Supporting Membership Strengthens and Enhances the C6P network

[George Lewter]

Updated July 5, 2012

Supporting membership is conferred on those who contribute to our community, either by contributing quality content to the network website, or by contributing a $9 annual supporting member fee. Both forms of support are vital for the growth and enhancement of this network. Paid supporting membership was initiated June 25, 2012. New members who joined during the month of May of 2012, and existing members who joined in June of previous years were asked by an emailed paypal request to pay the $9 annual fee.  The process will be repeated once each month for the different months that members joined the network. I picked this staggered renewal scheme to create a relatively stable income stream for the network. You don’t have to belong to PayPal to use your credit card through them. Those not wanting to use PayPal can send a check or money order to me. My mailing address is listed on the Supporting Members Payment Page.

Those choosing not to pay for supporting membership will still retain their basic membership, and will be able to interact on the network. The network will remain open for people to join in the same way, as in the past, for general access and use. Nearly all of our pages will continue to be viewable by the general public, and to be indexable by search engines, which will allow potential members to find us and to explore the network. 

Supporting members get a star in the corner of their of their profile picture. Supporting membership status will become required to access our group account on the Insight-Live glaze recipe database, several advanced discussions and groups, any classes we may hold, any votes on network business, holding committee positions, or participation in other special projects that may arise.

The survey last January revealed a strong level of support for making the cone6pots a paid membership organization. This voluntary supporting member scheme is a compromise between totally free and paid access only. It largely follows the models from organizations such as npr and pbs, except that we don't receive any governmental funding. 

I keep asking myself, does the network, as it stands today, provide enough content, community, and value that it is worth paying for.  For a significant number of members the answer is clearly, “Yes”.  For others, “Not so much”.

The next question I ask myself is, “What would I do with the revenue, if I could generate income from the network?” I was able to think of a number of innovations that would make the network much more valuable to our membership. Last winter I started taking steps toward bringing some of them forward toward realization.

• I work extensively with Tony Hansen and the Insight-Live users group on our network, testing and supporting improvements to his interactive glaze recipe database. It is a great new product for anyone wanting to find and/or expand the knowledge-base about glaze recipes with supporting information and pictures.  Tony is totally committed to continuous upgrading of the system.  We need to start paying Tony for the database and his tireless work on it. We need to start populating it with new recipes, notes and pictures from our own work with existing recipes. Most importantly, we need to use the database as our standard, centralized location to post glaze recipes. This will give us the most useful glaze reference tool on the planet, and it will allow us to clean up the helter-skelter posting of recipes in random locations all over our network. If someone wants a recipe, you will just give them the link.
• There is a strong thirst for knowledge among our members, and schooling has become ridiculously expensive.  I began researching online training possibilities. We launched a peer group accounting class in March, as a test of our ability to do online training.  We have discovered limitations in using chat as our primary means of communications, and explored the use of Skype for conferencing.  The commercial product comes at a cost and other tools such as GoToMeeting/Training cost even more, but even with these costs, we can offer training at a fraction of the cost of taking a college class.  The members who stuck with the accounting peer group agree that the class provided them with valuable learning. The class has been completed, and all the class documents are now available to C6P members.
•  I’ve just begun exploring the option of putting up our own Ceramic Art and Craft marketplace, ala etsy, but limited to our members and their handmade ceramic pieces.  That is going to take some up-front money. If there is adequate member buy-in, we have a great opportunity to create a very unique marketplace.

My vision for the cone6pots network is that it is a meeting and working space for a serious group of people seeking to improve their mastery of the craft, while enhancing their earning potential, using the best affordable and available technology, and working in concert with others similarly committed. The small $9.00 annual membership fee will help fund worthwhile new capabilities. 

In four years I have learned that about 5% of our members contribute about 95% of the content that makes the cone6pots network worth belonging to. For that reason the 50 most active members were awarded complimentary annual memberships at the beginning of June of 2012. It is somewhat of a paradox that the 50 most active members are probably the members who will least object to paying the membership fee. But it was clearly a gesture I could make to show appreciation for the time and effort they put in to contribute to our community.

[Kabe Burleson]

Hi George, 9 bucks a year is no big deal. There is a lot of good stuff here. I have two things that I think would be nice, but I do not know how hard it would be to do them.  1. When I got on line today their were 6 other people who were on the site. Which is great. I wondered if there was someway that when some one logged in it would put their profile to the top of the member list or in an active box so you could switch over to it and take a look at what they make without having to search out each name. It would be a good way to open up discussion between members and 2,  if there was someway that the membership list could be searched by state ( location) so someone could see if there were other local potters nearby to share ideas with. Just a thought Kabe.

[Jan Wallace]

I am happy to pay $9 a year George. Some people spend a few dollars a day to read the news, buy a magazine or a nice coffee. For me personally, I get alot of enjoyment and satisfaction reading what is happening on this site and meeting likeminded and inspirational people. I feel it is great value, very informative and I would much rather spend my money here than elsewhere.

[George Lewter]

If you click beside their names in the members online pane, you will have the option to go to their profile page or to open a private chat window with them. It's not always successful to get a chat session going because they may not be on the cone6pots website.

[Kabe Burleson]

Thanks George. That's just too easy.

[Darthe Hues]

I agree with Jan. I come to this site almost every day and so the $9 is well worth the information and inspiration I get here. Not to mention the membership in the Insight Live program, which is such an educational tool for me now. I find that I learn much more on my own with this kind of specific resource than I can get even in a college course. 

[Carl Ray Crutchfield]

I'd call that a bargain.  How do we find,when we joined and can we pay in advance of our anniversary date? 

[George Lewter]

Currently, the paywall will just pop up on your first login after your renewal date. I know the ning people are working on an auto renew feature that you will be able to activate, but there is no date yet for implementation.

Your join date is the first item on the "Lastest Activity" list on your profile page. You might have to scroll through a number of pages of activity to find it. Just click the "More" button at the bottom of the list, until you get back to the first  page with your join date.  

[George Lewter]

The paywall system, once set up and in operation is automatic, and will be very simple from a network creator's perspective. But I'm sure ning will be hearing a lot of feedback saying, "Can't you give our members some advance warning of their renewal dates?" I will be giving them the same feedback myself. Unfortunately I will have no control over whether or not that feature gets implemented.

If you are concerned about your renewal date and want to make alternate payment arrangements so you don't have any "down time" you can email me at:

I will send you my mailing address and your renewal date. If I receive your check 1 week prior to your renewal date, I will manually extend your membership for one year, and you will have no interruption of your membership rights. I really hope I don't have to deal with too many of these, as it kind of defeats the "hands off" automatic system and makes more non-creative work.

[Carl Ray Crutchfield]

The automated will work fine for me unless the site dumps my photos, contacts, group associations, mypage set up, and what ever else has gone on before.  if it is just a matter of locked out until paid, not a problem for me.  thanks for all you do to make this such a great group.  

[George Lewter]

Following is a list of members who joined in the month of June of previous years. They along with any new members who join during May of this year will be prompted for their $9.00 annual membership payment on their first login on or after June 1, 2012.

Alix Jun 2010
andré doucet Jun 2010
andrea johannson Jun 2011
Ann Bond Jun 2011
Anthony Andersen Jun 2010
B Brandt Badger Jun 2011
Blake Smith Jun 2011
brian johansen Jun 2011
cate donoghue Jun 2011
Charlie Wright Jun 2011
Charna Schwartz Jun 2011
Cindy Buehler Jun 2011
claire keene Jun 2011
Crystal Allen Jun 2011
Darci Wiebe Jun 2011
Dave Silwones Jun 2011
dennis snyder Jun 2011
Eric Moore Jun 2011
Glenda Youngberg Jun 2010
Greig Nichols Jun 2010
Ian Jun 2011
Jeffery Dauvin Jun 2011
joan Beck Jun 2010
Jose Luis Iñiguez Jun 2010
Julie Nielsen Jun 2011
Karen Jun 2011
Karen Couper Jun 2011
Kathy Griffith Jun 2011
Lynn K. Berman Jun 2010
Marjorie Christensen Jun 2010
Mary N Wester Jun 2011
mike henrichs Jun 2011
Morry Cohen Jun 2011
Nancy Cohen Jun 2011
Patti Audick Jun 2011
Paula Barry Jun 2010
pegi gorelick Jun 2011
Pete Garmin Jun 2010
Phil Gooley Jun 2011
rebecca brandow Jun 2010
Rich Zumpone Jun 2011
Robin Rabens Jun 2011
Ruth South Jun 2011
shannon potter Jun 2010
Sherril Eatherly Jun 2010
Sonya Knipfel Jun 2011
Steven Cohen Jun 2011
Sue Gokalp Jun 2010
Sue Lavender Jun 2011
Susan Jowett Jun 2011
Sydelle Maxwell Jun 2010
terry brown Jun 2011
Terry Rorison Jun 2011
tim hogensen Jun 2011
Tina Vamvakias Jun 2010
Troy Bungart Jun 2010
wilma evers Jun 2011

        

[George Lewter]

None of your content gets touched or deleted if your status goes to membership unpaid.

[George Lewter]

Complimentary one year memberships go to the following people in recognition of their active partition in the community, past contributions to our store of information, or support of our goals by endorsing us and/or by providing excellent outside information that we can access and use.  

§terry fallon

Acácia Azevedo

Anthony Andersen

Barbara Hanselman

Benjamin Coffman

Brent Farler

Brian Dean

Carl Crutchfield

Carolyn R. Sleeper

Catherine Rehbein

Ceci

Charan Sachar

Christopher Cisper

Craig Rhodes

Denice E. Demuth

Don Oliff

Donna Ferrara

Eleanor Akowitz

Eric Heerspink

Jan Wallace

Jeff Poulter

Joanna Turnbull

JoAnn F. Axford

Joe Shaw

John Britt

John Post

June Perry

Kabe Burleson

Karen Mandeville

Kathy Ransom

Kitoi

Linda Sawyer

Louis Ford

Marla Stroup

martha peddicord

Michele Hartung

Morty Bachar

Patricia Bridges

Patricia Sadler Trainor

Paul Boland

Pauline Purdum

Randi Martin Kish

Randy McCall

Robbie Christianson

Rose Maguire

Stacie Huckeba

Steven Hill

Teresa Wooden

Teri Hannigan

Tim O'Neill

Tony Hansen

Tracy Minarik

Tracy Shea

Troy Bungart

Victoria

The list was not easy to compile from almost 1,200 members, and I am certain there were a number of others, I missed, who should be included.  If you point them out to me, I will be happy to add them.