It's the dog days. Middle August. This site is going to be hit and miss over the next few days. Adam Horowitz is moving house, and I am actually doing some paying work for a magazine for once, and reading Theodor Herzl diaries at night and underlining his references to the "river of gold" that Jews would provide to friends of Zionism.
We'll try to post when we can, but we'll be harder to find. This can't last, by the way, the two of us working for nothing. Adam called this site "an ad hoc labor of love for 3-1/2 years." Seems like a formula for burnout. I don't know what the answer is, but...
Ideas to monetize Mondoweiss:
1) Mondoweiss annual conference in NYC for MondoPeace with all-star line up including Jimmy Carter as keynote, J Street, Antony, Max, Medea, etc.
2) Annual base subscription for Mondo of $100
3) Mondo becomes a “thinktank” funded by I/P peace groups/foundations in which Phil runs it
4) A hard-copy Mondo newsletter edited by $3 an hour freelancer from eLance.com that is given to all members of Congress and their staffers for free, but all others are charged.
5) A PBS-style fund drive every quarter.
Get some big name blogger to make a matching offer for everyone dollar donated to the fund drive.
As for the burnout factor, completely agree. Is it possible for Phil to pull a Johnny Carson, and rotate trusted “guest editors” on an occasional basis to do the posting for a week or two at a time?
“River of gold”?
Is that all that you got from reading Herzl? ammunition?
“River of gold”?
Is that all that you got from reading Herzl? ammunition?
Is that all you got from Philip’s many posts in the subject of Herzl?
Phil is nearing his conclusion point on his reading, and this is what he’s chosen to include as important.
It was a passing reference on a post that was more about why there wouldn’t be many posts over the next couple of days.
Well done on the magazine gig.
On Mondoweiss, if you have to dial it down: five thoughtful posts a week are probably enough, particularly if some of them have Phil’s personal touch. You don’t need to record every instance of some Zionist euphemising colonial apartheid. Focus on your own unique contribution. …
Good advice Phil. Listen to the man.
I disagree. This is the greatest resource on the I/P conflict. Phil’s commentary is the best aspect of the site, but it is the leading authority on breaking news in the I/P scenario.
No, what we need to do is get someone like a George Soros behind it.
Phil can be editor in chief, and provide a weekly comment, but the links to the other sites could be done by a different editor.
I don’t know about having a subscription base. The idea is to get this information OUT to the public, not hide it behind a pay-for-read concept.
1,3,5 seem more appealing. I haven’t been to NY yet (I know, I know, what am I thinking) but I would definitely find my way there for something like a Mondoweiss conference.
Try to see what you can secure with other groups. You have a lot of great content, and the hard part about securing funding is showing people you are serious. You’ve WAAAAY gone past that stage.
Agree with AM that subscription base would be counterproductive. The other ideas are great. #4 especially appeals – neat idea.
Public support for an interest-oriented blogger makes plenty of sense to me – I’ll contribute again as soon as I’ve caught up with Doctor’s Without Borders, Amnesty International, local groups, etc.
You of all the websites are going to slow down because of money? Come on, man. You are hands-down the best source of news and commentary on the I/P situation. I have hundreds of blogs/news portals/etc in my RSS feeds and yours is the only one I type its address in my browser and visit daily.
There are so many ways to generate money. Why do you not have any kind of ads on the site. Use Google’s adsense or something like that. You can get it up and running in a couple of minutes. That should generate some money if you have a good number of regular visitors. There are scripts that would politely ask visitors to disable ad blocking if it detects that they have them (seen it on dailykos).
Also, option 5 (PBS-style fund drive) is a good idea. I’ve seen it work on many liberal outlets. Give it a shot.
I have to agree with #12, you guys are on the pulse of things, and a beacon to journalism. With the amount of traffic, there are several ways to monetize, even just renting banner ads.
If memory serves, Phil was booted from Adsense with no clear explanation. Oscar’s thoughtful suggestions seem to me not to sufficiently address that Phil’s blog occupies a unique niche, being a combination of very personal and daily accounting, a blend of
(soul-searching) micro and (political, historical, philosophical) macro regulars here most appreciate. Maybe the proper vehicle is a comic book companion, which could be sold
separately, beginning with regulars as initial subscribers?
It would be nice to see page one having the big stories, page 2 has the more in-depth details and then have a commentary section. It would function as more of an online news paper and you could reap more funds from viewers.
For money, Antiwar always does a pledge drive and they meet costs. This might work for the site. Ask Stephen Walt, he’s got a strategic mind for this stuff.
When Mondoweiss has gone to its well-earned repose, JSF will still be around.
Yes. They at least question the Professor Gates mentality. The paranoia of the Nazis, now taken over by the new PC narrative. In the beginning it was actually the reverse
in terms of cause and effect, affect. Bottom line: no political program will ever get to the bottom of of this–worse, an individual will always have no power to change the
back n forth.
JSF – back in the day (for me), it was where I first found news about the I-P that made sense of what I was reading in the newspaper. I continue to depend upon it, but, UK based, the local news is Eurocentric.
The variety and number of blogs and newslines, etc. available now are quite a contrast to what was available a few years ago. Many great reporters out there.
OK. Ignorant question: JSF is link to
?
Yes – glad you found it..
Go non-profit!
I mentioned this at the start of the AIPAC/Gaza trip drive, which I chipped in to and pledged to give far more if (501)c status was established. Taxes are a river of gold running to our corrupt government, funding the conquest of Palestine and all sorts of injustice many of us want no part of. I’d happily give more to Mondoweiss so that I can give less to that madness, and I know I am far from the only one.
If you go non-profit, you can establish respectable salaries for those running the organization, expand your goals, and pass on excess donations to other worthy causes. If you need help doing this, I’d bet the good folks at Democracy Now would be happy to give you pointers. If you aren’t intrested in doing anything of the sort; why not?
Phil – perhaps the Digby style is the way to go. (link to digbysblog.blogspot.com
She removed the ability to put her blog into a reader (so it has no rss feed) and charges readers $10 a month to subscribe. Otherwise, the blog is the same as ever, anyone can read any post and the entire blog is accessible like normal (individual posts are linkable as well).
I’m not sure how many people actually subscribe to digby’s blog (you can just bookmark it and read it daily if you choose), but its a great way to nudge people who like her writing to contribute a bit to her work.
Dear Phil, Whatever comes next, you have performed a valuable service. The dialogue is moving. I have been with you for a couple of years and greatly appreciate your efforts. Since the Gaza barbarity more and more thoughtful people have re-examined their understandings. I thank you and Adam. Jim Byers
Summer in the city… wouldn’t be the same without Mondoweiss. Happy vacation days, Phil. Please come back and continue to do what only you can do as you do it, so well.