or resort to my C++ old compiler and write a quick program.
I made her understand that the computer and the internet things I do (solving challenges, playing games) are like small habits of mine, though I think her impression was more like "vices" :)
When I'm really really close to solving a challenge, she usually let me finish it, and then we go cuddle. But if I'm far away...I usually drop it and prefer to stay with my "woman"...ya know ;)
If you were to rate Rankk on scale of 1-10, what would you give it?
Hmm, hard to say. Maybe a 8 or 9. Why not 10? You may ask. Well, I guess it's just missing the community of players. The IRC and the forum are mostly rather quiet. On IRC rarely a noob pops in and asks for a hint. It's usually just me, deo and quangntenemy who sometimes exchange a few words.
On the forum it's just Sphinx posting about a new challenge and a few replies with bugs or suggestions. I suppose the site is new and not well known, so I guess the rate will go up once the community gets more active.
What things would you change or improve if you were to take over Rankk?
Nothing really, the challenges are really nice. For a noob, you can learn a great deal by solving the lower level challenges.
That's the main goal for the site, I think, teaching you stuff. There's really no point in having insane challenges like some other sites that I play.
In High School I did a lot of soccer, basketball and volleyball. At University I played volleyball mostly and even took part in some local competitions with my team.
Also, I stayed near the sea so during the summer there was a lot of swimming, beach volley, roller blading, etc.
Sadly, I have moved to the capital and working eight hours a day now, which leaves me with very little time for any sports. Though I bought this fancy American football thingy, so I'm just waiting for the spring to do some tackling with my friends ;)
We thank Sapr0, who's rankked #2 at the point of writing, for taking part in this interview.
Sapr0 shared his thoughts and views freely. He even let on a little about what his girlfriend thinks about his online life.
Read on...
You've been playing this sort of games for quite a while...tell us about your experience.
Well I started with some random googling and found CyberArmy. I got all intrigued by the supposedly "hacking" things one would learn.
I thought I was "kool" when I solved the first JavaScript level. But I got stopped by eliza (a chat bot) and went on googling for other sites.The second site I found was HackQuest where I managed to solve a couple more of JS challenges and Logic ones.
The third site was the Pyramid. It was all good and nice up till level 3, when I got stuck and went back to HQ. After a month of learning to solve challenges, I returned to the Pyramid and progressed to Geb rapidly with a bit of hints here and there along the way.
Eventually I started to solve tons of sites, including TBS, Slyfx, Arcanum and Xavier.
What is your programming language of choice and why do you choose it over others?
My first learned language was Pascal, then in high school I learned C++ while using a old compiler Borland C++ V3.1.In my first year at the university, I started to learn PHP and MySQL to create my own site, and I got hooked on PHP. Simple syntax, tons of functions available and a 13-mb installer to use it on any comp.
When it comes to brute forcing or cracking hashes, I usually use specialized tools or resort to my C++ old compiler and write a quick program.
Your girl friend...does she ever complain about your online life?
Sometimes...yes, but we already had a conversation about it when we first met.I made her understand that the computer and the internet things I do (solving challenges, playing games) are like small habits of mine, though I think her impression was more like "vices" :)
When I'm really really close to solving a challenge, she usually let me finish it, and then we go cuddle. But if I'm far away...I usually drop it and prefer to stay with my "woman"...ya know ;)
Are you vying for the top spot at Rankk?
Yes, why not. Who would not want to be #1 :) Though beating quangntenemy is very hard, he got skills :)If you were to rate Rankk on scale of 1-10, what would you give it?
On the forum it's just Sphinx posting about a new challenge and a few replies with bugs or suggestions. I suppose the site is new and not well known, so I guess the rate will go up once the community gets more active.
What is your favorite food?
My parents taught me to eat everything :) And now since I'm also a student I truly eat anything that is on a plate. As for favorite food, any home cooked meal is a blessing. Otherwise, I just order a pizza along with some beer ;)
"Death comes to all!" That's your signature line. Care to tell us about it?
I don't really remember where I got that signature, probably from some movie or something. I just loved how it sounded...plus its states a truth, no one escapes death :)What things would you change or improve if you were to take over Rankk?
That's the main goal for the site, I think, teaching you stuff. There's really no point in having insane challenges like some other sites that I play.
What is your favorite sport?
I used to do a lots of sports even though people might think I'm a computer geek (which i am :P).In High School I did a lot of soccer, basketball and volleyball. At University I played volleyball mostly and even took part in some local competitions with my team.
Also, I stayed near the sea so during the summer there was a lot of swimming, beach volley, roller blading, etc.
Sadly, I have moved to the capital and working eight hours a day now, which leaves me with very little time for any sports. Though I bought this fancy American football thingy, so I'm just waiting for the spring to do some tackling with my friends ;)
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