One thing to keep in mind: this will not be some generic list server with advertisements for low-interest credit cards or internet gambling. The host will be a reputable GIS magazine, and who knows -- you might see an ad for something you need! Steve Wallace Vice President, Operations Florida Farm Bureau Insurance Co's ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Thoen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, September 22, 2000 11:41 AM Subject: Advertising to fund MapInfo-L (was MI ANNOUNCEMENT: MapInfo-L is moving! -No Advertising!!) > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > One Comment about the advertising with the e-mail. > > > > Don't do it! > > > > That's the sort of thing that could run me off from this list faster then any thing else. > > Would you be willing to pay a subscription fee to get the list > mail then? How do you suggest we afford the service? Would you > prefer twice-yearly fund drives like they do for public > broadcasting? > > It's been free because I managed to get a good deal at Colorado > Supernet for the last 6 years. That made it cost so little (and > was helped by some donations and the proceeds of an auction) that > my business carried it these last few years. It cost $14.95/mo > plus my time, which was gladly given because it has also been > good for my business. But SuperNet got bought out by Qwest/US > West, and because SuperNet isn't profitable enough for the big > wheels, the wheels are closing down that service. The hard, cold > Morlocks meet the Eloi of the Internet. > > In a perfect world advertising serves to connect people who have > needs to products and services that answer those needs, and > that's the goal we would try to attain. I am all too aware that > in our real world, advertising also tries to *create* needs and > wants and stick a straw into your wallet and suck hard. We all > know that activity sucks, but is there any creative solution that > we can come up with where we can generate enough cash to pay for > the infrastructure we need to make this list a success? Lists do > not live by email alone. > > Perhaps we can do a mix of paid subscriptions with no advertising > with some freebie subscriptions that come with a helping thinly > sliced spam. How about the USGS buying up a block and giving them > out to employees? Maybe people with deeper pockets could fund > subscriptions for students who are full of bright ideas, but no > money. Maybe we could charge enough for advertising so that there > wouldn't be many (but if there were none, that wouldn't help) Or > maybe the ads wouldn't be so bad or common anyway. Maybe we could > do a mix of donations, light advertising, auctions, and fund > drives. But all that work takes volunteers or paid staff. > > Advertising is the easiest solution. If you don't want it at all, > get creative, and not to put too fine a point on it, put your > money where your mouth is. The form that these will take has not > been decided yet anyway. All that's been talked about is that the > service can be offered and that advertising would be a covenant > way to afford it. > > As Henry D. Thoreau once said, "All great enterprises should be > self-supporting." > > How about some ideas instead of complaints? > -- > - Bill Thoen > ------------------------------------------------------------ > GISnet, 1401 Walnut St., Suite C, Boulder, CO 80302 > tel: 303-786-9961, fax: 303-443-4856 > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED], http://www.ctmap.com/gisnet > ------------------------------------------------------------ > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put > "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
