ZIMM

Twenty Bucks a Year?

APRIL 10, 2006
This note from Luc got my attention. I'll quote:

"Some folks have told me they're not keen on paying $20/year for a blog when Blogger and other places offer them for free. How about a full-service Drawger Blog for $20 (which I think is totally reasonable, considering hosting fees for a single site), and a limited-feature free option? Maybe even a student-artists section? Maybe not. cheers! Luc"

. . . . .

Luc is right, there are plenty of places to blog from for free. Blogger is of course owned by Google, who make their money on AdWords. MySpace makes money by selling hideous ads.

I figure the people who are here and any that follow will figure out whether it's worth $20 a year. If it isn't worth it, then that's okay. I'm not selling hideous ads, ever.

It's also a private club. Any junk that shows up here will be shown the door. I don't want their crummy $20.

I do plan on making a seperate free section just for students. I have this whole "adopt a newbie" idea that I think would be a real kick. An online mentor program of sorts. It will happen.

Also on the board, a section for Flash animations for everyone, a central gallery spot with themed shows that everyone can contribute to from time to time, a central movie spot where everyone can contribute animations.... heck I've got a long upgrade list that doesn't include raising annual dues.

The money - if I ever make any - will simply go straight back into the site and make itself known with more capabilities to communicate for everyone here.

I pay for band-width and hosting and beyond that I have Josh Carpenter on staff who wrote the majority of the code we use here every day. I'd at least like him to be able to take his excellent girl friend out for a nice dinner once a year. Right now, I pay him enough so they can do that semi-annually...

I'd appreciate feedback.

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Topical: At Drawger