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First of please introduce yourself and your site to our readers?
My name is Michael Frans and I'm the sole owner of Buckabyte.com. I'm a Web/Graphic Designer from Tucson,AZ. After seeing the success of Alex Tew's milliondollarhomepage.com, I noticed that similar websites began cropping up everywhere. Each of these websites attempted to capture the success of the originator’s. They're all slightly different, but they also have one thing in common… the pixel. Each of the websites are pushing pixels as the basic unit of measurement for the internet.
I had always recognized that the true unit of measurement in the digital world was the “bit”, not the pixel. While a pixel measures the dots on a computer screen, the bit is the most basic measurement of the digital data itself. Bits are small, too small in fact to market in an effective way. So, I took a look at the next largest unit, the byte, which is composed of 8 bits and is easier to manage from a marketing standpoint. I realized I could use the same basic marketing principles used by the "pixel-pushers", but sell ad space by the byte instead. It’s something no one else is doing... Buckabyte.com is the first of its kind.
Most people have been inspired by the Million Dollar Homepage, where did you get your inspiration from?
No doubt, my inspiration came from Alex Tew's site. So simple, but nearly an instant success.
What software do you use to run your pixel page and why did you choose it?
I use the Adobe CS2 Creative Suite for everything. GoLive is used to author the HTML pages and Photoshop for the graphics. No backend scripting is needed, but I do use a database to keep track of the pixel orders.
What makes your site different or special, what angle have you taken for your Pixel page?
The original pixel page generated traffic mainly through viral marketing mainly spawned by media interest, how do you generate traffic to your site?
A combination of different techniques. Press releases, word-of-mouth, personal connections, blogging, forums... maybe sky writing.
What do you offer potential advertisers, how much do you charge and how much traffic do you envisage an advertiser could generate by advertising with you?
The Buckabyte.com concept is a way for advertisers to personally control the costs of their ads. With pixel-based sites, the advertiser is locked into the cost per pixel. When you buy ads by the byte, you can control the cost of the ads. The lower the byte size, the cheaper the ad. Ad space is sold at a dollar per byte... buying ad space by the byte can cost less than half as much as the pixel sites charge. The smallest ad dimensions allowable are 10x10 pixels. With some basic knowledge, an ad designer can get this size ad down to a file size of 50 bytes. That’s only 50 bucks. Plus we never charge more than $1000 for an ad, even if it’s over 1000 bytes. It really gives the cost control to the advertiser.
Our first customer saw a 48% traffic increase in the first day.
Currently the top 5 Alexa ranked pixel sites enjoy a lot of interest from the public. How long do you think this will last, is there a long term future for pixel pages?
Only time will tell. I really think there is a long term future for the pixel, excuse me... BYTE pages. I think over time the concept will mutuate, but I don't think it will ever go away. Look at banner ads. They seem to have been around forever, and I'm sure their overall effectiveness has dwindled a bit... but you still see them all over the place.
Besides your own pixel page, which other pixel page do you secretly admire and why?
Cliche answer: milliondollarhomepage.com. It was the original. Such a simple concept... I'm actually still a little shocked that it worked.
Thanks for your time in answering these questions. Before you go are there any comments you want to impart to our pixel hungry readership?
If you want real control over your advertising dollar, check out Buckabyte.com. Ads are as low as $50 and never more than $1000 for five years... guaranteed.