Rootsweb is not a profitable venture. It is a PR tool for TGN.
If Rootsweb generates enough paid memberships to TGN to justify the
expenditures, then, from an accounting standpoint, it is worth keeping
free webspace. If it is not, then there would be no reason to keep
offering free webspace.
Obviously someone from accounting has made headway with the people who
call the shots at TGN because banners are there promoting their paid
services. These banners have been on free pages for some time, and now
they want to expand them to USGenWeb sites. Either their plan is working
and they are looking for further increases in paid memberships, or their
plan is not working as they had expected and need more exposure.
As it stands now, the only way they would generate income from a USGenWeb
site would be if someone clicks on the "hosted by Rootsweb" link on a
USGenWeb site and then clicks on an
Ancestry.com banner ad and purchases a
membership. That's 3 steps someone would have to take to generate income
for TGN. And the more clicks someone has to make, the less likely they
are to do it. Banner ads will reduce the number of clicks a potential
customer would have to make to purchase a membership, and would therefore
be more likely to increase revenues.
If USGenWeb remains firm in their "no advertising on sites" policy, then
TGN will be more inclined to refuse to host USGenWeb sites.
Yes, there are too many variables in the equation to predict outcomes at
this point. But of the possible outcomes, none of them look very good for
USGenWeb.
You have to remember that webmasters of USGenWeb sites hosted on Rootsweb
are at the mercy of TGN. If it makes good business sense to continue,
they will. If it doesn't, then they won't. Most of it will hinge on the
ongoing negotiations between TGN and USGenWeb.
I'm sure that TGN has a more accurate estimate of USGenWeb's worth than
does USGenWeb. USGenWeb WILL have to grow up, get its act together and
begin operating like a business. And the membership of USGenWeb will have
to do the same. Otherwise the entire project is doomed.
Dale Grimm
Madison & Greene Counties
Your points 1, 2 & 7
Specifically 7: "USGenweb is a valuable commodity"
Why would "TGN" want to lose us? The free sites may be a drain, but they
also bring in customers.
Kinda like the free samples at the grocery store.
There seem to be too many issues here, at one time they were separate
issues, now it seems hard, at
least in MHOP to argue one issue without bringing up another issue.
It *is* time for USGenWeb to grow up or rather grow. I'm not sure it ever
will.
Linda Boorom
love genealogy, but hate politics
----- Original Message -----
From: <feedbak(a)madisonoh.ancestralsites.com>
To: <ohgen(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 8:12 PM
Subject: Re: [OHGEN] OHGenWeb?
> Ladies,
>
> USGenWeb is in a precarious situation. You have to look at several
> facts.
>
> 1. Rootsweb is part of "The Generations Network", a for-profit company.
> TGN must provide to its owners/investors a return on their investment.
>
> 2. There are tens of thousands of sites being hosted at no charge at
> Rootsweb. This is a financial drain to TGN of several thousand dollars
> each month.
>
> 3. There are two ways to increase profits. (a)Increase Income and
> (b)cut
> expenses. I don't know the financial condition of TGN - I have not been
> able to find any financial information - it must be a privately held
> company.
>
> 4. USGenWeb is in direct competition with TGN. USGenWeb offers
> genealogical information at no charge to the visitor. TGN operates many
> paid sites. Yet most USGenWeb sites are hosted by TGN at no charge.
>
> 5. TGN has been in a growth phase for several years, and has purchased
> or
> taken over dozens of genealogy-related companies.
>
> 6. TGN can take any information on any of the sites on their servers
> and
> place it on their paid services. They own the servers and they have
> total
> control over their usage. Not USGenWeb, not you, but TGN.
>
> 7. USGenWeb is a valuable commodity. The domain
usgenweb.org alone
> could
> fetch tens of thousands of dollars at a public sale. And I am not
> qualified to estimate the PR value of the name USGenWeb.
>
>
> It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that something is going on
> at TGN. And it does not bode well for USGenWeb.
>
> The banners that TGN is placing on sites are for their services. But
> what
> if they decide to offer those banners for sale. Let's face it, with an
> estimated 3 million visitors to Rootsweb each month, those banners would
> be prime real estate, and could generate thousands of dollars each month
> for TGN. Would you be just as comfortable with the banners if they were
> for a dating service?
>
> It would be suicide for USGenWeb to tell CC's to host their site with
> someone else without any guidelines or assistance in securing a host.
> If
> anyone told you that you could not host your sites on Rootsweb at no
> charge it would be TGN. And they could discontinue free hosting
> tomorrow
> with no notice whatsoever.
>
> In the past 10 or so years that USGenWeb has been around, Rootsweb has
> changed. World situations have changed. Economic conditions and
> business
> operations have changed. But USGenWeb has not. It remains a group of
> people who elect "leaders" and then don't listen to what the
"leaders"
> say.
>
> I look for many changes in USGenWeb over the next few months - changes
> that they must make in order to continue existing. You may not like the
> changes, but they must be made.
>
>
> Dale Grimm
> Madison & Greene Counties.
>
>
>> Joan,
>>
>> It is highly unlikely that the USGenWeb advisory board would decide
>> that
>> state and county sites would have to leave Rootsweb because of the
>> banners.
>> They may decide that they want to move the national site because of the
>> banners and some SC's and even some CC's may decide to move their sites
>> because of them but at this time please don't worry about your sites if
>> you
>> yourself are not bothered by the banners.
>>
>> Holly Timm
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ohgen-bounces(a)rootsweb.com [mailto:ohgen-bounces@rootsweb.com] On
>> Behalf Of Joan Asche
>> Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 5:16 PM
>> To: ohgen(a)rootsweb.com
>> Subject: Re: [OHGEN] OHGenWeb?
>>
>> What happens if GenWeb decides to not have rootsweb as a source of
>> free servers because they do not want the banners? Would this not mean
>> that those GenWeb sites hosted by RootWeb will need to move in order
>> to stay a GenWeb site?
>>
>> Joan
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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