LiveJournal Sells Out: Launches Sponsored content and Sponsored Communities

[mandy]

We've been working with some great companies who are really excited about LiveJournal and want to help us give you guys access to new features and special content. In the coming weeks and months, we'll be launching some new offerings, including:

    * Sponsored communities: LiveJournal communities run by companies who are looking for a way to connect and interact with people who are interested in finding out more about their products and getting special deals and exclusive content.

    * Sponsored features: Features that might cost us too much to offer by ourselves, or touch on areas where we're not as experienced, which we'll be able to offer through partnerships with other companies.

For instance, you'll be able to visit a community sponsored by the makers of the next hit movie and get access to things like exclusive trailers, behind-the-scenes footage, and promotional pictures. Or a community sponsored by a travel company to get travel advice, tips and tricks, and special deals, or one sponsored by a technology company to get the computer hint-of-the-day, or -- well, anything else our partners can come up with. Sponsored communities function much like regular LJ communities, but there'll be a banner at the top of the page to let you know you're seeing official, sponsored content. We'll also be making minor changes to the community icon for sponsored communities so you can tell at a glance...

full announcement and 53 pages of mostly negative user comments : http://community.livejournal.com/lj_biz/237534.html