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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    I'm right behind you.
    Posts
    1,143

    Tophosts.com Platinum member list

    http://www.tophosts.com/showcases/platinum/

    "TopHosts is proud to present our Platinum Member list. These top web hosting partners have displayed an exceptional dedication to service and technology and have demonstrated a continued commitment to both their customers and TopHosts.Com. Have a look at some of the top hosting organizations in the biz! "



    What do you think about that?
    Marketing For Hosting Companies:

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    New Orleans, LA
    Posts
    581
    just another way for TopHosts to make ad $

    ...and just another way to provide nothing of value to the consumer
    Andrew McMaster
    http://www.FindMyHosting.com
    Compare Prices, Consumer Reviews, Help, Guides and More.

  3. #3
    hehe sad but true.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Posts
    363

    Just wait another 5 months and we will see a

    "Supreme Platinum Member list"


  5. #5
    Ah - you guys are so critical. Just so you know, we are not generating any additional revenue from this new initiative. Its a loyalty program for some of our most loyal and respected clients. We provide additional exposure like this to our most loyal clients in exchange for their continued commitment to TopHosts. And yes, this is useful for our users, since these businesses represent great hosting providers.

    Lonny - great looking site! Lots of info and well layed out.
    Some advice, drop one of your advertisers before they burn you and you further hurt your reputation. Starts with a C- and ends with an IHOST.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Posts
    344
    What makes these companies the top companies in the biz? The fact that they paid the most for ad space? Sadly, I have never heard of these hosting companies, except when visiting TopHosts.com

    Chris Miller
    PromoPunch
    Custom Imprinted Promotional Products
    www.promopunch.com 1-800-750-8530 x221

  7. #7
    How much do you figure that ad costs? Since one showcase ad is $2000 a month this must be real expensive.
    Matt Kelly
    WCiT.net
    Managed and Unmanaged
    Budget VPS, Cloud and Colocation

  8. #8

    huh...

    I seem to see the same old 20 or 25 hosts in their top montly host picks every month...

    I don't think its about who is the best host anymore, its become who gives them the most money to say they are the best... oh well.

  9. #9
    scandalist business, it is.

  10. #10
    TopHosts is proud to present our Platinum Member list. These top web hosting partners have displayed an exceptional dedication to service and technology and have demonstrated a continued commitment to both their customers and TopHosts.Com
    You mean a commitment to advertising on TopHosts.com?

    ... But then again money buys everything. C!Host ads on FindSP.com, etc.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    London
    Posts
    4,931
    I guess it derives from the companies that pay the most to get listed in their "Top 25 Webhosts" section, the 3 companies that are paying the most will get listed in their platinum member list.

    Really, FastHosts are the UK's number one host? I bet they have been through "rigorous production testing"
    Matthew Russell | Namecheap
    Twitter: @mattdrussell

    www.easywp.com - True Managed WordPress, made easy

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2001
    Posts
    697
    Do you think a true Top 25 list should change monthly? I don't think so. What would that say about our industry if every month there were 25 different hosting companies that made it to the top of the list? I surely wouldn't want to think the hosting industry is that unstable....

    How do you get to the top of the list? Well, I would imagine that first of all you would have to be a fairly large host. Most hosts on these boards are not large hosts. Advertising on tophosts.com wouldn't hurt either. Of course, if you are a top25 host, then chances are you have the money to advertise on tophosts.com, so this point is kind of invalid. It's not "hey look, the top 25 just happen to be companies that advertise there..." it's more like "the top 25 companies can obviously also afford to advertise there..." . It's a subtle, but very important difference.

    One more thing - everyone criticizes these lists, but really what would you have tophosts do? I have seen tons of posts on these boards that go something like " XxXxX host is SO GREAT". Then a month later " XxXxX host is having some problems" then a month after that " XxXxX host screwed me, I'm suing them". Sometimes these companies are well respected on these forums and other web hosting resources. Should tophosts take a chance on some smaller companies, refer thousands of new customers to them, only to have the company go bankrupt and screw over all of those customers? I think you can all agree with me here that this would not be a good thing.

    It is easy to criticize, but I think MANY people underestimate what it takes to be a top25 host.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Vancouver
    Posts
    2,422
    For what its worth, DataPipe is actually very good.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Derby UK
    Posts
    225
    Its a loyalty program for some of our most loyal and respected clients. We provide additional exposure like this to our most loyal clients in exchange for their continued commitment to TopHosts
    tresfun: I take it from your post above you work for tophosts??

    If so you have just said that these hosts in the platimum list are the ones who advertise most on tophosts. "your most loyal client" So is it a scheme to show the comitment to the customers or the comitment to paying money to tophosts.

    A proper tophost list would be a "not funded by hosts advertising revenue" but an independant hosting list. I am not sure if one exists. Even the magazines lists show those with the most full page adverts per mag.

    ..." it's more like "the top 25 companies can obviously also afford to advertise there..."
    Nothing against any one company in general but bad companies can get investment, if they purchase every other page in a magazine they will get a lot of customers and will also get to the top of the lists, which will make them more customers. Just because they can afford to pay lots for advertising does not make them a good company nor does it mean the customers are happy.

    I am sure people will disagree, but does a company with lots of money make it a good company (Good for customers not business sense)
    www.38h.com - Windows Hosting, Resellers and Dedicated

    www.iistalk.net Windows only forum.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Posts
    344
    CIH0ST can afford to be at the top of every one of those lists. Does that mean they deserve to be there?
    Chris Miller
    PromoPunch
    Custom Imprinted Promotional Products
    www.promopunch.com 1-800-750-8530 x221

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    New Orleans, LA
    Posts
    581
    It is easy to criticize, but I think MANY people underestimate what it takes to be a top25 host.
    Yep - many people probably do underestimate the cost involved in becoming such a host.

    Lets face it - for hosts that have a good enough revenue stream - the ROI from a site like TopHosts probably makes a lot of sense.

    How much value to the consumer? - well okay some, afterall it's a stretch - but there is a logic that says a big hosting company is at least going to be around tommorrow. But - there are hundreds of hosts that offer excellent service & better prices than the big guys but simply could not afford TopHosts advertising - so the consumer really loses out, but they don't have a lot of choices.

    Sites such as TopHosts - it's advertising plain & simple. Kind of an online billboard. Could you imagine a site like "TopCars" where car companies paid to be listed in top 5 lists or Platinum Car lists. Would you trust such a site if you knew that the car companies just paid to be in the list? What if you had no other place to go for info & what if you were not really aware that the car companies were paying for the listing?

    These sites have value & create value - for a small part of the market - for themselves of course & Hosts big enough to afford to pay - the smaller hosts lose out & the consumer gets left paying more & getting less.

    It'll change - no market can stay like that forever.
    Andrew McMaster
    http://www.FindMyHosting.com
    Compare Prices, Consumer Reviews, Help, Guides and More.

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