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By now, you have had the chance to read the updates of both NCommander and Barrabas. Nonetheless, you may still be wondering quite a few things about the site and its staff. Here is your chance to ask us anything. These questions can be general in nature, in which case the staff will select a spokesperson to answer it, or it may be specific to an individual. If the question is for an individual, please ensure you identify that person specifically enough.
We will select the best questions from the thread and provide answers to the community. These questions may not be the highest rated, although we will probably use those first.
In keeping with tradition, ask as many as you'd like, but please, one question per post.
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Interview: Ask SoylentNews Staff Anything
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I'm not a robot like you. I don't like having disks crammed into me... unless they're Oreos, and then only in the mouth.
-- Fry
(Score: 2, Informative) by Barrabas on Wednesday February 19 2014, @06:34PM
I plan on taking community consensus.
So far I've seen discussion of seven income types. I've thought them through and have notes and observations which should inform discussion.
I'm putting it all down on paper in a vision statement which should be published in about a week, although I'm finding that things take much longer than expected.
The ones I have so far:
If you have more suggestions for income channels, please post them below & I'll include them in the vision statement.
I have set aside $10K to run the site for the first year, we have that long to establish our brand and break even. If we aren't successful then, I'll probably leave to pursue other interests.
Total startup costs are under $1000, a full accounting will be in the vision statement. I expect an additional $1000 in Business/Legal/CPA fees (mostly incorporation fees) and $200-$300/mo. in bandwidth.
Nowadays, you can start an internet revolution for under $1000. Who knew?
If we don't hire anyone in the first year, our expenses will be mostly for bandwidth. Sys estimates this at $200-$300/month, which is consistent with the estimated bandwidth for Slashdot today. Slashdot of 2007 used an estimated $1400/mo, and slashdot at its peak used even more.
Extrapolating from the first day's usage data, we're using about 30% of the bandwidth at our current linode tiers, which cost $100mo. Refer: 2nd day stats [dropbox.com].
Note: Someone should check my math.
Until we choose a business model, this is still "officially" a for-profit venture. I don't think it fair to solicit donations under that model.
Not yet, consult a lawyer, probably not.
I can't answer these at the present time due to the liquid state of our governance and business model. Simply put, if this happens it will affect everyone involved with running and developing the site, some of which may have families and jobs to consider.
It seems reasonable to have a clearly-worded statement of intent and policy regarding these issues. I'll put it on my (ever-growing) list of items.
Oh, and to the best of my knowledge, we've not been contacted or compromised by any government agency or individual. Let me know if this is somehow "weasel worded" and I will rephrase.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by SpallsHurgenson on Wednesday February 19 2014, @07:07PM
Regarding your options for getting money:
Donations are fine. I see no problem with a tip-jar even if you are a for-profit website; if you are doing a good job, there is no reason not to accept a little cash on the side or even to solicit donations.
Advertising is okay, so long as it is discrete, and on-topic. Just be aware that most of your users are tech-savvy enough to install ad-blockers, so most of them won't be seeing the ads anyway.
Swag is always a fun option, but - unless you dedicate large portions of the site to hawking it - it's also brings in very little money. It's less a way of bringing in cash and more a way to market your brand.
Paid reviews are probably not a good idea. First of all, it brings up conflict of interest issues; if you accept a paid review for a product, will you later run a story about how that same product catches fire if you plug it in? Second, if there was one message yelled loud and clear during the Slashcott, it was that most people are more interested in the comments than any articles you may put up. We're here for the discussion, not the editorial content.
Job Listings sound neat, but that's a really hard market to get into and will likely require staff to maintain the listings and handle customer service. Soylentnews.org is unlikely to be the first place recruiters look for new hires; costs would probably fast outrun any income earned.
Memberships and subscriptions can be tricky; one of the strengths of the Slashdot community was that it was the content of an individual's comments that were value more than anything else. It didn't matter if you got the first post, or were had a low UID - if you sounded like an idiot, you would get modded down. On the other hand, even the lowliest of the anonymous cowards could end up with a +5 Insightful post if he had something of value to say. It was a very democratic and meritorious system. You want to be careful not to upset that balance by giving subscribers any advantage over the hoi polloi. On the other hand, people who pay for a subscription may expect certain benefits. Finding some sort of equitable harmony between these two conflicting desires can be tricky. Personally, I'd be happy with "no adds and a little gold star next to my UID" if I were a subscriber, but others may want more. On the other hand, I would also be less likely to pay a monthly (or yearly) subscription fee than a one-time "membership" fee if that were all I got.
My two cents, as a joe-average user.
(Score: 1) by demonlapin on Wednesday February 19 2014, @08:36PM
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Tuesday March 04 2014, @07:20AM
sudo mod me up