[p2p-research] P2P Foundation 2008 fundraising drive: please support our efforts

Mon Jul 14 05:05:36 CEST 2008

Dear friends,

I think I would like to take up the proposition of Valentin, and aim for 10
sponsors, unless anyone has strong arguments against?

If you agree, the next important question is: which companies should we
approach.

I would appreciate any names, a reason why for them, and a contact person we
can approach,

Michel

On Sun, Jul 13, 2008 at 5:22 PM, Valentin Spirik <valentin.spirik at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear Michel,
>
> If PayPal previously did bring in money then please ask James once more
> about implementing it... There is nothing wrong with having a PayPal button,
> if that works then you are just using an infrastructure that makes sense for
> you, that's good!
>
> Another idea to maybe consider:
>
> * offer P2P related companies and services ad space on the blog. While I
> dislike ads myself and have die Firefox Adblcock Plus extension installed, I
> usually turn it of for specific sites like e.g. the blendernation blog:
> there I see 3D related ads and I want to support that blog...
>
> Would it be realistic to get e.g. ten medium large non-profit organisations
> or companies to each pay € 500.- for e.g. a whole year of having their
> clickable button/logo right under the Community map on the blog? The ads
> would not be obtrusive, strongly related to the theme of the blog and €
> 500.- for a year of having your ad/logo on a blog with a profile like the
> P2P blog is probably almost a bargain. After a year either they want to
> renew the ad or, since you don't accept more than e.g. ten ads there might
> even be demand and a waiting list...?
>
> If you (mentally) go through all posts since you started the blog (plus
> look at your del.icio.us bookmarks): are there ten P2P friendly non-profit
> organisations/companies with integrity and a certain budget that you can
> offer such a deal? This would quickly get you half of the money that you try
> to collect and then there is more time to get the other half. A blog post
> then can make the terms of the deal clear to the readers (those are all
> selected sponsors, you are under no obligation to write about them etc.).
>
> Valentin
>
>
> On Sun, Jul 13, 2008 at 8:02 AM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Dear Valentin,
>>
>> thanks  for putting time in this reply.
>>
>> I think most of what you say is true, and I guess I have no extra energy
>> to go 'popular', I was hoping other people would do that, but they don't, so
>> as you say, this seems pretty much a niche project, which by itself is not a
>> problem, 'we gotta do what we gotta do", but of course, the problem is how
>> to survive 'materially' ...
>>
>> One thing I differ on is Paypal, the two times I did fundraising before,
>> the general invitation did not result in any support, but the letters sent
>> from Paypal did bring a few thousand EURO's each time, I think the low
>> 'mental transaction costs' are key in this.
>>
>> I failed to convince James to implement this, and also promised future
>> appeals won't be personal, but we may have to change our minds on this, if
>> this gets no results at all!!
>>
>> Michel
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jul 12, 2008 at 8:21 PM, Valentin Spirik <
>> valentin.spirik at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Michel,
>>>
>>> I have not forwarded this to anyone since I've already tried to interest
>>> my friends and family for the P2P foundation about a year ago by advertising
>>> the video with you that I (re)cut. I think some or most watched it, but I
>>> did not get much response either... Probably two reasons: general
>>> information overflow (friends sending you links) and the subject matter
>>> being a more serious one - it takes some time to understand and to get
>>> familiar with this (I'm sure a funny cat video or so would have gotten more
>>> responses).
>>>
>>> But there are probably some other reasons as well: English and the high
>>> intellectual level. We all assume that most people would understand what we
>>> write, still not everyone is that good with English (and James is probably
>>> better than me, your English is probably better than James' etc.). The
>>> intellectual level of the blog is extremely high and that's why I think you
>>> are right to call it a scientific blog. Only unfortunately you just can't
>>> expect most people that e.g. I know to understand it... My father, a
>>> ethnologist, did show interest in the video and maybe he occasionally might
>>> have a look at the blog, but he is not too tech-savvy and I guess he prefers
>>> books and music instead of surfing the net. He is open to new things and now
>>> has DSL, Skype etc., but he is 60+ and this is a generation that needs more
>>> time to adapt to the new technologies - web 2.0 for them is not something
>>> that they would use just like that... Friends around my age (mid/late 30s,
>>> some younger) probably could understand the blog, but they are either
>>> artists (with other main interests and no money), still studying/working on
>>> their thesis (with special interests and not much money) or young
>>> fathers/mothers with not much time and not too much money either.
>>>
>>> I've tried to interest my friends and family in the P2P Audiovisual Guide
>>> and, like you now, did not get the kind of response that I was expecting.
>>> Reasons are the ones above... I think what we currently have is a very niche
>>> market offering. This is perfectly fine and good. But it is hard to sell.
>>>
>>> Still, even ourmedia.org, with many, many users did not get any real
>>> money through donations while I was there if I remember correctly - it was
>>> mostly financed and made possible by JD Lassica's own money, free hosting
>>> from the Internet Archive and many volunteers (coders, moderators) - and in
>>> the end it did not quite work out, for all sorts of reasons. Most
>>> open-source software projects have similar problems. There are many coders
>>> who don't understand why hardly anyone sends money via their PayPal button.
>>> (Not doing too badly but also struggling is Ardour:
>>> http://ardour.org/download)
>>>
>>> But what to do....? I don't have a working solution, but some examples
>>> and ideas for you. Right now I am looking into all sorts of options myself,
>>> since so far I am not making any money at all with my work as an artist.
>>>
>>> * provide a service that is really useful to people: it has to be simple,
>>> easy to use and give some instant, real life benefit. A good example is the
>>> Creative Commons website and their licensing service. Still: they also have
>>> to go begging each year in order to achieve their fundraising goals. And
>>> they have well know blogs (including Boing Boing) that are happy to help
>>> with this.
>>>
>>> One more problem in this context: there is still no easy to use and
>>> widely used micro payment service! E.g. my father would never use his credit
>>> card for online shopping out of security concerns and I think he is probably
>>> right. (I might use mine, but I don't have one!) How many people have a
>>> PayPal account? I don't. I know that there is Google Checkout but I have
>>> never used it. I only once ordered a book from Amazon about a year ago and
>>> that was only after I found out that you don't need a credit card for this -
>>> it took me 10+ years of surfing the net to figure that one out!
>>>
>>> * consider an (additional) more mainstream version of the blog that is
>>> easy to read and understand (your role would be the one of the professor who
>>> explains things instead of the professor talking to other professors): I
>>> think you will have more readers and then a fundraising campaign can have
>>> more success. It still would not be too easy but more realistic. I know that
>>> we talked about this already and I understand why you want to keep it the
>>> way it is... In that case I think you could try to:
>>>
>>> * get funding from scientific organisations, state funds and companies
>>> who have an interest in promoting and advancing P2P publications
>>>
>>> I think what you are trying to do is hard to achieve and could take five
>>> to ten years until it is self-sustainable. It is easy to forget that only a
>>> minority of people uses the net the way we do, only a minority knows what
>>> del.icio.us is or even what a blog is! (I still often find myself
>>> explaining to people that a blog is like "an online diary, but not just for
>>> personal stuff, you can also use it for your business"). We are all probably
>>> a couple of years ahead of our time, Michel...!
>>>
>>> Maybe you can get more specific ideas by talking to other non-profit
>>> groups that actually are self-sustainable. I keep studying the Blender
>>> Foundation's business model, they have an online shop where you can buy
>>> books etc. and from what I know the shop now covers about 50% of the
>>> expenses. The rest must be donations, I could imagine that they have a few,
>>> potent donors, but that's just me guessing. Also they have an incredible,
>>> free product that would normally cost between € 3000.- and € 5000.-. And to
>>> this day, about six years after going open-source, they are still the
>>> underdog in the 3D world while probably having the best product of them all!
>>> The tide is turning now, but slowly... (The Blender Foundation's movies are
>>> financed by preselling DVDs, see the links in the A/V Wiki June update.)
>>>
>>> As I told you a couple of weeks ago I am now going to restructure all my
>>> own online projects - I'll let you know should I figure out something along
>>> the way that could also be of interest for the P2P foundation!
>>>
>>> Valentin
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Jul 12, 2008 at 9:01 AM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Dear friends,
>>>>
>>>> During the last 2 years, I have done, out of necessity and survival,
>>>> personal fundraising drives which brought me a few thousand EURO's of
>>>> support and allowed me to survive with my family and do the work on the p2p
>>>> foundation.
>>>>
>>>> We thought it was quite normal to 'collectivize' the effort, and to
>>>> support also the other people who are doing great work for the p2pfoundation
>>>> (I'm thinking of people like James Burke and Sam Rose and others).
>>>>
>>>> However, this first 'official drive' is getting no response at all.
>>>>
>>>> So, we are trying to find out way.
>>>>
>>>> Have you forwarded this letter as requested? Have you thought about
>>>> contributing through tipit as suggested?
>>>>
>>>> If not, please do tell us what we are doing wrong, or why we have no
>>>> reactions. There are of course no obligations, but please allow us to learn
>>>> from this experiment,
>>>>
>>>> Michel
>>>>
>>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>> From: Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>
>>>> Date: Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 11:13 AM
>>>> Subject: P2P Foundation 2008 fundraing drive: please support our efforts
>>>> To: james burke <lifesized at gmail.com>, Samuel Rose <
>>>> samuel.rose at gmail.com>, Valentin Spirik <valentin.spirik at gmail.com>,
>>>> Kris ROOSE <kroose at gmail.com>, Mauro Bieg <mauro.bieg at gmail.com>,
>>>> Natalie Pang <nataliep at gmx.at>, Athina Karatzogianni <
>>>> athina.k at gmail.com>, Marcin Jakubowski <joseph.dolittle at gmail.com>,
>>>> Steve Bosserman <steve.bosserman at gmail.com>, Franz Nahrada <
>>>> f.nahrada at reflex.at>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Dear friends,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> We are today launcing our 2008 funding drive. As we promised last year,
>>>> it is no longer a personal appeal, but an collective/organizational appeal
>>>> destined to benefit the whole community effort.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> We have written an explanation below, but we hope that you can help
>>>> spread the word. We are hoping that each of you sends this out to 10 people
>>>> of your own choice that would also be willing to support us. Thanks also for
>>>> eventual mention in your blogs or mailing lists.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Please be generous in support what I believe is the great work that the
>>>> P2P Foundation community has been doing!!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Many thanks for our support,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Michel
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Payment details are the following:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Via the blog:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Click on the "Donate Now" button on the right hand side of our english
>>>> language blog at http://blog.p2pfoundation.net to make a
>>>> contribution/donation.
>>>>
>>>> *
>>>> *
>>>>
>>>> *Via email: *
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> click on this link <https://tipit.to/feed_the_foundation_funding_round>
>>>> ( this is the url attached
>>>> https://tipit.to/feed_the_foundation_funding_round )
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Dear friends,
>>>>
>>>> Help us build a better more humane and sustainable society through the
>>>> research and promotion of peer to peer alternatives. Help us build and
>>>> strengthen the infrastructure of cooperation of the P2P Foundation!!
>>>>
>>>> As you know, we believe that the current economic model is not
>>>> sustainable, because it treats nature as infinite, while it attempts to
>>>> render free cooperation more difficult through the creation of artificial
>>>> scarcity in the field of culture of knowledge. While there is now a thriving
>>>> sustainability movement, the achievement of an open environment for the
>>>> global and local sharing of knowledge is just as important, as this is where
>>>> the solutions for sustainability need to be generated.
>>>>
>>>> The P2P Foundation focuses on creating a knowledge base and
>>>> internetworking platform for peer production, governance, and property, and
>>>> for open/free, participatory, and commons-oriented social practices, in
>>>> every field of human activity: politics and the economy, the scientific and
>>>> the spiritual.
>>>>
>>>> We want go "get better at working together" by studying what works and
>>>> what doesn't work in the emerging new social forms enabled by peer to peer
>>>> technologies. We want to help people to have more fulfilling lives by
>>>> supporting approaches and policies for meaningful constructive work so that
>>>> social innovation can thrive.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Our Achievements so far
>>>> *
>>>> About two and a half years ago, we started building an ecology of online
>>>> resources to serve that purpose:
>>>>
>>>> - A Wiki (http://p2pfoundation.net) to build the knowledge base as well
>>>> as well as a directory of initiatives. Franz Nahrada has called it the
>>>> largest collection of free modes available on the planet. We have nearly
>>>> 6,000 pages of documentation which have been viewed almost 3.5 million
>>>> times. As an example, where else could we find an overview as well as
>>>> details of the many emerging open design communities that aim to assist in
>>>> the making of physical products? See
>>>> http://p2pfoundation.net/Category:Design for these pages, one amongst
>>>> many sections.
>>>>
>>>>  - A blog (http://blog.p2pfoundation.net) which keeps track of current
>>>> initiatives and offers current thinking on p2p developments. Our blog has
>>>> now about 700 readers daily and is growing at a constant rate.
>>>>
>>>>  - An interconnected network of social bookmarking sites, where our
>>>> sympathizers exchange their finds on a continous basis
>>>>
>>>>  - A community center (http://p2pfoundation.ning.com) where people can
>>>> discuss issues and get to know each other
>>>>
>>>>  - A series of mailing list, such as the Peer to Peer Research list
>>>>
>>>> The people who work with us are often active in their own fields, and
>>>> this leads to a cross-fertilization and co-learning of different
>>>> initiatives.
>>>>
>>>> In the last 18 months, as the founder of the P2P Foundation, I have also
>>>> undertaken intensive lecture tours in academia, business and policy
>>>> communities and institutions.
>>>>
>>>> These achievements, the result of voluntary contributions by myself and
>>>> a core group of active supporters, also come at a cost, and we could do much
>>>> more with your active support, which would enable more consistent efforts.
>>>>
>>>> We have created a non-profit structure in the Netherlands to achieve a
>>>> next level of organization.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Contribute funding to our infrastructure of cooperation!!
>>>> *
>>>> We are at a stage where funding would be instrumental in growing our
>>>> activities and reach.
>>>>
>>>> We need funding of our physical infrastructure, which is now paid by
>>>> individual volunteers.
>>>>
>>>> We need funding to provide a less insecure financial environment for
>>>> some of our full-time volunteers.
>>>>
>>>> We need funding to formalize the knowledge base, to give it an extra
>>>> level of presentation and synthesis so that it can appeal to new
>>>> communities. Such synthetic reports are difficult to achieve on the basis of
>>>> volunteering alone.
>>>>
>>>> The funding would allow us to stimulate mini-projects that are proposed
>>>> by some of our sympathizers, who would not have the opportunity to carry
>>>> them out without some form of compensation.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Here is how we propose the money would be allocated:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> - 3,333 EUR (one third) to fund a small annual stipend to assist one
>>>> full-time worker with developing and growing the P2P Foundation
>>>>
>>>>  - 3,333 EUR to fund the physical infrastructure of cooperation: this
>>>> includes servers/publications in print and in new media formats
>>>>
>>>>  - 3,333 EUR to fund proposed community projects that enhance the
>>>> knowledge base of the P2P Foundation (new research as well as synthetic
>>>> reports)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *How to Assist Us:
>>>> *
>>>> Here are the modalities of payment, in order to support our activities:
>>>>
>>>> *////////////////*
>>>>
>>>> *How to donate:*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> **
>>>>
>>>> *Via our blog*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> **
>>>>
>>>> Click on the "Donate Now" button on the right hand side of our english
>>>> language blog at http://blog.p2pfoundation.net to make a
>>>> contribution/donation.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Via email: *
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Via email:
>>>> *
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> **
>>>>
>>>> click on this link <https://tipit.to/feed_the_foundation_funding_round>
>>>> ( this is the url attached
>>>> https://tipit.to/feed_the_foundation_funding_round )
>>>>
>>>> Any difficulties doing this? Don't hesitate to let us know.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *////////////////*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> To achieve our goal of EUR 10,000 we need
>>>>
>>>> = 100 contributions of 100 EUR
>>>>
>>>> = 200 contributions of 50 EUR
>>>>
>>>> = 400 contributions of 25 EUR
>>>>
>>>> Help us achieve this by spreading this message amongst your contacts. We
>>>> would appreciate if each recipient can send this through to 10 others, and
>>>> feel free to adapt the style of the appeal, or to add a cover letter in your
>>>> own words.
>>>>
>>>> I believe we have achieved quite a bit in a short term, but so much more
>>>> is needed, for which your support is crucial.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Michel Bauwens
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> The P2P Foundation researches, documents and promotes peer to peer
>>>> alternatives.
>>>>
>>>> Wiki and Encyclopedia, at http://p2pfoundation.net; Blog, at
>>>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net; Newsletter, at
>>>> http://integralvisioning.org/index.php?topic=p2p
>>>>
>>>> Basic essay at http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=499; interview
>>>> at
>>>> http://poynder.blogspot.com/2006/09/p2p-very-core-of-world-to-come.html
>>>> BEST VIDEO ON P2P:
>>>> http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=4549818267592301968&hl=en-AU
>>>>
>>>> KEEP UP TO DATE through our Delicious tags at
>>>> http://del.icio.us/mbauwens
>>>>
>>>> The work of the P2P Foundation is supported by SHIFTN,
>>>> http://www.shiftn.com/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> The P2P Foundation researches, documents and promotes peer to peer
>>>> alternatives.
>>>>
>>>> Wiki and Encyclopedia, at http://p2pfoundation.net; Blog, at
>>>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net; Newsletter, at
>>>> http://integralvisioning.org/index.php?topic=p2p
>>>>
>>>> Basic essay at http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=499; interview
>>>> at
>>>> http://poynder.blogspot.com/2006/09/p2p-very-core-of-world-to-come.html
>>>> BEST VIDEO ON P2P:
>>>> http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=4549818267592301968&hl=en-AU
>>>>
>>>> KEEP UP TO DATE through our Delicious tags at
>>>> http://del.icio.us/mbauwens
>>>>
>>>> The work of the P2P Foundation is supported by SHIFTN,
>>>> http://www.shiftn.com/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> The P2P Foundation researches, documents and promotes peer to peer
>> alternatives.
>>
>> Wiki and Encyclopedia, at http://p2pfoundation.net; Blog, at
>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net; Newsletter, at
>> http://integralvisioning.org/index.php?topic=p2p
>>
>> Basic essay at http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=499; interview at
>> http://poynder.blogspot.com/2006/09/p2p-very-core-of-world-to-come.html
>> BEST VIDEO ON P2P:
>> http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=4549818267592301968&hl=en-AU
>>
>> KEEP UP TO DATE through our Delicious tags at http://del.icio.us/mbauwens
>>
>> The work of the P2P Foundation is supported by SHIFTN,
>> http://www.shiftn.com/
>>
>
>

-- 
The P2P Foundation researches, documents and promotes peer to peer
alternatives.

Wiki and Encyclopedia, at http://p2pfoundation.net; Blog, at
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net; Newsletter, at
http://integralvisioning.org/index.php?topic=p2p

Basic essay at http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=499; interview at
http://poynder.blogspot.com/2006/09/p2p-very-core-of-world-to-come.html
BEST VIDEO ON P2P:
http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=4549818267592301968&hl=en-AU

KEEP UP TO DATE through our Delicious tags at http://del.icio.us/mbauwens

The work of the P2P Foundation is supported by SHIFTN,
http://www.shiftn.com/
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