December 19, 2004

Final Beg For Contributions Via Give Guide

Less Than Two Weeks Remain To Donate

Contributions to this site via the Willamette Week Give Guide end at midnight on December 31, so there are twelve more days to try to drum up some more activity.

We'd especially like to urge readers under the age of 35 to consider contributing to this site via the Give Guide, since the recipient who gets the highest total number of contributions from people under 35 -- that's the highest number of contributions, not the highest total dollar amount -- receives an extra bonus $1000.

We make this final push, two days before the two-year anniversary of Portland Communique, mainly because early indicators are that contributions through the Give Guide so far are not enough to add even an extra month to this site's existence. Hence the fact that we've urged the under-35 crowd to consider donating.

All of this means, as things stand right now, that some day in late January or possibly early February (although that's less likely) will see our final post.

A concomitant of that timeframe is that we should start delving into the employment classifieds a little more intently (although we've also been called for jury duty beginning January 3, and we already deferred that once because of our recent trip back east), but that's another matter altogether.

Posted at 08:32 PM | PermalinkComments (9) | TrackBacks (1)
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Comments (9)

  1. Elaine of Kalilily on 20 Dec 2004

    I hope that you get paid for jury duty.

    I think that your readers will find -- when you've finally let go of what you've accomplished here -- that there's a big hole in what they're able to understand about what's going on in the city's government. Your loss will be everyone's loss.

    Trite as it sounds, though, one door closes and another door opens. Watch for that opening door.

  2. myrln on 20 Dec 2004

    HELL-LL-OOO, Portland! Anybody out there? Time to step up, time to turn good words into good action that will keep alive what you've come to deem as important and worthwhile. Now is the time to come to the aid...etc. C'mon...be there for Bix.

  3. allehseya on 20 Dec 2004

    re: riddles to answer

    Trite as it sounds, though, one door closes and another door opens. Watch for that opening door.

    On that note, b!X, have you considered the option of obtaining a potential business partner, creating a shared vision, developing a comprehensive business plan and pitching it to Medici-type rich folk towards obtaining venture capital to implement the whole thing?

    Before you answer, here’s another truism to meditate on:

    Opportunity will move out of the way so that you can pass it by.

    -- a fellow dreamwalker

  4. The One True b!X on 20 Dec 2004

    To that I can only at this point say this: The one serious offer which at all resembled that approach immediately hit a snag on the "create a shared vision" matter, in that it was almost immediately suggested to me that something I had written, or the way I had written it, might rankle potential money sources/people.

    That does not give me great confidence that such an approach would not come with strings attached. Not to mention that the underlying premise of venture capital is the idea that there will hopefully be a return on that investment.

    This site really isn't the sort of thing that would ever make someone an actual profit.

  5. allehseya on 20 Dec 2004

    re: meditations

    This site really isn't the sort of thing that would ever make someone an actual profit.

    Let’s pretend that the site as we know it now is one aspect of a larger shared vision and let’s assume that the other aspects do generate profit.

    “…it was almost immediately suggested to me that something I had written, or the way I had written it, might rankle potential money sources/people.”

    Let’s pretend that you and your partner agree that you have last word on content, maintaining control of not only your written material, but all written content of the business publications – akin to an “editor in chief” role.

    What say you then?

    Aut viam inveniam aut faciam

  6. The One True b!X on 20 Dec 2004

    I'm not trying to be a pain in the ass here, but even pretending all of that doesn't get me to a place where I have an answer. My view of any theoretical direction is entirely dependent upon the specifics.

  7. allehseya on 20 Dec 2004

    I ask because there are some people who simply will not humor the thought of having a business partner. Others will -- only upon certain conditions.

    Specifics can not arise if one is not open to exploring them.

    I was just wondering if you were even open to exploring such options at all.

  8. Melissa on 21 Dec 2004

    What thoroughly confounds me is that this site has garnered (rightfully so) SO much attention, praise, accolades from everyone from your average blog-reader to Portland city officials. All have sung the praises of b!X's work, claiming the site is invaluable to them -- and yet somehow funding cannot be found to keep it going, even through donations via things like the Williamette. If it's so invaluable to everyone, where IS everyone when the chips are down? (yes, I'm being blunt, but the end of the line is near and the time for speaking carefully is gone) And before you ask, you bet I donated, and I don't even live in Portland. I simply find this site and the work done here exceptional and would like to see it continue.

    I understand not necessarily wanting to create a "shared vision" -- not if specific content control is given up. Then the site becomes compromised, and the original intention of the creator become moot. I'd like to believe there are a plethora of options out there, I also know b!X has been open to exploring an infinite number or suggestions and variations on a theme as far as solutions go. Nothing has come to fruition. There have been snags, wild goose chases and flat-out disappointments.

    So again, I wonder where all these readers are that find this site invaluable? And with all the attention and praise it has gotten from political cirles, from educational circles, social-activist circles, etc -- it's so hard to believe it hasn't crossed the attention of even one financially endowed individual who would have the means or even one correctly connected individual who could broker a solution (grants, fudning, partnership...). And if it HAS crossed said persons paths -- HELLO??

    Oh...I'm done. Sorry for the rant. I just hate to see something so worthwhile, full of such passion and talent fade away.

    Luckily for us, if that happens, it's only the site, not b!X, that we are losing. And I am confident that his talent, his passion, his energy will find another wonderful path to follow. But as I've said before, if it happens, this site, b!X's words, work, and thoughtfulness will be missed and not easily replaced.

    Okay. NOW I'm done.
    For now. :-)

  9. allehseya on 21 Dec 2004

    it's so hard to believe it hasn't crossed the attention of even one financially endowed individual who would have the means or even one correctly connected individual who could broker a solution (grants, fudning, partnership...)

    It has. The problem is that all the Medici's are dead and without turning into a non-profit model, the only alternative is to find a way to make it work in a for-profit model.

    Business being business --- the question b!X is faced with is how to develop this concept into one that generates revenue in such a way that his original vision is not compromised.

Trackbacks (1)

  1. had I but world enough and time... on 20 Dec 2004

    I'm not trying to be coy, but I wish that I had the stamina to sit here and write about all of the things I think I'm going to write about as I haul myself out of bed every morning...