Update: Click here if you’re looking for a Tracking202 Pro Review
Prosper202 is looking for beta testers for tracking202 Pro. The application is far too long for me to fill out, but WTF is this about no plans for a self-hosted app?
Personally I’d be down for paying for a PRO version, just so I don’t feel guilty yelling at Wes when shit breaks. But no self-hosted version is kind of lame.
Juice (8)
Hillary (4)
Robert Hughes (4)
1cent (3)
Steve (3)
TupacsGhost (3)
affended (2)
bry (2)
conv3rsion (2)
Lenin Govea (2)
Wes and the guys over at 202 are awesome peeps. I think they are a little off with their 202Pro release though.
The people that would actually pay for a tracking app are the ones who would want to host it themselves. The people who would be ok with hosted software would likely not PAY for a tracking package.
Their target demo is a little screwy.
We mentioned one of the reasons why we did it like this and we did also mention that redirects are no longer reliant on our system so you wouldn’t lose money even if the server was down if that was a concern.
As for why its not self-hosted, it’d be impossible to charge a monthly service if it was self-hosted. Even if you encrypt the software, someone else will unencrypt it fast, that happened when Prosper202 was first launched. There are other reasons but it wouldn’t make any sense for us.
That said, the target audience is beyond just affiliates for the new software as its targeted towards small business and enterprise as well. We hope people will understand.
@ Steve
I dunno, I think most people would still pay for it if the price is reasonable… whats $50-100 a month to an affiliate? Why even charge monthly? Charge for the package, sell plugins, etc.
WTF is up with the serious post?
I don’t really have an argument for it but I want a self hosted one.
Also, I don’t really know what the pro version would have that the original doesn’t.
I feel guilty about complaining :(
@Barman
The thing is Pro is a completely different level of tracking and it isn’t geared towards just affiliates the way T202/P202 is. Pro is able to fully support small business and enterprises. We are already pricing it cheaper than all the competitors. Selling it as a flat package would mean a significant loss for us. It would similar to asking Double Click or any other tool to stop charging thousands or more per month to sell it as a package deal.
@Hannah
Although I don’t want to give any details out right now, there are a ton of features that the originals can not do. We wouldn’t want to charge for it if we weren’t confident it was better.
I apologize to everyone if it came off weird but we do believe the value is there.
@Steven – How about creating a self hosted package that connects to an authentication server at login. This way you can keep the software self hosted yet charge a monthly fee.
Unfortunately it wouldn’t work because coders who can unencrypt can also undo any authentication code on there.
Can I ask you guys what the main reason for not wanting to switch to Pro, specifically now that the redirect issue has been resolved.
Steven, We don’t want our campaign data on your servers.
Sure and that’s completely understandable if that’s how you guys feel. Prosper202 will also remain a free solution for that very reason.
Honestly…I wish this “i want self hosted everything” was a dead issue.
I think the 202 guys have proven their dedication to the community and their trust worthiness with campaign data. They want to build a legit business, not steal you’re fake blog Acai campaigns.
What the hell? While we’re at it, why not have Google bundle up a self hosted adwords for you…you could just pay them monthly. Then “your keywords would be safe”.
Come on…it’s not feasible for a service like 202 pro to be self-hosted. It’s too resource intensive and the average joe affiliate would crash it at install, creating months of support requests for 202.
So if self hosted with the level of tracking that pro can provide is what you want…then keep prayin to the PPC gods or hire a good programmer.
Tracking 202 Pro is actually cool
Wes and the guys over at 202 are awesome peeps. I think they are a little off with their 202Pro release though.
The people that would actually pay for a tracking app are the ones who would want to host it themselves. The people who would be ok with hosted software would likely not PAY for a tracking package.
202 is self hosted now, but its pretty bloated and not very customisable.