Topic: Random widgets added to channel

So, I just got my chumby and have been playing around with it. I created a channel with about 30 widgets in it. When I refreshed the chumby and started flipping through the channels on the chumby, I noticed there was a PSA video widget in the mix. I went to the website and did not see the PSA widget in the channel. I've also seen some Chumby 101 widgets in some other channels I created. This normal?

Love the chumby BTW.

Re: Random widgets added to channel

Yes.  What keeps the Chumby Network free is that some of the content is sponsored.  Some widgets you select will have promotional material embedded in them, e.g., the current SpongeBob widget.  Additionally, Chumby may promote new content to you within your Chumby widget channels from time-to-time.  Currently we're using these interstitial widget spots mostly to promote Chumby and enhance your Chumby experience, e.g., tell you about new features and new content or instruct you how to use your chumby better.  We're also currently injecting a few public service announcements into the mix for good causes.  But we recognize that some of these PSAs are getting a bit tired since we introduced them last Summer and we'll be refreshing this interstitial content to make it more interesting and relevant.

Re: Random widgets added to channel

I've had my Chumby for six weeks or so, and I've still to see one of these 'extra' widgets. Am I looking away always at the wrong time. Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to seeing them, but still no joy...

Is this content delivered 'regionally' - i.e. I'm in the UK, and it wouldn't make sense to show me an 'advert' that applies only to US residents ? Or am I really looking away at all the wrong times ?

Re: Random widgets added to channel

I'm in the UK and I see them fairly regularly. If you don't interact with them then they're gone pretty quickly...

Re: Random widgets added to channel

Ahhh. Thank you. I feel better knowing it's not a bug smile

Re: Random widgets added to channel

I think I've figured out why I wasn't seeing 'ads', and thought I'd share for three reasons - 1) in case people what to use this as a strategy to *not* see this extra content, 2) in case someone else was in my position and *wanted* to see the ads but wasn't getting them, and 3) in case Chumby see this as a 'loophole' and want to plug it.

From the start I've organised my channels to have only a few widgets in, and made multiple channels instead of packing lots of widgets into a few channels. It seems that this is what was denying the 'ads'. I'm guessing that every time the Chumby has shown all the widgets in a channel it resets the internal counter that's totting up to see when it can drop an ad in. So a channel with say, 6 widgets in, will never reach magic number (10?ish) to have the extra app pop up.

So here's my advice (based on how Chumby behaves now... but who knows, Chumby Industries may change this...)

- if you want ads, have 10+ widgets in a channel
- if you don't want ads, have fewer (6?ish) widgets in each channel