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Friday, February 26, 2010

Another Month, Another Outage

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Not Good
Excess Monthly Bandwidth


As you may have noticed, we had another outage here at Thrasher's Wheat due to excessive monthly bandwidth consumption.

This is an ongoing problem. For most -- this is a good problem to have an increasing audience and page views. For us -- sadly -- it's not a good thing, at least financially speaking.

You see, every time demand surges with tours, albums, archives, tributes, etc. we have to go to our ISP host and move up to the next service level package, i.e. greater expenses. And costs continue to rise, just as Neil Young's star shines.

Again, this would all be well and good except that we fund this based on several sources. Primarily -- as many of you may know -- out of our own pocket. This is something we find to be really fun and meaningful and rewarding. We love what we do here in our very, very spare time as we ride into town on the train each morning or back again at night.

The second source of funding is our readers. First we tried the Amazon.com route which generates relatively small returns which continue to dwindle. You see, folks just don't buy CDs, books, DVDs, etc. like they used to. Physical media sales are falling off a cliff. And those commission that we do get from Amazon are quite nominal. Think about 2% on a $13 CD. That's about $0.26. We'd need to sell about 100,000 units on this site to make a go of things. ha!

And we've tried selling ads as well. First of all, most of the "ads" over there on the right do not generate revenue. The banner ad across the top generates about $1 for every 10,000 impressions. Again, we would need a lot of traffic to generate anything substantial.

And we tried fund raising with PayPal. This is the preferred method but also the least successful. It seems it's very hard to get folks to drop $5 a year on Thrasher's Wheat -- even if they visit the site daily. It seems so many want everything for free these days. We realize there's a global recession and all but we do think that $5 a year isn't too much to ask.

Believe us we when begin to say how distasteful this whole process is. We hate to whine or beg.

First, we want to say how much we appreciate all of the support we do receive. Your comments and letters are greatly appreciated and keep us going. So if you're writing comments, sending videos and photos, buying off Amazon, making PayPal donations, clicking ads, re-tweeting or sharing on Facebook your help is deeply appreciated.

It is this sharing that really makes what we do here so rewarding and satisfying to be part of our little global Neil village.

With record traffic levels which stressed the Thrasher's Wheat Platform leading to increasing bandwidth fees we either take TW to another server level or we'll continue to have these outages.

For loyal, regular supporters of TW, this post is not directed at you whatsoever.
For those of you who come here frequently but do not comment, contribute or offer other support, please continue to read.

By going the reader-supported route, there are two ways in which you can support Thrasher's Wheat.

The first option is to make a donation using PayPal. Just click on the link below to make a donation. If you do not have a PayPal account, you can use a credit card to make a donation via the button below (see lower left of PayPal screen).





The second option is to shop for your CDs, DVDs, books and other merchandise using the Amazon link below. Each time you purchase an item on Amazon by clicking through the logo link below, Thrasher's Wheat will receive a small commission.
amazon-logo.jpg

United States - Amazon.com us.gif

Canada - Amazon.ca canada.gif

United Kingdom - Amazon.uk gb.gif

Germany - Amazon.de de.gif



(Please note: International Amazon orders (non-U.S.A., non-Canada, non-U.K., non-Germany) do not credit to Thrasher's Wheat unfortunately. Other international readers are asked to please use PayPal account or credit card to support Thrasher's Wheat.)

You have proven that Thrasher's Wheat matters to you, and that you support our mission: to bring free Neil Young knowledge to the planet, free of charge and as free as possible of advertising. You've helped make and keep Thrasher's Wheat available for the whole world. If you find this site helpful as a reference or news source, please help us continue to help all Neil Young fans. Hopefully, this will continue to work to help defray the costs of running Thrasher's Wheat. Any excess funds generated above and beyond operating expenses will be donated to The Bridge School.

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Please don't give out of guilt; just give if you place value on what we do and are in a position to donate a little.

We'll also be giving away a Bridge t-shirt to a random TW supporter.

So Why Bother To Support Neil Young News on TW?

Our goal is simple: we create the best Neil Young blog we possibly can, refrain from contaminating it with nasty, giant corporate advertising, and then ask you to donate to us what you think it's worth. So far it seems to be working out sort of. We're not likely to break even on bandwidth and storage expenses (much less donated labor) this way, but that's not our goal.

Here at TW we're not just non-commercial. We're anti-commercial. We feel that quality blogs and advertising just cannot co-exist. We also choose to refrain from forcibly extracting money from you by charging subscription fees. We leave it up to you to decide what our service is worth to you.

Send support now via Visa or Mastercard — or use Paypal — or scroll down for other options.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your voluntary support enables us to devote all of our time and energy to making TW the best blog possible - and pays for the bandwidth, equipment and services required to keep the blog online.

The amount of your contribution is up to you - based on your opinion of how much you enjoy TW & what you can afford. A number of reader's have adopted the "one hour's wages per month" formula - some can afford to send even more than that (thanks!), others can afford only $5.

We particularly appreciate automatic monthly, quarterly or annual support payments. The more regular ongoing support we receive in that fashion the less we have to bug you on the blog. Please consider choosing that option of support.

We want to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed so generously over the past few years. We quite literally couldn't do it without you.

And, as always, we understand that contributing money is just not an option for some of you. That's fine. All posts, feeds and services at TW are open to everyone, and we will do everything in our power to keep it that way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Send support now via Visa or Mastercard — or use Paypal — or scroll down for other options.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Safety & Security Concerns:

When sending & receiving your credit card information online we use the standard https protocol that all online commerce sites (Amazon, banks, brokerage houses, etc) use. We do not know -- much less store your credit card number. We have no way to access that data ourselves, even if we wanted to.

We do not ever, under any circumstances, share your email address or any other information about you with any third party - nor do we engage in any kind of email or direct-mail marketing. We will send occasional (2-3 times per year) email to readers, which you can opt out of by unsubscribing.

Other Ways to Help:


Use our TW Neil Young Amazon Shopping Store :

Neil Young Store on Amazon.com


When shopping for your CDs, DVDs, books and other merchandise (Neil & Non-Neil) use the Amazon link above (it's always in the lower right sidebar, too). Each time you purchase an item on Amazon by clicking through the logo link above, Thrasher's Wheat will receive a small commission.

(Please note: International orders (non-U.S.A., Canada, & UK) do not credit to Thrasher's Wheat unfortunately. Please use PayPal account or credit card to support Thrasher's Wheat.)

Spread the Neil Love:

Spreading the word about Thrasher's Wheat is also a huge help. If you have friends that you think might enjoy TW - please take a moment to drop them a note. Postings about TW on appropriate web forums are also a great way to spread the word.

As a matter of fact, we have folks using our new Thrasher's Wheat logo on their blogs!

Again, thanks everyone for their contributions. But mostly thanks for all the reviews, photos, links, videos, and comments. And your kind and supportive words, especially. We truly enjoy sharing the Neil love around the world. We've been doing this on & off for 16 years on Rust/HH/RH and 13 years on TW and we'd really like to continue -- readers willing.

So by helping us out, you'll also help out Neil. And maybe in some small way, it helps the LincVolt project. Because we all want to light a candle, make a difference, be the rain, and be the change.

Be the wheat.
Peace and love,

Thrasher & Thrashette

ps - Thanks to Bill & Rebecca at Radio Paradise for fund raising support tips.

"Keep on bloggin'
`Til the power goes out
The batteries dead
Twist and shout"


- "Fork In the Road"


19 Comments:

At 2/26/2010 10:44:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, I use Thrashers Wheat quite regularly - so what is 5 or 10 quid for this. One pack of cigarettes less in a year or not buying a six-pack. Here's another tenner to keep things going. Thanks. - Peter

 
At 2/26/2010 11:48:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I really appreciate this site and every bit of work that goes into making it so great. Here's yet another tenner.

 
At 2/26/2010 12:35:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't know what we'd do without ya, Thrasher! My donation's in.

Also, is there an Amazon UK TW link that isn't specific to the Archives like the one above?

Been meaning to complete my collection (few more CD/DVDs to get) and I'd like to do it via the Supporting TW Amazon UK link, but that one just goes straight to the Archives BluRay (which I already have...)

Thanks for all you do, and keep on bloggin'!

:-)

 
At 2/26/2010 01:14:00 PM, Blogger thrasher said...

Thanks folks for your support. It's truly appreciated.

On the Amazon links.

Here's the way this works. You can click on any Amazon link and then select ANY product and TW will receive credit.

A couple of points. If it's the Archives box on right, it'll go into your cart. Just take it out by changing quantity to Zero. The resume shopping. Amazon is tracking the link from TW so once you hit their site, you're a TW shopper.

A couple of points for non-USA traffic. You must hit the specific country link to create TW credit. You can always tell by checking the domian URL (.CA, .UK, .DE).

Hope that helps.

Thanks a bunch.

 
At 2/26/2010 01:24:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thrasher, do you mean ANY product at all?! Not just Neil Young stuff?!

If so I can only apoligize and I'll have that bookmarked from now on, I use Amazon a lot! Sorry for not realizing sooner!

 
At 2/26/2010 01:46:00 PM, Blogger thrasher said...

Yes, ANY Amazon product.

Books, DVDs, toys, shoes, hats, you name it. Basically, stuff.

But don't be a restless consumer. ;)

Thanks!

 
At 2/26/2010 02:06:00 PM, Blogger The Loner said...

Even I have donated a few "kroner" (you do not know how mean I can be). I just come to think about how much I enjoy this site, with the comments from Doc and many others. The site has become a daily routine.

...But what is the ongoing "fight" between Doc and Thrasher" really about - I think I have not been a regular user of this site long enough yet to know that.

 
At 2/26/2010 02:14:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

We need lobbyists in DC for Thrashers Wheat, there must be some stimulus $$$ left for the REAL needs of American society !!!

I'm diggin' out and diggin' deep today T, the heavy white blanket outside is just a backache away.


SONY

 
At 2/26/2010 02:52:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thrasher, Thanks for all that you do. I try to visit this site daily for my dose of Neil news. A few bucks for this cause is worth it to me. Just made a donation!! Take Care,

drmiles

 
At 2/26/2010 05:30:00 PM, Blogger Kristin said...

just sent you some money. i come here daily and it's definitely worth supporting this cause. roll on thrasher's wheat !
the trummers

 
At 2/26/2010 05:55:00 PM, Blogger Atom Smasher said...

Love this site, comment occasionally, so more than happy to support. I'm sorry to have waited until now to do it.

 
At 2/26/2010 07:45:00 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At 2/26/2010 07:46:00 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Thrashers Wheat can never die ! 20 grrenbacks on the way

LMYR

Gary

 
At 2/27/2010 05:06:00 AM, Anonymous Gillis said...

I heard that The Horse and Neil are together again

Dreams are come true

 
At 2/27/2010 07:23:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

BluRay Live released last night. Finally.

thrasher, you can KISS my Italo-American A$$!

 
At 2/27/2010 08:33:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Italo-American A$$!

2/27/2010 08:23:00 AM

easy boy, noboday cares how much you play with yourself.

 
At 2/27/2010 11:41:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank You Thrashers Wheat, I sent some cash this morning via Paypal... Glenn in T.O. 'Go Canada Go'!

 
At 2/27/2010 04:07:00 PM, Blogger thrasher said...

Thanks you so much to all who have written and offered support.

It is deeply appreciated and trust that it will be used widely to keep TW humming along.

We believe in you,
Thrasher & Thrashette

 
At 3/02/2010 09:20:00 AM, Blogger yourisaforever said...

Thank you Thrasher for all the Wheat,I need it on daily basis!I have just send some support via paypal. Keep on Thrashing!

 

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