This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------0B6187B7062238A4DB7DCCDE Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --------------0B6187B7062238A4DB7DCCDE Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Received: from bl-30.rootsweb.com (bl-30.rootsweb.com [207.113.245.30]) by franklin.lisco.net (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id LAA22778 for <njennings@lisco.net>; Fri, 1 Jan 1999 11:35:13 -0600 (CST) Received: (from slist@localhost) by bl-30.rootsweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id JAA16641; Fri, 1 Jan 1999 09:31:35 -0800 (PST) Resent-Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1999 09:31:35 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <199901011732.JAA15476@bl-5.rootsweb.com> Old-To: Carol C-H <cch@netdoor.com> Old-cc: TEAM-ROOTSWEB-L@rootsweb.com, "Dr. Brian Leverich" <leverich@rootsweb.com> Reply-to: "Dr. Brian Leverich" <leverich@rootsweb.com> Subject: Re: Preaching to the converted ! In-reply-to: Your message of Fri, 01 Jan 1999 10:32:39 CST. <199901011633.KAA10313@netdoor.com> Date: Fri, 01 Jan 1999 09:32:56 -0800 From: Brian Leverich <leverich@rootsweb.com> Resent-Message-ID: <"mf76UD.A.zDE.2ZQj2"@bl-30.rootsweb.com> To: TEAM-ROOTSWEB-L@rootsweb.com Resent-From: TEAM-ROOTSWEB-L@rootsweb.com X-Mailing-List: <TEAM-ROOTSWEB-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/959 X-Loop: TEAM-ROOTSWEB-L@rootsweb.com Precedence: list Resent-Sender: TEAM-ROOTSWEB-L-request@rootsweb.com -- Your message was: (from "Carol C-H") > I know this is going to get me into trouble, but am going to say > it anyhow, because I am concerned about the future of RootsWeb, as > we all are on this list. I was prowling around ancestry.com last > evening (because, as they did last year at this time, they have a > free month), and I found that they have a deal - "partners" - in > which they "pay" folks to post datasets. Apparently part of the > "pay" is a year's free usage of all the other data on the website. > I see what Brian just predicted already coming to pass, AND that > the the RootsWeb lists are doing a better job of "advertising" for > ancestry.com than they are "advertising" for RootsWeb. Why? What > is the "carrot" at RootsWeb for the average user? A "good > feeling" from having done a good thing in helping to keep > genealogy freely accessible is not going to do it, IMHO, for the > average user. I think probably not for 99% of the users. IMHO, > that means that RootsWeb has gotta get funds from somewhere other > than users. Advertising? Foundation grants after the 501c3 is > obtained? I don't know, but I fear that if we don't figure > something out pdq, we are all going to burn out - including Brian - > and it is all going to be academic. ------------------ Two points: First, foundation grants aren't going to save us. I've spent most of my life working for 501(c)(3)s, and I understand finding money about as well as anyone. It is *hard* to find grant money, it takes a *lot* of time to bring a grant in, and initial grants are almost always *small* and you have to build up to larger grants over a period of years. I wouldn't count on substantial grant money being a player for at least another three to five years. I'm not sure I'd *ever* count on grants being a significant part of our budget: our costs already run near to a half-million per year, and I'm not aware of *anyone* making grants of that size for *any* genealogical purpose. Second, even if we could support RootsWeb on grants (which we can't), I'm not sure we'd want to. If the users aren't willing to join the Cooperative but they are happy to pay $60/year this year to Ancestry and Broderbund (and probably more in future years), maybe we should just admit we have a bad business model and go home. But I don't believe that. Not at all. I think what we've got to do is get a story out to the users, and the story is that if everyone joins the Cooperative and everyone contributes a little, we can really build something amazing for all of us to use as much as we want. The idea of banding together voluntarily, rather than being forced to enrich Ancestry's venture capitalists and Mattel / TLC / Broderbund's stockholders, ought to be a pretty powerful message. Cheers, B. -- Dr. Brian Leverich Co-moderator, soc.genealogy.methods/GENMTD-L RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative http://www.rootsweb.com/ P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 leverich@rootsweb.com --------------0B6187B7062238A4DB7DCCDE--