Author Topic: March 2011 DonationCoder.com Fundraiser Celebration -- Pledges? (Read 134,556 times)

timns · « **Reply #25 on:** February 19, 2011, 01:16 AM »

Quote from: barney on February 19, 2011, 01:12 AM

Quote from: timns on February 19, 2011, 12:34 AM
Quote from: barney on February 19, 2011, 12:00 AM
Hm-m-m-m ... has this become a punraiser celebration .

omg
OMG? Ornate Mental Gymnastics ? Kinda, sorta seems so. What's the scoring [if any] system ?

The number of decibels in the groan the reader lets out when reading your puns perhaps?

barney · « **Reply #26 on:** February 19, 2011, 01:21 AM »

Quote from: timns on February 19, 2011, 01:16 AM

The number of decibels in the groan the reader lets out when reading your puns perhaps?

Never found much satisfaction in remote groans - hard of hearing, I guess - graphic groans much more satisfying, albeit sometimes indiscernible.

(BTW, I'm not in the displayed league to be considered a pundit

.)

tomos · « **Reply #27 on:** February 21, 2011, 08:58 PM »

Today is my first day using Mark Forster's new Superfocus system. I like it.
I pledge to use it for one month (say 4 weeks) and write (at least) weekly updates on how I'm getting on.
(how does that sound?)

timns · « **Reply #28 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:10 PM »

Quote from: tomos on February 21, 2011, 08:58 PM

Today is my first day using Mark Forster's new Superfocus system. I like it.
I pledge to use it for one month (say 4 weeks) and write (at least) weekly updates on how I'm getting on.
(how does that sound?)

Yes please - and I'll sponsor you $5 to the DC fund per post.

(I assume this is how pledges work?)

mouser · « **Reply #29 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:19 PM »

i didnt think we were going to sponsor pledges, just get enough lined up so we can announce all the stuff we are doing for march and try to encourage people to donate to the site while they come for the pledges.

timns · « **Reply #30 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:23 PM »

Not much point in pledging then?

mouser · « **Reply #31 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:24 PM »

pledging is important so we know what we can announce is happening? or maybe im misusing the term pledge?

timns · « **Reply #32 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:28 PM »

But what if everyone was to work their arses off on loads of exciting pledges just to have folks stop by and say "oh, that's nice"

- I assumed it was more like a fundraiser where you got sponsorship or something.

Otherwise I could just say "hey, I pledge to eat 12 mars bars in 30 minutes" but it does jack for DC until someone offers to sponsor the feat.

Ath · « **Reply #33 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:31 PM »

Quote from: mouser on February 21, 2011, 09:19 PM

... just get enough lined up so we can announce all the stuff we are doing for march ...

Just appoint me a non-Wednesday date and I'll post as pledged

The awaiting second (and further?) pledge(s) is/are still in the clouds, haven't made up my mind yet

Ath · « **Reply #34 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:36 PM »

Quote from: timns on February 21, 2011, 09:28 PM

- I assumed it was more like a fundraiser where you got sponsorship or something.

That would be a nice feature, but does the donation credit system support that? Only if a level of sponsorship (set by the pledgee I presume) is reached, the CSnack download will be available/Tim's drawing will be sent/Reviews are fully revealed (all of the pledges I can recall from memory) etc? Possibly showing the amount/percentage still left to be donated. Hm, sounds like I'm chasing mouser to work, dunno if that's allowed

timns · « **Reply #35 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:40 PM »

Quote from: Ath on February 21, 2011, 09:36 PM

Quote from: timns on February 21, 2011, 09:28 PM
- I assumed it was more like a fundraiser where you got sponsorship or something.
That would be a nice feature, but does the donation credit system support that? Only if a level of sponsorship (set by the pledgee I presume) is reached, the CSnack download will be available/Tim's drawing will be sent/Reviews are fully revealed (all of the pledges I can recall from memory) etc? Possibly showing the amount/percentage still left to be donated. Hm, sounds like I'm chasing mouser to work, dunno if that's allowed

Well, yes. Otherwise what does happen? If everything goes ahead anyway, where's the incentive for anyone to a) step up to pledge and b) put up some dough?

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #36 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:41 PM »

Ill do some ~~mini-reviews~~ reviews of the coding snacks released during the month of march.

Not promicing an amount as March is hell month for me (as with Feb, there are countless birthdays and other such hinderences) so my number shall be X.

Ath · « **Reply #37 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:46 PM »

Quote from: timns on February 21, 2011, 09:40 PM

Well, yes. Otherwise what does happen? If everything goes ahead anyway, where's the incentive for anyone to a) step up to pledge and b) put up some dough?

As an alternative to adapting the donation credit system, the pledgees could withhold the 'final delivery' of their goodies, until they receive a certain amount of donations, they then turn over to the site, and release the stuff?

tomos · « **Reply #38 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:48 PM »

Quote from: timns on February 21, 2011, 09:40 PM

If everything goes ahead anyway, where's the incentive for anyone to a) step up to pledge and b) put up some dough?

I think/thought the idea was to get interesting content, and simultaneously have a [site-wide fundraising] goal in term of donations made (as in the last fundraiser where there was a thermometer banner showing the goal, and the current amount of donations)

tomos · « **Reply #39 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:49 PM »

mouser - the term pledge is also used in terms of pledging money which is what's causing confusion

timns · « **Reply #40 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:51 PM »

I wasn't involved in the last one, so I guess I'm talking from a lack of experience... but I didn't expect it to be quite so 'passive' (I mean that in a polite way)

What is the goal?

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #41 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:51 PM »

Quote from: Ath on February 21, 2011, 09:46 PM

Quote from: timns on February 21, 2011, 09:40 PM
Well, yes. Otherwise what does happen? If everything goes ahead anyway, where's the incentive for anyone to a) step up to pledge and b) put up some dough?
As an alternative to adapting the donation credit system, the pledgees could withhold the 'final delivery' of their goodies, until they receive a certain amount of donations, they then turn over to the site, and release the stuff?

I assume this means like some sort of "escrow" service? - Where-as the software and other doco fundraiser stuff was not released until DC hit thier target?

What if we miss the target by $1? what happens then?

mouser · « **Reply #42 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:01 PM »

People pledging to create content means a lot -- it means people will visit the site more during march then normal when they hear about the plans for march -- and this will lead to more donations.

So pledging to create content helps a huge amount.

It's nothing so complicated as people promissing to donate $x if a specific pledge is accomplished.

It's more like: Let's do what we always do but even more so this month, to show people how useful and interesting the site is. And in doing so we will get more donations from people who want to support the site.

timns · « **Reply #43 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:13 PM »

Doesn't feel like much of an 'event'

Quote from: mouser on February 21, 2011, 10:01 PM

It's more like: Let's do what we always do but even more so this month, to show people how useful and interesting the site is. And in doing so we will get more donations from people who want to support the site.

That doesn't feel like much of an 'event' to me. Not like NANY then? My apologies, but I'm not getting where the buzz will come from. Don't we want to really incentivize (if that's a word) donors?

mouser · « **Reply #44 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:27 PM »

I suppose we are viewing this from two very different perspectives.

This idea of getting people to promise to donate some money if someone achieves their pledge might make sense in terms of getting people who already know and daily visit the site to participate.. but i tend to think of those people as already being friendly to the concept of supporting DC with donations, and not needing much of an incentive.

To my mind, the more important thing during the fundraiser is to try to reach out to those people who either have never visited the site, or else have visited once or twice to download some program, but have never donated and haven't given it a real thought.

So from my perspective, the most important thing we can do for the fundraiser, other than appealing to long time members to donate again, is to reach these other people by showing them that we create useful content that they benefit from, and by having other people spread the word about the useful content we create.

That's why my focus has been to be able to have some events during march that will get people's attention and show them the kinds of things we do that they might like to support. Hence the idea of having a new coding snack or mini review released every day during march.

What I'd really like to be able to do is spread the word to other website that sometimes write about DC and say: "please tell your readers to drop by and pay us a visit throughout march as we will have new things every day that you may be interested in" and "consider making a donation if you like what we do".

The fundraiser is an opportunity for us to show why we are useful and why people should support the site.

mouser · « **Reply #45 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:35 PM »

I think part of the confusion about the fundraiser "events" this year has been that some of the really fun ideas are ideas that are only going to appeal to the real hardcore members who are already involved in the site and are familiar with everyone, etc. I tend to think of the fundraiser as the one time of the year where we can kind of take the long time members for granted in a way.. they already know about the site and know enough to make a decision about whether they want to continue to donate to support the site (i sure hope they will).

It's reaching new potential members, participants and supports that is so important during the fundraiser (im my opinion). If that's true we need to be sensitive to their concerns and interests, and understand that they will be mostly new to the idea of DC and how it works, and the more complexity they have to overcome to participate in the fundraiser the worse it is.

That's why the approach that seems best to me is simply to show the useful things we do and ask people to support us so we can keep doing them.

Ath · « **Reply #46 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:35 PM »

Quote from: mouser on February 21, 2011, 10:27 PM

is to reach these other people by showing them that we create useful content that they benefit from, and by having other people spread the word about the useful content we create.

That means we can expect a special (single-subject?) newsletter this week then? That's the most effective way to let all members know we've got something special in mind for the whole of march.

Come to think of that, maybe we'd have to pledge for a monthly newsletter again, I missed a few episodes...

mouser · « **Reply #47 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:37 PM »

Yes, special fundraiser newsletter will go out right before the start of March, and special thermometer fundraiser banner will go up too.

mouser · « **Reply #48 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:38 PM »

Regarding pledges for software, coding snacks, and minireviews, what if we get enough pledges to have 1 new thing every day during march.

So rather than 1 new coding snack AND 1 new minireview per day, what about just 1 new (CodingSnack/Software release, or minireview, or essay) per day throughout march? That seems a little easier to pull off.

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #49 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:41 PM »

Quote from: mouser on February 21, 2011, 10:38 PM

So rather than 1 new coding snack AND 1 new minireview per day, what about just 1 new (CodingSnack/Software release, or minireview, or essay) per day throughout march? That seems a little easier to pull off.

One new forum post in Living Room good enough?