51 replies to this topic

[eternaltraveler]

A news portal is one of the things we should do. And we're taking a step in that direction with our executive director who will be working on initial content.

I would also like to see us focus more on directed research. Once we have a little success in that regard we can use that to solicit more large scale donations.

You're failing to see the one primary value in the forum. That being that it allows us to find volunteers, and eventual paid staff and researchers; it's been a great recruitment place for other LE organizations. Many of the MF research team got connected through here including myself. It brings like minded people together where they can brain storm and come up with ways they can each best serve the mission. In terms of this I'd say imminst has already paid of many times what meager monetary funds are in the coffer.

[Kalepha]

My opinion also on matters of particularity, at least for reference. . . .

I didn't say "ditching" I said lose the forum. If you want to help the "meme" you will avoid any drastic non-confidence or competence hurting actions. Set up the news portal with its secure separate web site which could still be a part of your domain. In fact I would suggest making it your home page. Arrange for a small staff for proof, accuracy and intent checking with an editor in charge. Make it volunteer for now but have a stipulation that monetary reward of reasonable compensation would be offered if sufficiently generated.. Chief editor would then collect news stories from around the world concerning ways and means to lessen involuntary death. Besides posting brief descriptions and links to these, direct reports from contributors could be used after passing quality and relevancy criteria to become original news stories. Just get it going. The data in the articles and references alone brings search engine traffic. Add to that some good natured marketing and you could get a daily clientel much larger than the forum can sustain. Then place your revenue making means, whether ads or premiums, (premiums suggested as less problematic in possibly corrupting the mission) as usual, on your most frequented pages which hopefully will become the news portal. If it works, great.

That's like a brave new world strategy. While ImmInst deserves and should work toward accumulating the means as if it could initiate, fund, and manage all life-extension departments worldwide, you seem to think that organizations in the quaternary/quinary sector need to self-demote for this. We can imagine ImmInst itself operating in different comfort zones, but they still include many people not asking for Big Brother or who wouldn't/couldn't be into transhumanist things anyway (until we can actually hand them the world). If people are smart enough, which I've been told is the preference (sometimes, the necessity), the concept of immortality isn't difficult to grasp, and there's nothing "illogical" or "frightening" about the prospect of infinite partial solutions to professional problem solvers.

Perhaps a hybrid strategy is in order, but the authoritarian mentality or whatever needs to be inconspicuous.

[brokenportal]

Well, to clarify more, lose the forum as the focus. Don't lose it altogethor. The problem with the forum as the focus you then attempt to market debate itself, not informing. Forums are also frail as far as letting the crass rise to the top. I don't know of any successful self-funding organization that uses a forum as its main focus. Enlighten me if you know of any, thanks.

BTW, his name is Stephen Hawking.

See the post by karomesis? See how a forum is problematic and very possibly inherently dysfunctional? Is this what you want to try to market?

When I tell people to go to imminst, I dont think to myself that Im marketing the forum. I think to myself that Im marketing the life extension idea, the books that support it, the sens site links they can find, possibly get them interested in the conference and whatever. I hope they come to the forum to get more clarification for this stuff and talk about it.

So what Im wondering is, is the forum the focus? Why do you think it is? Maybe some people market it that way but Ive never thought of it quite like that. Isnt the homepage of imminst already a news portal? I agree though, it could use more beefing up and focus, which I am sure they are doing, but I still agree.

[Kalepha]

Here might be a model for the hybrid strategy:

FQXi: Foundational Questions in Physics & Cosmology

[brokenportal]

elrond:

You're failing to see the one primary value in the forum. That being that it allows us to find volunteers, and eventual paid staff and researchers; it's been a great recruitment place for other LE organizations. Many of the MF research team got connected through here including myself. It brings like minded people together where they can brain storm and come up with ways they can each best serve the mission. In terms of this I'd say imminst has already paid of many times what meager monetary funds are in the coffer.

A forum can be of service. A service should not be a forum. I think that is very possibly part of the reason why "meager monetary funds are in the coffer." You know relatively open forums contain a lot of garbage besides the gems. You need a well focused viable and valuable service to make the pointed web presence that can generate, sustain, and manage high traffic and revenue collecting. I truly suggest that seeking to be good for all is a wise business policy and maybe even the one thing that Imminst can embrace that can work to drive the traffic via valuable and valued information sharing. People support what supports them. Shy far and wide from any idea that you seek an elite in any way shape or form. That is at cross purposes with the mission and does not sell, at least, there is a limitation of how many can be suckered into supporting something that does not hold their best interests at HEART!

First Im not sure if I agree with you that there is a hindering amount of garbage here, I wouldnt discount it but the forums seem to be a lot more on point than most forums I know of. For one, at this point its a niche forum, and two the management does a pretty good job of eliminating and controling it. I dont read everything here. But, lets just say that there being to much garbage were true, then wouldnt an easy solution be to create a forum with in these forums that nobody can see except the people who produce non garbage posts who are invited to it?

Or as another thought maybe the stuff you think is garbage is more a product of your stubborness and closed minded ness and unwillingness to listen than anything else. Im not saying it is, but, Im just saying I wouldnt discount that either.

[Shepard]

By the bye, friendlyai, what is this "BTW" abomination?

[Shepard]

BTW stands for "by the way" quite common in online discussions and email.

As are spelling and grammar mistakes.

[Shepard]

Well, heck, we should not try to correct ourselves or help others be more accurate?

I must sincerely apologize. Your comment was obviously an attempt to further education and not to be obnoxious.

In informal communication, etiquette requires overlooking small mistakes. Unless you're a lush, then I guess it goes with the territory.

Edited by shepard, 19 December 2007 - 12:05 AM.

[Shepard]

Your sincerity is obviously not there, shepard.

How dare you, sir? 'Tis a dishonor you do me.

[Shepard]

In informal communication, etiquette requires overlooking small mistakes.

The suggestions thread is informal communication?

Sure, this entire medium of communication is informal.

Informal communication has a requirement?

Not requirements. As I said, proper etiquette.

Interesting that you should choose this particular attempt at a character slur.

I wasn't calling you a lush. I was just making the point that a lush has the propensity to act like a jackass.

Now, Chip, you've begun to bore me with these feeble attempts at strategy instead of anything worthwhile. Proceed on.

[Karomesis]

allow me to repeat myself

[Athanasios]

Since all suggestions seem to have been made and discussion is devolving, this thread is now locked.