[at-l] On-line Companion

[Ryan Crawford]

Sly,

The one thing you do have to think about is appearance.  What does ALDHA 
want to look like to the general public.  The appearance that you sell to 
the general public can make you or break you.  It is the general public that 
decides each year whether they want to come out and hike/thru-hike on the 
AT.

If you take the free version away from ALDHA site what does that leave ALDHA 
with for its message on promoting/educating the trail.  Right now the 
Companion shows a lot.

You have a very static website that gets changed only occasionally, every 
3-4 months if that often.  It's not a website that people come to all the 
time.  I've only been on the ALDHA website a couple of times in the past 2-3 
years, most of that right after Walkin' Jim died and then again when I saw 
the rumors posted of The Gathering coming back up north this year.

If you make someone(non-member) have to be a paying member before they can 
get the downloadable version of the Companion could easily turn people 
future ALDHA members.    Is that what you want?

Taking the Companion away could give a negative impression of things.  Study 
internet marketing and look at how they get people to pay obscene amounts of 
money for the junk they are selling online.  It comes down to marketing...to 
giving previews of most of the content so people know what they are buying. 
People will pay $97 and up for stinking infomercials because they get to 
listen to the infomercial for free for 48 hours after it happens.  Not only 
do the buy the mp3 download or cd/dvds of the infomercial but they turn 
around and buy the book/program that was being offered on the infomercial. 
All thanks to the 48 hour replay of the call.

While I say everything I've said above I would have to agree that it does 
make sense to make it for members only.  Their should be some kind of option 
though that will allow a person to see what the Companion is and also see 
part of what ALDHA is about.  The Companion is a bit of an advertisement for 
ALDHA.

Here's one suggestion Sly.  Take some pages from the prior Companion's and 
put them online.  Make sure to put a watermark diagonally across them that 
says "This information is not current, please check current Companion for 
updates."(or something along that same general wording)

No, I'm not a current member of ALDHA and haven't been for the past couple 
of years now.  Heck other than a short hour long hike here a week or so ago 
I haven't did any hiking in almost two years now.

MEANT 2B
GAME' 97