Christopher,
I guess I'll give you my opinion as one of the guys who is just a reader. I like reading snowest, being from Utah I spend alot of time in the Utah forum for snow reports, the entertainment value, and I relate to the places they talk about. Don't post much, because that's just the way I am, but personally I'd rather read snowest (or other forums) than watch some dumb reality TV show.
But my problem with this whole thread...and I did read all 20+ pages....is that I see this as a bailout for a company that for 11 years has mis-managed one of it's commodities. I guess I can't understand why companies don't do something sooner about a division of that company that has cost them money year after year. And now we're trying to recover from the worst economic cruch in decades and HP has finally decided to do something about it? Timing is way off here. If the advertising dollars aren't covering costs, then either raise the price of advertising or reduce the costs...don't incure more...and don't charge your customer to get in the door when they can get a similar product elsewhere for nothing. That's bad business sense. I agree with everyone that says $10 a year is not much when a new sled costs $10k, but if HP thinks they can compete with a comparable site that is free (any other sled site)....I'm afraid they are going to find that that is a tall order. That's basic economics.....People go where things are cheap...just take Walmart for example.
And, I think that HP's business model has some flaws. I'm having a hard time believing that with the cost of the subscription to the print magazine...which has an awful lot of advertisements in it...along with the ads on snowest.com, that HP can't afford to manage the forum to at least break even. Who's running HP...Rick Wagoner?
So, my question is....What does it cost to run a forum like this in a "self-supporting" manner, and why can others do it for free?
Just so you know...I don't want to see snowest reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes and I'm not against paying the money, but I probably won't do it right up front...I'd like to see who and what is still around when the fire is out.
I guess I'll give you my opinion as one of the guys who is just a reader. I like reading snowest, being from Utah I spend alot of time in the Utah forum for snow reports, the entertainment value, and I relate to the places they talk about. Don't post much, because that's just the way I am, but personally I'd rather read snowest (or other forums) than watch some dumb reality TV show.
But my problem with this whole thread...and I did read all 20+ pages....is that I see this as a bailout for a company that for 11 years has mis-managed one of it's commodities. I guess I can't understand why companies don't do something sooner about a division of that company that has cost them money year after year. And now we're trying to recover from the worst economic cruch in decades and HP has finally decided to do something about it? Timing is way off here. If the advertising dollars aren't covering costs, then either raise the price of advertising or reduce the costs...don't incure more...and don't charge your customer to get in the door when they can get a similar product elsewhere for nothing. That's bad business sense. I agree with everyone that says $10 a year is not much when a new sled costs $10k, but if HP thinks they can compete with a comparable site that is free (any other sled site)....I'm afraid they are going to find that that is a tall order. That's basic economics.....People go where things are cheap...just take Walmart for example.
And, I think that HP's business model has some flaws. I'm having a hard time believing that with the cost of the subscription to the print magazine...which has an awful lot of advertisements in it...along with the ads on snowest.com, that HP can't afford to manage the forum to at least break even. Who's running HP...Rick Wagoner?
So, my question is....What does it cost to run a forum like this in a "self-supporting" manner, and why can others do it for free?
Just so you know...I don't want to see snowest reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes and I'm not against paying the money, but I probably won't do it right up front...I'd like to see who and what is still around when the fire is out.
OK, I will call it like it is.
The site has LOST MONEY for 11 out of 11 years and they are tired of it and want it to become 100% SELF SUPPORTING.