What's Up...
quick informal update on tribe status
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 12:19 AM
a lot of people have been posting and emailing with concerns about tribe. here's the quick status on tribe. tribe has been living off the cash it generates from showing adsense ads for the past 7-8 months. that has generally been enough to pay for bandwidth and two full time employees (darren and wendy) who manage the server uptime and cusomter support. from time to time the site has been lucky enough to get off hrs input from former developers like brian and jenni.
going forward, a lot of people have offered to pay for a premium account or make donations to support the site. if we could generate another $60-70k a year (about $5k per month) we could hire a full-time engineer to work on more serious maintenance and even new features (like a cool newsfeed like facebook has). that might require 1000 subscribers at $5 per month. i love the idea of testing this out.
if you have further thoughts email me (mark@tribe.net) and andrew trader (at@tribe.net). we may not be able to respond to everyone but will try.
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 12:19 AM -
permalink -
133 Comments
133 Comments |
add a comment |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 5:02 AM
Totally reasonable to keep tribe alive for $5/month. I wondered what was going on and not heard much. This would be good to add this message to everyone's front page to keep them informed. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 5:16 AM
Sounds totally reasonable
premium memberships would be just fine. I think there's plenty of interest in your proposal. Go for it. Get a wrench monkey for tribe.
I would like a premium membership but have 0 interest in a news feed. I don't think anybody really wants another site vying to be there "all in one" go-to site. I'd like to be able to use some basic html like <i>, <ol> , ul, b, in posts to help aid the whole semafore of online communication. No emoticaons wanted though, thank you very much. How about filesharing widget like the Box.net widgie box they have over at wordpress.com's blogs for our homepages. Premium folks get the widget or everybody does and more $ can mean more bytes of storage. An idea. And of course, power users get a gold star or purple halos next to their name everywhere!! :) |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 5:57 AM
Thank you, Mark!
Some of us had been getting worried that you might just shut down Tribe because we hadn't heard anything one way or the other. Unlike MySpace and Facebook, Tribe's emphasis on discussion makes it unique and more viable (to my life, at least) than those other social networking sites.
I'm pleased to hear that you're still interested in Tribe and that you are willing to experiment with business models to keep it going. Thank you! |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 8:54 AM
Glad you want to keep Tribe alive. I've spent a lot of time here in the last 2 years and met a lot of interesting people. It's become a daily part of my life. $5 a month is pretty cheap all things considered. Count me in and thanks for keeping Tribe alive.
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 9:45 AM
Count me in as well. We expect to hear details soon, concerning this and how we are to help you.:)
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 9:55 AM
the majority of people i have talked with would be willing to pay a premium. i love tribe and have found nothing even close to it elsewhere.
cute dog. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 9:57 AM
i'd pay for a premium.
(with more consistent communication) |
|
Unsu...
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 10:07 AM
$5 a month at $60 a year for Tribe?.. Not so much.. I would have done this 3 years ago before we lost the original Tribe feel and community.
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 10:22 AM
I'd gladly pay 5.00 a month to make tribe more stable. Please don't make it into another facebook. I get totally annoyed whenever I go there. I hate myspace too. Tribe rocks.
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 10:22 AM
Five dollars a month and five each for my two alts? Most definitely! I love tribe and will be willing to pay! Please keep us posted as to what's up.
Thanks for considering this possibility, Mark. I would hate to see tribe go away and this sounds like a great idea! |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 10:22 AM
Thank you for the update. I am a moderator of several tribes and will post a link to this news for them.
I love tribe and want to continue using it. I have no interest in a newsfeed like facebook has. Facebook only appeals to me as a place to chat with the usual suspects when tribe is experiencing major down time. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 10:33 AM
I second everyone's motion..
$5 dollars is a fair price.. I really would like to see more stability here I honestly wish ..you put what was up on the donut page though..so we all know..and will happily have more patience with the process! thanx for all the hard work! |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 10:37 AM
I would pay $5 per month. This networking site is far superior to any I've tried, and I'd like to see it continue.
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:01 AM
I'm feeling rather self concsious,
after reading 100% advocacy here...
I have a different take on this whole issue... While I have cherished tribe at different times,it has consistently been a source of GREAT frustration. It has NEVER functioned with anything that could resemble efficiency. I seriously doubt if $5.oo or even $25.oo a month would effectively impact that. For me charging for this service CHANGES THE FUNDAMENTAL NATURE OF IT. It's not the amount,of course that is a negligible sum,it's the concept and principle...It starts at a request for $5.oo,then 20.oo then 40.oo then... I feel like there is an evolution to Tribe and it's existence,and that it either dies a natural death and other sites pick up the pieces OR, someone with REAL resources takes over and completely revamps the infrastructure of this site... It's not that I am a pessimist,it's simply that I have no faith that this new "solution"would effectively do anything but jam a finger in the dike... And I apologize to those on the staff if they feel offended by my opinons. I am quite sure they are overworked and underpaid at this juncture...I mean no personal insult. |
|
Unsu...
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:02 AM
I don't know. While $5 a month does not sound like much, there are some of us that are struggling to survive financially and truly can't afford that much extra. I would be devastated to lose tribe because I just can't pay that much. I think a sponsorship thing would work better. But that's just my 2cents.
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:15 AM
I got 5 bux a month!
DO NOT let Tribe disappear!!! It's too good of a site to go away. And maybe if it cost 5 bucks a month possibly many alt trolls will disappear. Those special people that have 10 alts that serve no purpose but to make drama for everyone might go away FOREVER!!!! Unless of course some people are really into it and are willing to pay 5 bux a month for several different alts. lol I think it would actually help the troll problem to a great extent. Not totally but most definitely it would help alot in that area.
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:17 AM
re: the last two posts: I think as long as a membership is not mandatory, not required of all members, it shouldn't be an issue
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:19 AM
oops, meant to say "as long as a membership FEE is not mandatory"
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:19 AM
first, phew! glad to hear you're not pulling the plug just yet (at least that's what i read between the lines).
one commenter mentioned not having the $5/month. i think this is real for many tribe users. i recommend a free level and a premium upgraded feature level of $5/month. this will help maintain users who are really struggling and generate revenue as well. please don't pull the plug! |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:33 AM
There are plenty who could pay $5 a month to balance out those who cannot.
Do it! |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:43 AM
Thank you so much for opening this dialogue and giving us the opportunity for input! I love Tribe--there's just nothing like it, and I would hate to see it go away. I agree that $5.00 a month for premium membership with added features is not too much, and I think you'll take in significant money and be on a lot healthier ground. Please continue to keep us informed--and thank you for Tribe!
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 12:13 PM
"I would be devastated to lose tribe because I just can't pay that much."
That's the funniest thing I've read all day. Maybe we should explain the word "devastated". Come on, give me a break. $5 a flippin' month. That is a phenomenally good deal. So .... how do we start this? Where do i sign up? Where can I send funds? The sooner the better. Thanks Mark. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 12:19 PM
Pay Per Click ads
If we click on a few ads per day, does this generate cash for tribe?
and if it does... can you tell us the formula for how to do this... As in... if we clicked on 5 'Different' ads from Google... is that 5 separate clicks tribe gets $ for? I know they go by our IP address in pay perclick.. Could you please let us know Thanks for all you do! |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 12:26 PM
without a doubt. I think the users of tribe can appreciate the value. I'm sure I owe you guys more than 5 a month... ; )
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 12:28 PM
I think the meaning of 'donation' and 'premium account' implies that free standard accounts will remain, for those who require them.
This seems like a decent solution; using PayPal, I presume? It's good to hear something directly over here. :) I'll keep clicking on ads, though. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 12:35 PM
I'd be among those where 5 dollars a month might be pushing the boat out.. but I'd still try and keep up, becasue it is truly the only site I go to with only joy, and only the smallest of apprehension.
Largely because of the wonderful crod of people it has attracted. it truly is a unique bunch of worthwhile people! ++++*****As a PREMIUM IDEA though I'd like to suggest a Briefcase function, where finished files/documents/pdfs,docs or xls etc can be stored or displayed. this would allow entrepreneurs to use the site for professional networking, or individuals to store or display info without always having to resort to a copy paste deal..*****+++++ Like others have mentioned: the last thing I really want is (another) news feed! and I'd really not want to pay for that.. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 12:43 PM
I agree with Paynie (Hi Paynie, Long time)
I would absolutely be willing to pay $5 a month for Tribe to stay online.... perhaps offer it $5 per month OR a year for $50,00, to start with, see how it works out... if ya have more people willing to pay a yearly "subscription" fee, it's a deal and TRIBE has more upfront money to play with... others could opt for the $5. bucks a months thing... if ya can't pay for the month.. no big deal, ya have those that paid for a yearly thing already to cover it... it might work.. at least for awhile longer while people figure out whats workin or not... Ok, I ramble so.... in a nutshell.... Sign me up.. I'll gladly pay for TRIBE to stay online... Bare |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 12:51 PM
considering that we are far more then a thousand members
I think those who can't effort the fiver will have no trouble anyway it is important to establish who can and will do for a say at least a 3 months period and then a new 1000's could do the other every tribe could organize that and make sure there is a continuity thank you for informing us Marcus ( he he he !!! you got a nickname now ) |
![/I\ Lux /I\](http://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload/photo/178/08f/17808f23-358b-489b-9563-c4a7b92b6206.mugshot "/I\ Lux /I\"){kind=small}
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 12:56 PM
$5 per month
I would totally be willing to donate $5.00 per month. :)
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 1:00 PM
Unfortunately...
having members pay to play on tribe is not a "proper" solution to keep the masses happy. "Most" people are not going to be so eager to fork out $60 per year for something that has been "free" for so long. Instead of hiring additional "tech" personnel to burden the company's cash flow, a more appropriate scheme is to hire "salespeople" to generate more revenue from tribe ads. As the cash flow improves, then add more bells and whistles. In other words, create a working budget and stay within your means, and if that suggests slowing the pace down a bit, so be it. By being over indulgent, cash flow problems become imminent. Get a grip on your operating costs and be realistic. You've got a great product. Now all that you need to do is to learn how to sufficiently manage it successfully.
Best of wishes, Aleksonder |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 1:13 PM
Thanks Mark.
Please feel free to let me know what Darren needs as far as coffee goes during some of his all nighters. Bruce |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 1:16 PM
Also those who are not for paying for usage on this site, it did not look like anywhere in Marks statement that they are considering it to be a requirment at this time.
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 1:21 PM
Aleksonder,
Google ads are not sold by the site owner, they are sold by Google on a pay per click basis. We can all help tribe's cash flow by clicking on the ads, but never more than one click per ad per day, click on other ads instead. This will improve cash flow quickly. Hiring salespeople is worthless, since Google will give tribe an unlimited amount of ads all the time, they just don't make money for tribe if we don't click on them. I am the publisher of top international website, so I understand how this industry works. Other sites like myspace do sell banner ads to place on their site and personally I find them much more annoying than the simple Google ads we see right now. I'm ok with a premium service and recommend a lower cost $29 or $39 a year charge to encourage more people to subscribe. You could even offer ad free viewing to premium subscribers. Aloha, Brian |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 2:12 PM
I'd theoretically pay $5 a month, but frankly I wonder what effect this could really have. Hiring a single engineer a) can't be enough to turn Tribe around and b) seems like it won't generate substantially more revenue. Not to mention that engineers of that sort are hard to come by these days.
I might be alone on this, but what's going to convince me that Tribe has a future is some clue that it has or is creating a healthy revenue model. Geez, I can't believe I just typed that. Depending on Google ads seems like the lazy man's way to make money when a site already has a certain amount of traffic. What do other sites do? Don't they go out and land actual contracts directly with advertisers? I know Tribe is hurting for technical personnel to keep the site up and add features, but at some point, I think, it just needs more money to conjure with. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 3:23 PM
I think the best solution would be to offer a voluntary upgrade to a premium membership, while allowing people to keep free memberships. This means, there would have to be some special perks offered to premium members. I'm not sure what that could be, but I'm sure it would be possible to come up with something that wouldn't cost much to generate, just to make people feel like they are getting something extra.
Many people are saying that $5/month isn't much, and, while this is true, you have to remember some things. First of all, there are more and more social networks coming up all the time, many completely free. Another is that for people living close to the edge financially, who may even be accessing tribe from public computers (I've been there, so I'm talking from personal experience, though I wish I weren't), ANY fee would be prohibitive. So, a voluntary $5/month with one or two "extras" (which could really be mostly symbolic) would be affordable for many people, would provide significant money to Tribe but would still keep it a free service for those who want or need it that way. IMHO, of course :) |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 3:40 PM
I agree completely with Larry - I would be happy to give the $5/mo. but wouldn't want it to be at the expense of the free memberships.
A couple simple "premium" perks or features would be all it took I think. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 3:53 PM
I'd pay the $5.
It seems to me that the problems lie with the hardware and software more than the personnel (or lack thereof). Even if we (you) hire an engineer, it seems like more servers and other doohickeys might be in the future, too. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 4:43 PM
Are you FUCKING kidding me?
The people on the website have transformed my LIFE.
I got your five bucks a month right here, buddy - what forms of payment do you accept? LOVE TO ALL dave |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 5:12 PM
OR we could all just do more clicking on the add's that support Tribe. Why not do that now?
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 5:32 PM
Extra Services
What if the majority of Tribe remained the same with basic services, and those who place ads(SPAM) get to pay for the priviledge . . . or possibly some upgraded or special service?? Just a thought, there many ways to handle this, consult a marketing expert for one.
Anam Cara, Bonnie |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 6:20 PM
I would pay five bucks a month for premium account.
In terms of features, simply adding tagging support to somewhere near what one finds in vBulletin would be really nice. Embedding [IMG] references in posts would be #1 on my wish list. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 6:52 PM
If I may chime in...
I would pay for a premium account, but I would not pay $60/year for it. That is very steep, in my estimation. I WOULD ABSOLUTELY pay somewhere closer to $20-$25/year. And I think more people would pay that, and you would make up the difference between your proposed $60/year in a higher volume of premium subscribers. If you set up a subscription (similar to LiveJournal's premium subscriptions), you would have your money up front for a year from your subscribers. You can even use Paypal to do this, so you don't have to write up a new subscription service program and have people hand over their CC # to you personally. My suggestion would be for free users to have more limited server space allotted (limited photo storage, more limited mail storage, etc), so they can still participate, but will not be as heavy a drain on the servers. Those who pay the premium, and thus pay for the maintenance on the servers, have larger or unlimited storage limits as you have now. I am glad to hear things are chugging along, and I hope a resolution happens soon! I would be brokenhearted, and lost a lot of social and business contact opportunities, were tribe to go the way of the dodo... |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 6:53 PM
Oh and I second some simple html tags and ability for embedded images (even if it were required that the photos be in your tribe photo album in order to embed them)
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 7:43 PM
Thanks for the update, Mark
Yes on $5/mo for premium acct or some such. Giving people options will also help stem the flow to competitor sites (e.g. Facebook) and help retain the people who *want* to be here.
For other/new features, it would be great if possible to be able to incorporate music feeds (a la MySpace). I did see this on some profiles a while ago, but don't see it now (realize that server capacity is limited). Might also want to remind people to clean out email once in a while too (I know I always forget about it!). Thank you for continuing to explore ways to help keep Tribe going ... it is a very special place for me and many of my friends and general community. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 8:05 PM
thank you for this update!
wow, so many great ideas in this post! i love it! isn't tribe great! |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 8:10 PM
Mark,
thanks so much for taking time to keep members in the loop. :) I realize that with such a small staff it must be difficult to find the time. Perhaps there is so much stress in dealing with the problems that Tribe is often fearful to discuss these things with members. But I just wanted to say that I think such updates and open communication go a long way to make members feel connected and appreciated. :) While social networking services are generally free, the members do pay with their time and energy. People invest an incredible amount of time setting up profiles and developing relationships, establishing a home at a social networking site. They like to feel their time investment is valued. Communication, even news that isn't necessarily positive, can often satisfy that. Tribe is unique in it's interface and offerings, which I think is mostly what leads to such loyalty and preference in its members. Offering some of the members to contribute financially for a higher tier service seems a smart step. :) But I would also like to add that it seems a short-term solution. If ad revenue alone isn't keeping Tribe afloat that would suggest that Tribe's marketing program needs improvement. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 8:14 PM
I'd also like to echo Shay's thoughts on payment.
$60/yr is WAY above the standard for a networking site. Most other sites with a premium membership charge at the most 20-$25/yr. For $60/yr I'd expect a clear outline of dramatically different service or benefits. Yes, $5 a month is the cost of a video rental or less than a theater movie, but that still doesn't make it reasonable within the appropriate standard of web networking sites. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 8:19 PM
Alexsonder said: "Instead of hiring additional "tech" personnel to burden the company's cash flow, a more appropriate scheme is to hire "salespeople" to generate more revenue from tribe ads.'
This is what I was alluding to in my first comment about tribe needing to improve its marketing approach. It seems clear that the process of wooing and obtaining advertisers is not sufficient. Perhaps the approach is wrong, perhaps Tribe is targeting the wrong companies, perhaps the rates or too high or too low. It's impossible to say without knowing any details, but it's clear that something is not working if ad revenue can't reasonably support the site. That's not to say that the current staff's efforts aren't appreciated, nor that additional technical assistance isn't needed. But if Tribe wants to last the long haul, it needs to look at the whole picture. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 8:37 PM
Mark,
you have serious support. Although many are willing to support at $5 a month even more would be willing to do a more equatable $25 per year. This compares to other online services and seems to be very competitive. Yes I support having a premium option for pay, I feel we still need to have a free option as well. Thank you for what you have done... and can we PLEASE get spell check? seriously I suck at spellng you would like me much better with spell check ;-) and Thank you Brian, Wendy, Darren , Jenni you make my life suck less. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 8:45 PM
WAHHHH!!!
1st. If anyone can't afford $5/mo. then you can't afford to be online at all. Get off.
2nd. Let the folks who would find themselves in financial ruin, if required to pay $5/mo., keep Tribe as it is (with it's downtimes and feature issues) and for those of us who are willing to pay for this service give us a trouble free site with really cool new features! I write this ^ above ^ "tounge in cheek", BTW. Tribe is "free", keep it that way. A paid membership would have "benefits" that would come with it. Font styles, designer home pages, editing features on postings, etc., etc. and let the freeriders keep what is in place now. Or maybe make some some limitations like the number of images in an album or anything else that takes up "precious technical space" that slows things to a crawl. My $0.02. Thanks for answering, Mark. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 8:53 PM
I mean come on...If Fark can successfully charge $5/month for "TotalFark" subscriptions....
(off to click on some ads....) |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 8:56 PM
Absolutly, you can count me in, I will be more than happy to donate my five dollors a month, oh yes I will....
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 9:11 PM
Thank you for the update. I want to help, but I'd like to offer another membership option. I recommend a flat annual fee.
Maybe $25. Or $15 for six months, $25 for a year. And a $5 monthly option for 'short term' memberships. A monthly fee would be a deterrent to a lot of users... many people only participate a few months out of the year (Burningman season). They may be reluctant to join for only a short duration. However, a flat annual fee (that's reasonable) they'd pay to be able to logon without hassle for the time they need it. Or, their participation ebbs and flows... lots one month, then nothing for awhile. A flat annual fee would give them the flexiblity to come and go as they please without the hassle of 'renewing' a subscription or seeing it on their charge card each month and being reminded they are paying for something they might not be using. Too many people will just just wait until August to join. Remember... you've only been hearing input from people who are already active on Tribe. I'm trying to consider the massive portion of this community that is not currently participating in these conversations. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 9:15 PM
Oh... another 'benefit' to being a paying member of Tribe. It would be nice to have a voice in the 'improvements' that are made to Tribe. Poll us, seek input, let us help you, before making sweeping decisions that effect the functionality of the site. We can probably save you a lot of headache.
And please, whatever you do, DO NOT use Myspace or Facebook as your benchmark. They suck. We'd much prefer Tribe continue to be different. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 9:31 PM
Mars says: "I mean come on...If Fark can successfully charge $5/month for "TotalFark" subscriptions.... ""
...I think it's worth noting though that Fark is a completely different kind of site, with a completely different model, in a very different situation. It's not a social networking site in the typical sense, in the way Tribe is. Perhaps at some point in the future Tribe would be in a position to offer a top-tier with an annual $60 fee, along with a mid-tier of $20/yr. But to just jump right to that kind of price bracket would need to mean SIGNIFICANT benefits to those members. I also think Dusty Nipples has a great point about Tribe's seasonal traffic and use. I'm sure the stats spike and drop throughout the year, so perhaps offering quarterly or half-year increments for premium services might also be worthwhile. Its a pretty common practice for sites to offer some kind of tiered service ranging from free to paid, based on anything from time to ads to features. Heck, even Six Apart does this with it's various blog offerings, and the level of membership within those offerings. Certainly there are many models out there for Tribe to study. I'm surprised the idea hasn't occurred to them before (or at least been mentioned pubilcly before). |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 9:32 PM
I love Tribe!
I love Tribe and would gladly pay either $5 a month or a yearly fee. I'd prefer to pay yearly and for Tribe having the money in advance a discount would be nice, say $50 a year.
Free memberships will stay, I hope. Dusty Nipples, I agree with you in that I would like to have a say or vote in how Tribe changes and for Tribe to not use My Space or Facebook as examples of what to do. Although I did like being able to make a slide show on Facebook and post it. But mostly I am willing to pay so that Tribe does not have the outages and problems that it has now. I often click on a Tribe alert and it cannot be found but it was just posted. This has happened with my own listings. I moderate some tribe too and I will post this in some of those tribes. Thank you. Ann |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 10:01 PM
You know a fair number of tribers are well off, own companies and what not.
Perhaps some sponcer/patron setup would help. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 10:21 PM
How about a way that people could donate money. You might get more money that way.
Any chance you could become a non profit and the donations would be tax deductible. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 10:27 PM
I'm in...
This tribe is worth so much more !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 10:40 PM
You count me in, as is less than 2 latties per month, small price. My only complaint is you do not keep your members in the loop. As a community we would be more supportive, and more able to pull resources, if you included us in the loop. Hay is not called the tribe.
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:00 PM
i love tribe, and would hate to lose it. if i could afford it i would happily pay $5/month. but aren't there any other ways to generate revenue? how are the other sites doing it? maybe you could take a page from their books?
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:11 PM
Put up the paypal button right now
I'd pay. I use tribe much more than MS....
|
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:26 PM
i'm down for $5/month
for premium membership. i wouldn't want to see my broke friends disappear cuz they couldn't afford it and it would either affect the demographic of tribe or reduce population to such a degree its reach would diminish greatly.
but i am SO down to support a site that has changed the course of my life in so many ways. thank you so much for making this tool possible from the bottom of my heart. whatever happens in the future, you can carry your head high knowng that this is true for many tribe users here. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:29 PM
There is a publication called 'Lesbian Connection' Set out of Michigan.
they have been around for years creating a wriiten publication connecting lesbians across the world. It is always free to lesbians but the suggested donation has gone up over the years. It's amazing to me how many womyn either pay the minimum or dish out a chunk when they have it. They put out the word if they need any help and people come running to help them. Not that I think that the world of tribe could produce this kind of responsible response, but I have seen these people keep their head above water just by asking. If someone cant afford LC, then they can still get it. But for a small fee, most contribute. Just a thought. |
|
Sun, November 18, 2007 - 11:57 PM
playing devil's advocate
just another thought - tho' there are many of us here that would trip over our faces to pay $5/month for our PAST usage on the site and what we've gotten out of it, new unfamiliar users could balk at such a fee unless there was some compelling argument to pay it. but who knows? maybe enough people paying $60/year for a social networking site would generate enough buzz for people to take a look at what we're so passionate about.
|
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 12:31 AM
Just to be fair
Irenie trips over her face a lot.
(but ya, I'd pay). |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 2:42 AM
Count me in-- I'd be happy to pay $5 a month for Tribe! But note that according to Darren, as of June 2007 Tribe "has a user base of over 750,000 members"-- see the last paragraph of his post here: blog.tribe.net/thread/b4e...4cfed9473ad If each of those 750,000 members paid $5 a month, Tribe would receive almost FOUR MILLION DOLLARS A MONTH in membership fees-- which seems like enough to keep it afloat! ;-) To put it another way, to produce the $5,000 a month that Mark mentioned as the amount that would be helpful to Tribe right now, each member would need to pay less than A PENNY per month! Even if we assume that 90% of the user base that Darren cites is fluff (e.g., people who registered once and never came back), that would still leave 75,000 active members. If each of those active members paid 10 CENTS per month, that would produce more than the $5,000 per month figure mentioned by Mark. Of course I'd actually love to see Tribe not just survive, but flourish! So I'd suggest a one dollar a month membership fee, which-- even if we use the 90% fluff figure above (meaning 75,000 active members)-- would give Tribe $75,000 a month! That would be enough to hire FIFTEEN full-time engineers (using Mark's figure of $5,000 a month as the cost of hiring one engineer)-- which should be enough brainpower to implement a few new Tribal widgets.... For example: how about actually activating that "tribechat handle" that each Tribe member already has? :-) Bless up Tribe! |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 5:39 AM
pay to get "premium" access? no thanks. i'd be happy to help on a fund raising level, as in, pitch my cash into a once a year server drive. but give you all 5-20 bucks a month to be here? no way.
tribe should be able to effectively weed out a lot of people if it turns into a pay site. that way you won't have to get more techs. people will be gone, less traffic... voila! better system. |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 6:46 AM
Thanks
I'll be awaiting details of what we can do to help. I prefer Tribe to any other site to get my information out as well as gather other useful information and meet likeminded people.
Glad to hear that it will continue. |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 8:23 AM
Basic free, premium fee
Don't know if Mark will have time to read these comments, but here is my suggestion:
I would be very ready to make an annual payment for premium access, even if that was exactly what we have for free now. $60 to 100 seems reasonable for so much fun. Free members: Limit how many pictures they can have at one time to some reasonable amount. Say, 20 or 25, depending on what your servers can do. Some people buy Starbucks, some make coffee at home. Everyone is still drinking coffee! |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 8:27 AM
$5/month seems high. $5/quarter seems more reasonable. but if tribe even *thinks* of charging for access, it better ensure that people can actually access it (95% of the time?). i've been left high and dry on my 'real' original account for weeks and can't even log on, despite numerous and various attempts at getting technical help.
help@tribe.net (not! that's why i set up this 'clone') bugs.tribe.net/thread/fb2...55cc329e9a9 faq.tribe.net/thread/70fb...39ae764ebdba |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 8:28 AM
sandy, if mark doesn't have the time to read these comments to a blog *he* posted, then something is very very wrong.
|
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 10:33 AM
$5.00 a month or people lets say $1.25 a week. we can do that. I love tribe I dont want to lose it.
I'm In |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 10:38 AM
For some of us $5 a month would probably force us to leave Tribe. $120 / year for my girl friend and I is just not possible. Meanwhile I just bought a two year account on FLICKR for $50. Granted that is a very different service but it does have some advantages. Rather than turning TRIBE into an elitist group of 1000 wouldn't it make better sense to turn TRIBE into a tighter community of say 50,000 by charging $2/month? Perhaps some market research should be done. I'd even kick in a few $ to help out with that.
|
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 10:42 AM
I like having the OPTION of paying... so those that can't can still be on.
I would pay $5 a month. I have met many wonderful friends on this site. That, alone, is worth it for me. |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 11:18 AM
I, too, hope that Mark is reading and considering all of our posts here. And, as long as there was an automatic payment system in place, I would gladly give $5 a month to keep tribe going. Some people have looked at that figure on an annual basis and decided that it was too high. But, if we simply had $5 coming out of our checking accounts each month, most of us truly wouldn't notice. I, for one, know that I gain far more than $5 a month value from tribe; it is my lifeline. If the $5 a month fee generates more funds than are considered strictly necessary to keep tribe afloat at this time, all the better. Presumably, that money would go toward improvements and provide a cushion should anything go wrong in the future. For those who consider $5 a month to be too much, then they don't have to pay--simple enough.
I also like the idea of committing (even if only to ourselves) to click on ads each time we are on tribe. I will certainly do so. I will also post about it on my tribes. Speaking of posting, I would never have known about this thread had a friend not put it on her blog. Is there some way to better dissemulate this information? I have really mixed feelings about the idea of "premium" memberships. I can see the value of them for new members only, who might not feel inclined to give $5 dollars a month to join when there are free sites. But, well, we ARE a tribe, aren't we? That means we help each other out. Some of the tribes I am on have members who rely on tribe to keep them going, yet have little to no income. Frankly, I believe that those are the people most in need of tribe's continuation. I DON'T like the idea that they would suddenly become second-class citizens simply because they are poor. I wonder if there might be a way for these people to agree to click on a certain number of ads per week in lieu of payment. Or perhaps, rather than having "premium" accounts, and plebian accounts, you might offer some sort of gift for those who agree to pay for their account. As others have said, I have no interest whatsoever in seeing newsfeeds at tribe. That's not what I come here for. I come for the same reason its founder gave: I come in search of a place called "tribe." |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 11:33 AM
And for those of us that don't live in the US????????
I met my partner and many other wonderful folks through tribe. I really value it. BUT, I don't like the idea of everyone having to pay, no matter how much it costs. Maybe have the premium membership and still keep the free membership.
Plus, as I live outside the US, as do a number of us, it would be complicated paying. |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 11:37 AM
as LN's partner...
...i feel pretty much the same way.
it pains me though, because "tribe" has become a verb in our home--meaning it's a part of everyday life--and i don't want to merely coast on others' backs. |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 12:03 PM
All of my comments in all of these discussions have been based on the assumption there would still be free access to tribe for non-paying members. Maybe they'd see more ads, maybe they'd have fewer features... but they'd still be here. I'd be severely disappointed if Tribe became a site for paying members only. Fortunately, I don't think that would happen. I don't think the community would allow it... they'd jump ship in a heartbeat. We may be a lot of things, but elitist we are not.
Suggestion for paying members... add a second alt for a reduced rate. This way, households with multiple users get a break. |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 12:18 PM
one suggestion ... change the code so the ads pop up in another window. i think people don't like clicking the ads because it takes us off the site. there would be more clicks if they popped up in a new browser window.
|
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 1:11 PM
Fark has a good model for people who want to pay for a little extra in the way of information and those who want their fark time for free.
I |
|
Unsu...
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 1:28 PM
The fact that only now, something like a year-and-a-half after people started saying they'd be willing to pay to use tribe (be it to access an ad-free version of the site, extra features, or just helping to keep it from disappearing) is there this sort of semi-official acknowledgment sounds more like a last-ditch effort to me than it does like any sign of newfound vitality and improvements to come.
Yes, I'm pessimistic, but I've also seen the same behavior pattern too many times in the past where a site or service suddenly realizes they have no sustainable business model turns to short-term solutions like this as band-aids, but then ends up folding anyway not long after. For me, the whole Jan and Wade fueled 2257 TOU and 2006 redesign mess and the incredible contempt and disregard for the existing users that some of the former tribe staff displayed left an incredibly bad taste in my mouth. Why would I pay for a languishing service that doesn't listen to it's users? Personally, I think they should revert the whole thing back to the pre-2006 look (what ever happened to that trackback widget, anyway? loved that, and it was something no other site had) and then build from and/or improve upon that. The look and feel of tribe back then (versus the other players in the social networking scene at the time, Friendster, MySpace, etc.) was a big factor in why I became a repeat user. it presented itself as a site which had a clean, consistent, fairly easy to use UI that didn't come off as overly sterile, but also avoided all of the abhorrent fugliness and overly customizable crap that was and is so prevalent on MySpace, Livejournal, DeviantArt, Hi5, etc. |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 1:53 PM
Truth Hurts
touwatchdog.tribe.net/thread/...5166d23eTry to weed past the BS and regard the little pearls in there. The attempt to shut out creative / unusual people *really* pissed me off. You may recall. I didn't appreciate having sung your praises and then being unsubbed for nothing. You never fucking apologized. Way uncool. All seven of us are still here, and all seven of us are still popular, widely read, and actively contributing to multiple communities. You should get down on your knees and thank the stars you were born under that all seven of us were more loving toward our friends than hateful toward the obviously doomed attempt to make us leave just so you could attract soccer moms (and evil stalkers that actually hurt people - whom you still haven't dealt with, after a deluge of complaints). I didn't appreciate the unnecessary capitulation to draconian pressures from the Bush cartel. I didn't appreciate being shown again and again that tribe.net not only won't care for it's actual user base, but actively sought to *eject* it in favor of a user base that (let's be honest, here) *NEVER* will flock to this site. I certainly didn't care for scammers, perverts, stalkers, and creeps being given precedence over long-time users in the arena of TOU abuses. Eject people that use personal information to harm other users. That shit is unacceptable, and you've forced the community itself to tend to it by not simply dealing with the OBVIOUS abusers. When a large number of otherwise unconnected and dissimilar users band together to defend against a predatory person, you should be able to take that as a sign. PM me, hot stuff |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 8:13 PM
One More Suggestion
*pani*licious wrote:
>> change the code so the ads pop up in another >> window. This is a great suggestion! Also what about *letting people know* (via homepage banner reminder or email) that ad-clicking actually "pays" in the case of Tribe.net. Especially for those folks who want to maintain free access/membership, merely clicking -- especially if it is easy, bug/spam-free, *and* keeps the user on-site per the above suggestion -- is a great way to help "support". Thanks. |
|
Mon, November 19, 2007 - 11:42 PM
you should
try a donate button on top for awhile to see if that helps
|
|
Tue, November 20, 2007 - 11:59 AM
Exactly. Put up a donation bar and some marker to show how close you've gotten to your goal. I bet that you will reach 70K within a matter of weeks. I've benefitted greatly from tribe over the years, and I'm willing to kick over substantially more than 60/year to make sure that tribe keeps going.
I would also suggest that you display a marker, like a gold star or something, on the profile of everyone who's donated. Yeah, it sounds kinda dorky, but that sort of acknowledgement goes a long way to encouraging others to also donate. However, this should only be a beginning. Tribe needs to create some viable business strategy for years in the future. Maybe that business strategy is to periodically ask for donations---it certainly works for PBS & wikipedia. Maybe it's an ongoing notion of a premium account, but you need to match that with interesting new features both for the premium users and free users, to spark interest. Good luck, and seriously, let us know where to send cash. I think close to a hundred people have already replied to this post, most of whom will pay the $5/month in a minute. Right there you've got 10% of your goal, in just a few of days. |
|
Tue, November 20, 2007 - 3:00 PM
I would gladly pay the 25 bucks a year for no ads and a few other bells and whistles and to make sure i never loose my blogs and my pictures, so long as there is an option for new people to still have a free account.
|
|
Tue, November 20, 2007 - 3:54 PM
I'd pay for tribe too. While I can easily afford $5/month ($60 year) and would probably do it for the sake of supporting Tribe, relative to what 'premium' membership costs on other well known social networking sites, the cost its a little high I'd suspect for many people.
For example LiveJournal starts at $19.95/yr (for a year upfront) to $36/yr (if you pay month to month). Another good example, Flickr costs $24.95/year. So something in that neighborhood ($20 - $30 /year) would be fair. |
|
Tue, November 20, 2007 - 4:00 PM
I'm not saying your idea is a bad one.
lisabunny raised an excellent point to me (I can't take credit for her research) - Cisco bought the software for Tribe, and paid a lot of money for it. Where did that money go?
Does Tribe have a Board of Directors? Or is it an LLC? Who makes these decisions? |
|
Unsu...
|
Tue, November 20, 2007 - 4:23 PM
Not possible
I completely understand the predicament and I certainly don't begrudge the thought............... however, it's not possible to "keep tribe alive" with a subscription plan. The reason that tribe has been such a great place to be is because of all the members and if it cost money to be here they'd all migrate to other places like myspace and facebook. It's just a sad fact of life that some business succeed and some businesses fail.
I love tribe, hell, I met my wife on tribe. I'll be sad to see it go, but I'm not going to pay $5 to use it and I don't think many other people will................. which means, even if the plan can keep it financially afloat, it's effectively killed the whole concept. Good luck! I wish tribe and everyone involved all the best. =) |
|
Tue, November 20, 2007 - 5:00 PM
many responses on my blog at people.tribe.net/squishell...363a081774
|
|
Tue, November 20, 2007 - 8:52 PM
An alternative business model
I'd suggest taking a look at the Deviantart.com subscription model my.deviantart.com/services/#subscriptionI'd say tribe has more in common with DA than with the other "social" networking sites in terms of the inclinations of most of the members I've met. You're not really competing with myspace or facebook since you don't allow crazy crap on the profile pages, and think most of us on here appreciate the cleanliness of the interface that way. I wouldn't suggest competing with DA either, since tribe represents a lot more interactivity between members than occurs on DA, though there is quite a bit there, too. Better photo gallery tools would definitely improve my tribe experience, but that does not include simply turning printing over to a 3d party. Being able to offer tribe moderators more control over their tribes, perhaps to include shopping cart functionality somehow, along with multiple moderators something along those lines might be what premium membership provides. Just some ideas that I don't think would move tribe out of its unique niche. |
|
Wed, November 21, 2007 - 6:07 AM
Many of you are talking about changes that I am sure could only be implimented if tribe had this additional person. In my opinion, it's one step at a time.
Step 1: Raise the funds to hire the one person for $60K - $70K Step 2: Ensure the site is stable Step 3: Begin to add new features |
|
Unsu...
|
Wed, November 21, 2007 - 9:22 AM
I think a lot of us have made a lot of assumptions as we've brainstormed for ideas and I suddenly realize that while we do know that Tribe's been having a lot of outages, and we do know that it is minimally staffed, we do NOT know from anyone that the reason for this is in fact lack of cash, or solely lack of cash. And I'd like to know. I'd like to hear somebody speak clearly and directly to what their future plan for Tribe actually is. If any there be. And respond to all of the issues that have been raised over past months and never responded to publicly.
I'm not aware yet of all the tribes where info. from management can be found, but what I have seen tells me that in Feb. 07 Tribe was about breaking even with ad revenue, and sometime after that, it appears some chunk of $ came from Cisco (but what happened to it? it looks like none of it went to today's Tribe), and in July Tribe was advertising for a f/t engineer but apparently never hired one. You usually don't advertise unless you have the funds to pay (if you're sensibly run). What happened to the Cisco $? Why when things were OK financially according to management's own statements was tech support/staffing actually reduced? Is it possible that management is more interested in other, newer projects now??? Because really, it seems that nobody but the members are thinking at all about how to fix things-----right now, if this were a brand new company looking for investors, what would be the impression you would form of the drive and enthusiasm behind the concept? My impression would be very negative. There's no sense of enthusiasm, apparently no inititiave being taken, I get no sense of a business plan, no feeling of entrepreneurial drive---again and again I get the feeling that those in charge have day jobs elsewhere that they're much more interested in. Would you invest in this? People really need to know these facts. Our assumptions may not be correct. |
|
Wed, November 21, 2007 - 11:54 AM
Be cool if it could turn tribe into some kinda open source effort.
I'd be happy to donate, but my money fluctuates so much be hard to put $5 on a certain day, rather do it for some kinda time period! |
|
Wed, November 21, 2007 - 11:57 AM
get more people on here and charge more for ads.....sounds like a plan to me. Do you really think that people want to send money to use a site like this....i know i wouldnt.
|
|
Thu, November 22, 2007 - 2:18 PM
i agree with loki - tribe should apologize for unsubbing the 7 - and get its act together to unsub some of the sicko stalkers still wandering around here.
*and* i'm willing to pay $25/year as others here have suggested, but the idea of premium memberships vs. free memberships should be considered, so that people can stick around for free but are tempted to pay. |
|
Thu, November 22, 2007 - 2:49 PM
If five bucks keeps tribe a special place - and it is - I will gladly pay in Canadian money.
It qcould make it more user-oriented than cram-down- your-throat-advertiser Hey, I have invested a lot of time on my album and there are a lot of great discussions there. Please tell us ahead of the if something goes wrong. Don't just disappear like that...and us with you |
|
Thu, November 22, 2007 - 2:52 PM
I would pay $5 a month
However, I have no interest in newsfeed or any other external content that I do not choose myself. What I *would* like to have is more flexibility in developing our profile pages and tribes. For example, the ability to add HTML or JavaScript to our profile pages, and the ability to format text, as well as the ability to add folders to tribes, such as found in yahoo groups. Don’t know if any of these things are possible, but that's what would make Tribe more worthwhile for me. I like Tribe precisely because it is not another Friendster, MySpace or Facebook.
Thanks for the update and for soliciting feedback. |
|
Thu, November 22, 2007 - 6:47 PM
Pay for Tribe ...
Five clams would be OK w/ me right now, but there was a long time in the recent past where I had the cheapest dial-up and didn't know how I was going to pay for groceries .....
You gotta be really careful, lest you sink the ship. I'll wager that some of the more interesting peeps, and those that can spend a lot of time on Tribe (and make it worthwhile) are cuttting it real close paycheck to paycheck. Others feel that pay-to-play will change the nature of Tribe, and I happen to agree. So what to do? I kind of like the 'purple halo' idea back away in this thread. For now you could ask for financial volunteers, and volunteers only, of which there seem to be a few, and you could implement that in fairly short order. OTOH, it's going take a while and a lot of back and forth, give and take, to cook up something palatable that won't upset the apple cart. A lot of cool people left Tribe after the heavy-handed TOU stuff came down from you-know-who back when. There's still a lot of raw nerves from that one, you've got to get it right this time ..... |
|
Thu, November 22, 2007 - 9:18 PM
I'm in - $5 a month wouldn't even be missed
but please, keep making updates like this - it's the not knowing that freaks us out - so let us know what is going on My fear is waking up one day to just find a permanent DONUT without warning |
|
Fri, November 23, 2007 - 8:19 AM
$5.00 per month is a small price to pay for what I have gotten out of being here. Count me in.
|
|
Fri, November 23, 2007 - 9:01 AM
I second Lily
I want more info. If what I hear sounds like longtime viable, I'm in for $5 USD / mo.
|
|
Fri, November 23, 2007 - 3:25 PM
i would gladly pay 5$ a month....but what about a donation that goes up "once a year" or something for one month?....i would gladly donate once a year...since money always fluctuates. I love tribe!!!!
|
|
Fri, November 23, 2007 - 5:45 PM
quick informal update on tribe status
Would gladly pay $5/month--I belong to other social networks that charge more, some free....but I am willing to pay for the important ones like tribe (my next favorite site charges $100/year-they have a monthly option too-but it was more expensive--think it was $10/month but not sure)
|
|
Unsu...
|
Fri, November 23, 2007 - 7:00 PM
what does clicking on the ads do?
|
|
Sat, November 24, 2007 - 12:13 AM
clicking on the adds, i believe brings something like 2 cents per click...
click like, one google, one illanio and one honda, most likey, to click different adds from google, more than once per day, is a waist of time. they go by your IP address... If it is infact 2 cents or 0.2 cent that tribe gets per click, could one of you mathematicians do a tiny bit of calculating... i have been a good clicker for the last week, The honda add is new , i think |
|
Sat, November 24, 2007 - 12:21 AM
and p.s.
the ad page does not need to fully download.. to be considered a full click, as soon as the pages loads, it is counted. |
|
Sat, November 24, 2007 - 7:49 PM
thanks for the update.
I'd totally be down for $5 per month. I don't get the balking at $5 if it is really that big of a part of someone's life. Most people loose that much change in a week. Aaron is on board too. Hey, we're a $10 household and we STILL want to do it. send out a bulletin with the details. |
|
Sun, November 25, 2007 - 9:34 AM
Thank you for the update
I too enjoy Tribe over any other mainstream community site.
May I suggest a marketing line.... KEEP TRIBE ALIVE WITH 5 $5 a month is great |
|
Sun, November 25, 2007 - 4:23 PM
I say go KQED on'm
Besides a low membership fee...hey why not a Buck a person for that mater as there are way more than the 1000 folks you have suggested are or would be needed. And why not have a yearly or bi-anual Donation Drive. I have friends here who personally including myself don't think pony-ing up say $30.00 a year would break the bank... or $5.00 a month...for $60.00 a year. Or heck do both low subscription based on off set from yearly Donation Drives.
|
|
Mon, November 26, 2007 - 12:03 PM
I think the donation drive is a great idea!
Please keep Tribe alive, there are so many of us here that love this place, and it's not just people interested in Burning Man as some news articles have suggested...
There's more than enough users here that just a dollar a month each to be a member would help, then offer premium memberships at the 5.00 a month and this site could be great! |
|
Mon, November 26, 2007 - 4:31 PM
i could pay $5/month, but if it were for a "premium membership," my decision would be based on whether or not the premiums were something i want.
on the other hand, were tribe to hold quarterly or yearly fundraisers, i would donate without there being any special bells and whistles. so i would recommend the model given to us by public radio - fundraisers, with a bar showing how close you are to the goal, and don't give up until that goal is reached! |
|
Mon, November 26, 2007 - 4:37 PM
Thanks for the update!
I'm willing to pay to keep Tribe alive.
|
|
Mon, November 26, 2007 - 9:10 PM
i'll pay baybee....
5 * 12 = 60 i'd pay up front for a year even..... ! tribe is certianly a part of my daily life. |
|
Tue, November 27, 2007 - 8:56 AM
I would gladly pay $5/month to keep Tribe up and running. However, I would hope that by paying a fee, we could be assured of few downtimes lik we have had over the last few months. I know it goes in waves and probably sometimes it is beyond your control but hopefully with a fee paid by majority of users the down time would be few and far between.
I think Tribe is way better than myspace or any other online community out there. I still feel a community aspect to the tribes I am on and many of my friends who I get together with regularly are also on Tribe and we have a good time talking about some of the threads people start. Let's keep this thing going! I'm willing to help out. |
|
Unsu...
|
Tue, November 27, 2007 - 10:52 AM
$60 is too high. Even with budgeting at $5 per month.
A magazine, even a specialty magazine that comes out every six weeks or so, is only a maximum of $36 or so per year. And that involves many writers, deadlines, printing costs, postage costs, editors, and so forth.
This site is essentially, other than the tech issues, a self perpetuating site...we the users create the tribes, we moderate them, and we interface with each other. I love this site, and I would be willing to pay a subscription fee to get rid of the text link based ads and/or god forbid, the banner ads, but I still would only be willing to pay for it like a magazine subscription. Hubby and I run a website with a chat room and a forum, with user interface calendars and individual webpages and, while I can appreciate that server space/capacity needs for this group are much greater, it still is not going to be requiring anywhere near that amount of money to maintain. |
|
Tue, November 27, 2007 - 11:34 AM
Just my .05 bucks....
Tribe has been a great resource for me. I might donate to help keep it going, but I must say that $60/year is just too high. I am not even subscribed to netflix because I just can't take another monthly subscription. I would pay $60 more than the $60 offered and get health care, but just can't manage. For those who lambast users who would not spending $5.00/month, please go out and find some compassion for those who might not be in the same money boat as you.
$25 per year is reasonable, but I would also ad that I have noticed traffic dramatically decrease since Jan/pepsiCo had a go at tribe. Many users simply left, never to return (some of my friends have just forgotten about it.) Some friends that I have are cool artistic types that are roaming gypsies and would not pay anyway. Paying to keep tribe alive is reasonable if there is some incentive that would start generating traffic and interest in Tribe again, otherwise it is just a bulletin board for events and an occasional blog. Tribe = worth saving, for sure. Mandatory subscription? = Let's let the community vote with its feet via donations. |
|
Tue, November 27, 2007 - 11:31 PM
premium optons and advertising
I like the idea of various VIP membership options.
I know little about how advertisers support tribe, and I am curious about this. I am a one woman very non corporate biz that advertises my classes on tribe, and suspect there are hundreds of others like me that would like more info on how to buy a month or more worth of ad space. I don't know much about online advertising structures but it looks like there are Google adwords as well as the larger ads to the right. I tried to look for info so I could consider advertising but was only able to find info for the google adwords. I remember a year maybe 2 or more ago, there were options for free or low cost advertisements to get the ball rolling. I see ads for that cool clothing designer line. In any case, I'd like the option to support Tribe's survival and agree that a free membership needs to be an option for anyone. |
|
Thu, November 29, 2007 - 9:48 AM
certainly not everyone would pay.... just suggested donations... if it floats your boat.
doesn't wikipedia do that? |