[aheravi]

El D:

Rather than read the morning paper, I figured I'd throw in my $.02. I laud the 2p2 community that takes an interest in the long term health of the site.

However, suggestions like yours have been thrown around quite often around here, with a bit more discussion in the Elaine trainwreck thread (the one in ATF, not OOT). In that, Mason pretty explicitly stated throwing a bunch of $$ and effort into 2p2.com was not a priority.

I don't understand the web business and don't pretend to, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who was scratching his head when Mat stated above that the 'budget' for changes was closer to $10K than $1M. I'm guessing that basically allows for band-aid improvements.

To fully monetize this, 2p2 would need a beefed-up full-time staff AND the capital to sustain it until it became profitable. It's awesome that a lot of people are willing to volunteer time to "help," but in the long run, this will be more detrimental than beneficial. After a while, other priorities kick in, and volunteers can't help (job, family), so projects die on the vine.

A suggestion (based upon one of your comments above) would be for a group of 2p2ers to get together, develop a business plan, and offer investment capital (As you stated, a lot of young single males with a BUNCH of cash on hand reside at 2p2). If Mason doesn't want to invest his own cash, that's really the only other option. Obviously, a helluva a lot of research needs to go into the business plan, and we're talking significant investment on the part of people...having someone say "I'll chip in $300" is a waste of time. All the investment, of course, is predicated upon getting a healthy chunk of the improved profits.

Like other ventures, if it goes belly-up, well...welcome to the business world. I don't imagine 2p2 going away, but without a solid business plan, the improvements may not generate the returns expected.

I didn't intend to rip on Mat--if anything, he's in the worst possible position. Customers screaming they want more, the overlords don't want to pay for it, and he's caught in the middle.

If someone puts all this together, and Mason still says no, let it drop. It's a waste of time at that point.