Project PF Proliferation - Free Gold Membership

  • Thread starter Thread starter Greg Bernhardt
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary
Project PF Proliferation offers a way to earn a free six-month gold membership by posting a flyer on a university bulletin board and sharing a photo of it. Participants can choose from three flyer designs based on their printing preferences. The initiative aims to increase awareness of Physics Forums (PF) among students, particularly those in technical and community colleges, as a valuable resource for academic support. Discussions also highlight the benefits of gold membership, such as an ad-free experience and enhanced profile features. Overall, the project encourages community engagement and support for PF's growth and sustainability.
  • #331
Greg Bernhardt said:
Of course they're not, but nature usually wins in the end. If someone posts that flyer in the middle of "looking for renters" and "guitar for sale" type stuff, I bet more eyes go to our flyer.

Sure, it'll get more attention. But is that the attention you want? If you want professionals such as researchers and professors, do you really think they would be attracted by this poster? I have my doubts.
 
  • Like
Likes Fervent Freyja and Rectifier
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #332
micromass said:
Sure, it'll get more attention. But is that the attention you want? If you want professionals such as researchers and professors, do you really think they would be attracted by this poster? I have my doubts.
Right, I wouldn't use flyers to attract professionals. Flyers are for college kids.
 
  • #333
@micromass, now I am curious, what design would appeal to you?
 
  • #334
I don't know, I haven't put a lot thought into it. And I'm not image designer. I can just say what I like and dislike. And I definitely dislike the kind of designs that appear to make things "more fun" to people. I don't think that works. I mean, I just googled random algebra texts and this is one of the first things I found:

wp1msabz.jpg

I mean, does this actually work? Do people actually going to associate algebra with "wow, there is a fun looking rolling coaster on the cover, so algebra must be fun". I think this is pretty pathetic. People are smarter than to be easily fooled like this.
 
  • Like
Likes Fervent Freyja, ProfuselyQuarky, KSG4592 and 1 other person
  • #335
micromass said:
People are smarter than to be easily fooled like this.
Do you live in the same world I am in? :biggrin:
 
  • Like
Likes ProfuselyQuarky
  • #336
Greg Bernhardt said:
Do you live in the same world I am in? :biggrin:

Of course people will hate algebra if you have educators which underestimate them all the time and which provide bad book covers like this. You're smothering them with low expectations. Trying to make math "fun" is just pathetic, and you clearly see how well it has worked out. It didn't.

But ok, aside from this rant, if you want a business model where you basically underestimate your audience, then go ahead.
 
  • #337
micromass said:
if you want a business model where you basically underestimate your audience, then go ahead.
I add a female (I added only to get a human component) to our college flyer and all of a sudden I am underestimating my audience? Would I get this reaction if it were a handsome guy?
 
  • Like
Likes ProfuselyQuarky
  • #338
Greg Bernhardt said:
I add a female (I added only to get a human component) to our college flyer and all of a sudden I am underestimating my audience? Would I get this reaction if it were a handsome guy?

No, that is not my reaction. I said "people are smarter than to be fooled like this". You add: "do you live in the same world I live in?". This means to me that you think people are not so smart than to be fooled like this. This is to me that you're underestimating your audience. It has nothing to do with the original poster that you presented.
 
  • Like
Likes Fervent Freyja
  • #339
micromass said:
No, that is not my reaction. I said "people are smarter than to be fooled like this". You add: "do you live in the same world I live in?". This means to me that you think people are not so smart than to be fooled like this. This is to me that you're underestimating your audience. It has nothing to do with the original poster that you presented.
Ah I understand now, thanks. I wouldn't call it fooling. Honest marketing just takes advantage of psychology. Adding a human to a flyer should get a few more looks than just text. Adding an attractive lady will get even a few more looks. Simple as that. No fooling or underestimating.
 
  • #340
lol . . . I didn't know there was so much thought in creating a simple flyer!
 
  • #341
Greg Bernhardt said:
I add a female (I added only to get a human component) to our college flyer and all of a sudden I am underestimating my audience? Would I get this reaction if it were a handsome guy?

Why not a photo of a sweet, intelligent little boy playing with the toys he loves? Building, creating, and experimenting in his geeked-out bedroom? A natural, unforced moment? Something that probably reflects truth about most PF users or those in physics would be better for morale.

Greg, I know you don't mean harm here, but physics consists of predominantly above average, highly intelligent males. A female face isn't an honest reflection of the field in general, so that leads me to believe that such an advertisement is meant to invite social opportunists on board or to scare potential members away? Highly intelligent females that love science seem to be quite welcome and come on their own, but they have to try to earn their places the exact same ways as the others do before they receive it. Attempting to recruit females just because they are female and not because they love science doesn't make it a healthier place for anybody, it isn't fair for highly intelligent young men to see unfair opportunities being given, and it isn't fair for those few highly intelligent young women to have to deal with the consequences.
 
  • #342
Fervent Freyja said:
Greg, I know you don't mean harm here, but physics consists of predominantly above average, highly intelligent males. A female face isn't an honest reflection of the field in general, so that leads me to believe that such an advertisement is meant to invite social opportunists on board or to scare potential members away? Highly intelligent females that love science seem to be quite welcome and come on their own, but they have to try to earn their places the exact same ways as the others do before they receive it. Attempting to recruit females just because they are female and not because they love science doesn't make it a healthier place for anybody, it isn't fair for highly intelligent young men to see unfair opportunities being given, and it isn't fair for those few highly intelligent young women to have to deal with the consequences.

I'm sorry, Freyja, I literally cannot equate what you've just written with what Greg has done or with what has already been said about it. I think you're reading too much into this. It's just a flyer for a forum with a photo to catch people's eye, not a representation of the gender breakdown of the field of physics.
 
  • Like
Likes ProfuselyQuarky, Greg Bernhardt and gracy
  • #343
I also posted some posters around my school, the german high school in İstanbul.
I posted a total of four high quality posters (printed in a printing centre, and used heavy papers), two of them were A3 sized and two of them were A4 sized.
When I'm at school, I'm going to talk with our physics teachers about the PF.

Note: I realized that the poster doesn't fit in the form of standard paper size, so while printing, there is always an excess white part on and under the poster and it's a little bit annoying.
(You can't see this in my photo, I've cut that part)

IMG_20160429_145850.jpg
 
  • Like
Likes Greg Bernhardt
  • #344
Garlic said:
I posted a total of four high quality posters
Garlic said:
When I'm at school, I'm going to talk with our physics teachers about the PF.

Awesome work! You're Gold!

Garlic said:
I realized that the poster doesn't fit in the form of standard paper size

Thanks for the info. I need to fix that! :)
 
  • #345
Thank you,
It feels good to contribute :smile:
 
  • Like
Likes Greg Bernhardt
  • #346
Garlic said:
Thank you,
It feels good to contribute :smile:
The members make the community, the more you give, the more you get :)
 
  • Like
Likes Garlic
  • #347
Greg Bernhardt said:
Thanks for the info. I need to fix that! :)

Other than the form not fitting standard paper size, just because the format is .pdf, computers are putting an extra blank frame around the image (as if it were a text file).
This is an uncut print (see image)
1462277745864977274505.jpg
 
  • #348
Printers can rarely print up to the very last millimeter.
Fervent Freyja said:
Why not a photo of a sweet, intelligent little boy playing with the toys he loves? Building, creating, and experimenting in his geeked-out bedroom? A natural, unforced moment? Something that probably reflects truth about most PF users or those in physics would be better for morale.
At least in Germany, if you do that you risk a massively negative reaction on social media. Which is not always a bad thing.[/size]
"How can you enforce the stereotype that only boys play like that!"
http://www.frogged.de/pixi-das-rassistische-schulbuch.html (video), in German, didn't find an English source, and don't use machine translation - it won't get the irony right. Basically a group of feminists complaining that a group of 3 children does not have a uniform female to male ratio (it is 1:2), that the three names chosen do not include literally every name of school children in Germany (sic!), and similar complaints.

Greg Bernhardt said:
We've added a new flyer

View attachment 88829
Didn't see that before, but the thread looks familiar ;)

Combine approaches? A girl or woman playing with toys or building something? A group building something?
 
  • Like
Likes ProfuselyQuarky
  • #349
mfb said:
it won't get the irony right.

Oh, I do see the irony. It's a touchy subject here too, but it is often seen acceptable to male-bash, even if they are our http://www.businessinsider.com.au/science-has-finally-shown-that-girls-are-smarter-at-school-than-boys-2015-1. I don't find it okay to put one gender down in order to lift up the other. A boy also has value, but that's just my opinion, apparently.

Everything has relevance, as it's part of a collective effect- even a flyer using a female to attract males. Men really aren't that shallow. They have other interests just like women do.
 
  • #350
Is this still going on?
 
  • Like
Likes Greg Bernhardt

Similar threads

  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
3K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
3K
  • Sticky
  • · Replies 97 ·
4
Replies
97
Views
49K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K
  • Sticky
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
4K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 67 ·
3
Replies
67
Views
20K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
5K