p2pnet for sale: update I
Hi all:
I want to keep p2pnet online and from the look of it, a lot of you guys want the same, and I’m doing my best to make that happen.
A couple of people have more or less asked, Why should we pay? This is just a blog like lots of other blogs.
p2pnet may have started out as my personal site but I think it became public property (with me as the caretaker, perhaps) a long time ago. As Dreddsnik said somewhere, we’re a team.
p2pnet is one of a kind and a lot happens here.
People publish their thoughts. So it’s a public forum.
I try to find items of relevance, unspin the spin, and post the results for readers to contemplate. Or discard. Their choice.
And if you think the Biggies don’t take any notice, think again. They do.
Several people have suggested a redesign would be good, and I agree, which is why I’ve taken Rogan up on his offer to massage the site. Stay tuned on that.
Rabbit80 suggests, among other things, ” a progress bar type of affair that shows how much cash you have raised for the month and an explanation of why it is there …” I’ll try and find a way to do that: maybe there’s a WordPress plugin.
“Why not bring up this problem on news sites like digg and reddit?” wonders Mr Awesome (and your English is fine 
) saying, “If you`d post an article asking everyone to help get it on the digg frontpage we could reach even more people. I`m sure it can be done … ” OK. So I’d be really grateful if you’d post a link to If 3,000 people paid $1 a month [http://www.p2pnet.net/story/31319].
Also, Jazz over in the UK told me about ad.ly. She reckons “‘instream” Twitter advertising that “automatically sends 1 tweet in your feed every day from advertisers that you approve” is worth a shot. So I’ve signed up for that. And I’ve followed Crosbie’s suggestion, registering for KickStarter, although at this point I’m not sure if they’re accepting Canadians. We’ll see.
And I’ve just heard from Björn from Sell Your rights, and we’re going to give that a shot.
In short, although the site is up for sale, I haven’t given up by any means. The end of December is a long way away and much can happen between then and now.
So thanks for all the ideas. I’m grateful. Really. 
And once again, please, if you have a minute, as Mr Awesome said, post a link to If 3,000 people paid $1 a month [ http://www.p2pnet.net/story/31319 ] on Digg or one of the other similar sites — Slashdot, say. Or Digg. Or Reddit. Or anything else you can think of.
For help with that, click ‘more’
Cheers! And thanks. And all the best ..
Jon
(If you`d like to help but don`t fancy online payments, please email me at p2pnet @ shaw dot ca and I`ll send you my snail-mail address.)
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
November, 2009
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November 22nd, 2009 at 10:45 pm
To the people who ask, Why should we pay?
For one thing, this news site will disappear if we don’t. If you value it, please contribute whatever you can (if anything).
My reasons for contributing my hard-earned loonies over the last couple of years are very simple:
Jon comes across as having integrity and a great sense of humour (I remember the post called “Your Brains Will Die” as a sterling example
), and both of these are important to me.
I am a newsaholic, meaning I devour news wherever I can get it, and I am interested in politics, music, technology (p2p and open source), human rights issues, gardening, etc. I spend 1 or 2 hours on the Internet each day in search of news, and this site aggregates a number of these issues for me. (I am still disappointed though that Lolcats did not make it onto Jon’s list of things to write about, as I am a “cheezburger” addict!)
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:00 am
I never thought I’d see the day that my name was mentioned in an article on p2pnet..
I’ll try to write a digg article today but my writing skills aren’t top-notch so if anyone out there thinks he can write a good digg article, go ahead. We can make a small campaign to help get the word out. Twitter messages, contacting other blogs or even newspapers asking if they want to help, online petitions, pre-made emails to send to your friends. There are so many possibilities, let’s get the ball rolling.
I think it would also be a good plan to make an ‘I’m willing to donate’-page for people who are willing to donate but don’t want to donate yet because they don’t know if the goal will be reached and what will happen to there money if the goal isn’t reached. People can sign in by entering there username (optional), email (to verify), the amount of money they are willing to donate and if they are willing to donate on a monthly basis. I’ve got to go now but I’ll write some more later today.
All the best
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:58 am
@ Dorothy:
Emma, my daughter, is the LOLcats reporter. I’ll have a word with her about that.
Cheers!
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 am
Please move the Donate link up to the top of your right banner gallery for now.
If people are willing to donate, they will at least be able to easily find your link.
Jon I have read p2pnet since you first started it. p2pnet is exceptional in its focus and clarity. You have brought the harsh light of truth to illuminate the great darkness that some would cast over the ‘great unwashed masses.’ It would be truly sad to see p2pnet go quietly into the night as so many other sites have. This is where your audience needs to step up to the bar and recognise that there is no ‘free beer’ when it comes to running websites.
Jon, I wish you the very best.