Subscription Survey!

Have you taken the survey yet? What do you think? Did we leave anything out? What would you like to see?

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

It is quite disappointing but not at surprising that Zaadz would go the way of the rest of the U.S.: Commerce first, service somewhere down the list. A tiered experience also smacks a little of elitism. That's no surprise either, I suppose.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

gag me
a few years integrity
will reresh

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Oh, Dan. Why? What's out of integrity about this?

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

made me feel funny
have to interupt dreams
wanted non change
still digesting
love is the answer
i am dan, judge

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Ah, but of course… all change requires digestion, and I certainly wouldn't want anyone to feel surprised or left out by this next phase. That said, this is Zaadz. We're here to be the change, and to embrace it. This is all a big exercise, I think, in expanding our hearts and mind and perspectives, and I'm so grateful to have all of you pushing and prodding and exploring on the way.

Made you feel funny in what way?

(I agree; love is the answer… and I do love this place.)

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

refresh

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Tim!

Hey. No fair. :) When we put ads on the site (someone has to pay to keep this business running… ) there was an outpouring of requests from within the community for us to offer an ad-free version; people said they'd be more than willing to pay a few bucks to keep the site free from advertising. I completely understand this, and I'm glad that we're finally going to be able to offer such a service. To my mind, though, it seems only logical to add in a few more benefits for those who are going to be paid members…. why not toss in some more upgrades to show our appreciation?

Could you say more about the commerce first, then service? I still feel our service is coming first; the basic site will always be free, and how can service and commerce be separted in this model? Also, we've been clear from the start that Zaadz is an elite service… you had to apply to get in, no? We're for those who want to change the world–and who believe in conscious capitalism. This is a community of people who 'get it.' We've been fielding charges of elitism from the beginning. :)

Anyway. I certainly hope you don't leave! Again, we'll always reamin a free social networking service! The upgrades (be they to have a tree planted in your name or to sign up for a series of ecourses) are add-ons, and only for those who want them.

And thank you, hugely, for helping to grow my own mind and heart with this response. I'm glad you're here and so glad you care enough to write in.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

I thought it was an okay survey. Sort and simple at least.

I parsed over the explantions without really absorbing them, and went directly to the list of questions.

I thought there was a question missing - or rather, a level missing. Like I said, I didn't really study the extra services proposed - but I knew that $5 a month, $60 a year, was a price point that made me balk - because I couldn't imagine a service so useful I'd leap at paying $60 for the priviledge of generating content here.

The price point I thought was missing was $15 a year - roughly the price of a magazine subscription.

But, even at that, I did click the freebie choice.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Thank you, Bill. And I'm with you; I like the idea of a one-stop, pay-for-a-year (at a discount!) option. I think we'd want all these having some sort of one-fell-swoop payment plan, but you make a good point by having something at more of a magazine subscription level. I still don't see the $5 as being that prohibitive–again, it's two Starbucks stops, or 16 cents a day (I feel I lose that in the cracks of my car seat anyway)–but I can understand, too, how that does add up.

Good stuff.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Thanks for the options.
Here is my post to someone's blog post regarding the survey.


When Gaiam took over we already had the question answered that ZAADZ will always
be free. i can't find the link right now, but i'll look around for it and post it if i locate it.

what is being brought up today are just options being thrown around.
like paying $5 for an ad free page and higher prices for other things.
they are asking us what we want, how we feel. not threatening us to pay up or leave.

personally, i don't have a business to promote, or anything to sell. so i just come to Zaadz for the social fun of it. but i can see how people with business intent would want to up their options here.
i am seeing ads for Gaiam on TV now and all over the net. so of course they are going to want to expand. that's what capitalism is about.

and WE'RE HERE FOR FREE.

i click on the ads on each page just to give them a boost.
why not, it's painless.


BTW… I LOVE YOU SIONA!
Thanks for everything  you & the team do!

XOXO

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Ladybear?

Thank you. Deeply. :)

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Siona,

I'm glad you say you were always planning to offer tiered options - since the casual way that survey response #4 was worded didn't seem to reflect the positive feeling I had about having those choices.

I was more attracted to some of the $15 - $20/mo. benefits than others, so I'm watching with interest to see what is offered and in what combination/s.

For example, I think there are other sites and organizations (Ken Wilbur's Integral Institute, Heartland Circle, etc., etc.) who offer courses, videos, interaction with visionarys, etc. and to my way of thinking it would be a better use of Zaadz' resources to just provide links to those folks and focus your energies on your own unique contribution to this new world we're building together.

What I mean by that are things like developing the infrastructure to make the waves of 'blessed unrest'  as Paul Hawkins calls it (individual people and small and large organizations that are already doing all kinds of amazing things to help make the world a better place) more visible to us here; to better support us in finding each other and collaborating effectively on the projects and ideas we're passionate about. I was excited by indications that you're imagining some new features along those lines…

I was also curious to know more about what you're imagining as the zPro Toolz benefits for “growing your conscious business”, and how that might weave in with what I was talking about above.

I think Zaadz is amazing, and it's not a contradiction in my eyes to see that you (or Gaiam) are looking at ways to make it financially sustainable as you go forward. As far as I can see you're handling this transition with integrity and grace.

Love and Light,

Amy

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Amy? This is beautiful. Thank you.

I think you might really appreciate the ideas we've been discussing around a 'resonance engine'; that is, something to make it easier to find those people and resources and emergent happenings with which you're meant to discover, and who have some kind of message or important connection to offer you. (It's hard to put this into words, but I'm sure you know what I mean… I love those strange 'coincidences' and I love how Zaadz already facilitates them, and I get excited about being able to do more in that area.)

I'd love, too, for this forum to flow into a possible discussion of some of those features that you mentioned, though a part of me is just as excited about getting to surprise the community a bit with more little additions; it was fun, say, unrolling those status updates and the shout-out features, and I can't imagine that anyone would be disappointed by anything that helped spread joy and appreciation in a community. But I digress… :)

Thanks again, and by all means keep sharing. It's lovely to hear your voice here.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Commerce is service…  An exchange of value…

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

You left out the choice to have the zPro site with ads still on it (which I don't mind), and not to charge, or to charge a minimal ($5.00 per month) amount, and I really don't want or need all the other stuff you added in.  I already get my fill of all the internet guru's in other ways, and I'm not looking for a lover, and I pretty much can find all the people I want to associate with, without someone pointing them at me or vice versa.

When I signed up for zPro, it was with the intention, as I've stated elsewhere on this forum, of having my Newsletter out of Zaadz, and thereby introduce my potential clients to Zaadz, adverts and all.  I don't really do a huge amount of selling anything through my zPro page as it now stands (without the promised Newsletter), and that probably wouldn't change were you to finally bring it back.  Therefore it certainly isn't worth it for me to plunk out $30-$40 per month for what you had offered, because it is of no use to me.

Guess a lot of my friends were right.  I voted for leaving Zaadz just the way it is, and if I have to give up the zPro page, well, presently WITHOUT the Newsletter feature, it's only pretty window-dressing anyways.

Very disappointed……

Gem

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Gem? I'm so sorry to disappoint! I think there might be a misunderstanding, though; I'll try and clarify.

You're completely right–we didn't mention the ad-supported zPro option in the survey! Apologies for that; the list was geared more toward community members who weren't business owners. Still, I see no reason why we wouldn't be able to do this; after all, it's not that different from an ad-supported Zaadz.

So thank you for pointing that out.

(Thank you, too, for sharing your story about zPro and the newsletter and your interest there. I know, personally, that this gets me all the more determined to finish that particular piece of the service, and get it running. And I know I'm not the only one on the team who feels this way.)

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

You lost me with the first sentence:  “As you know, we've been thinking for some time now about offering the option of an upgraded Zaadz: an enhanced, ads-free, subscription version of the site for those of you truly committed to being the change.”

The implication is that if one is truly committed then one WILL pay for the subscription. So, if one does not pay for the subscription is one less committed?  I have been asking myself for the past few months what it is about zaadz that is not inspiring me to participate more.  The essence of the above statemet hits the nail on the head although I cannot quite find the words for it myself.  A sense of elitism? Dunno.  I also had mixed feelings about the Gaiam acquisition and decided to keep an open mind.  This proposed change or addition does not help me stay neutral on that topic. 

This is my two cents for now.  In the meantime I shall go back and read the survey completely, will probably opt to buy a subscription if it truly is worth it in my mind, will continue to tell my friends about zaadz, and hopefully will find the pods where I feel a connection and proceed to MAKE some connections.

Respectfully,

Mimi

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Oh, yikes. You're right; I can completely hear that tone in my words there. Thanks for the reflection and for pointing that out. Do you think it would be best to go change it, or is altering the survey after-the-fact a little weird?

As someone who does get a bit passionate about the idea of conscious capitalism, I do think there's something to making one's values explicit: if I value something, I'll want to demonstrate that by literally expressing that value. I pay for services I care about because I appreciate them, and I'd feel strange about using something for free or feeling as though I weren't allowed to demonstrate this appreciation. It was this, I think, that motivated that sentence. I hope this helps explain the other side. :) (Also, I completely get that there are other ways of expressing value than with one's wallet; it's just a more convenient mode, as money is something we as a society has agreed upon as valuable.)

Thank you, deeply, though, for both hanging in there despite that intitial phrasing, and for keeping an open mind about Gaiam. And, too, once more, for reflecting back your view to me. I'm grateful.

Deep bows,
Siona

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Hi Siona,

Thanks for the reply.  I don't think it is necessary to redo the survey.  I do appreciate the clarification.  Upon reading the survey I realized if I did go for the paid subscription I would probably go for option 3. One of the other options offers subscriber only pods.  This turns me off.  It promotes separatism. Zaadz is about “bringing together.”  I read one of your other replies about  Zaadz being elitist from the get go. This was evidenced by the fact that we had to fill out applications.  That's all fine and dandy but once people have gone through the “elitist application process” (please read that with a tongue in cheek and a winking eye!) why is there further need to be elitist and promote separatism with pay to participate pods?

Have a good night!

Mimi

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Beautiful point, Mimi. I'd still venture that even now there's some 'elitism' to the pods–it's certianly possible for people to elect to have private ones, and I see no problem with that, just as I think it would be completely fair to provide an additional space for supporting members of Zaadz–but I understand your view about the separatism. Would it help at all to point out that the 'elitism' would not be necessarily exclusive, in that anyone who wanted to could join (in the same way that anyone who wanted to could commit to the site's values)? I know that there would be a financial cost involved, but I can't imagine 16 cents a day being that difficult to find.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Hello,

There is a difference between private/public pods and subscribe/free pods.  Almost all the networking sites offer the ability to create your own group/pod/network. That is a usual part of the game that offers PRIVACY more so than ELITISM.  While breaking down the cost to a mere 16 cents a day is a good way to make the cost seem less prohibitive, it is also presumptuous that everyone here can comfortably fit it into their budget.  There are varying levels of disposable income represented on this site.  You saying that you can't imagine 16 cents a day being hard to find.  This leads me to believe that you have been fortunate in life to not have known financial hardship.  If this is true, I am very happy for you. I just ask that you/Zaadz be sensitive to the idea that not everyone here has had the same experience.  At this point in my life, yes, 16 cents a day is easy to gather up as some days I visit Starbucks TWICE! However, I remember the days, in my 20's when I was lucky to visit Starbucks twice a WEEK!

I may have gone off on a tangent. Anyway, you and or Zaadz seem pretty committed to this idea of subscription pods.  As other people have in this thread have asked, if the decision is already made, then why not just do it already? 

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

…good point Mimi…I imagine that there are 3rd world countries where the living income is 16 cents a day…

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

ah, I agree with that.  I don't like the wording of that sentence, either.  I must say it doesn't help those feel better about the Gaia take over that were originally a little wary of it.  Myself included.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Hi, Gang.

I want to wish Zaadz the best.  I enjoy being here, and I would probably pay $5 for the ability to design my own space.   Just let me add that I'm contemplating something beyond the options for Zpro which appear to be pretty limited.

However, what I'd like to ask for the most is that we receive no more gadgets until something is done about page load times, eeeek messages, and what I guess are server and data base errors.  Again, I'm very happy to be here, but if I'm going to pay I think Zaadz should address and solve those basic problems first.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Probably the most astute comment yet. Thank you. :)

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

I would not mind paying $5-$30 a month for zaadz, cause I happen to love the atmosphere and the people I have met here are REAL for a change.  But my budget is getting smaller these days instead of larger.  Expenses for just living are going up and no way my $20 a year increase is keeping up with it.  I barely make it as it is with a roommate.  But if the cash ever cuts loose for me, I will become a paid subscriber.  Keep on keeping on, as you are enlightening the rest of the world.

Blessed Be~
in Namaste~
)O(
Dana Lefey Maeve

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Dana! Thank you. I'll cross my fingers that your magazine explodes and that your design business flourishes. (And I can't help but ask, but do you market yourself much online? I think you yourself come across as so terribly real–as you put it–as well, and I'd love to hear the story of how you got into the work you do and what got you started. I can't imagine I'm the only one who'd want to listen. :)

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

How I arrived at this destination is a very long story, and not very pretty.  To answer your question; no I do not market myself much online as I have too much going on to take myself that seriously.  I am currently on full disability, with not much hope of returning to the working world any time soon, so everything I do is helping other people for very little or no compensation at all. 

I spend 75% of my time working for IYN, the Invisible Youth Network that feeds homeless, abused, run-a-way/abandoned children and we are working towards providing what we call the 'Invisible Youth” with a home to get them off the streets, teaching them basic life skills so that they can survive on their own and care for themselves some day. 

I am compiling all the necessary documentation for our by laws, articles of incorporation and business plan.  Though I wear many more hats than Co–Chairman as we build our board of directors and organization to enable us to apply for and win grant awards to fund our youth center. 

I have a passion for helping these children and youth because I have been homeless, abused, hungry and alone as a child and as an adult.   No child deserves to live in the streets nor do they deserve to have their innocence stripped from their psyche by abusive institutions, cold empty laws and cruel humans.

Art with Words has published my poetry and I wrote a column entitled The Writer's Horoscope for the last three years and due to the publisher's health, she has dropped it in my lap to evolve into an online interactive ezine that I am still at the drawing board stages for designing the website and implementing that project.

I learned how to do website design to learn new software and have a portfolio building with references from my customers and colleagues that I have assisted over the last three years.  I have some formal training, but most of my accumulated knowledge about the internet and web presence has been learned by reverse engineering web pages and learning in the process how to design and code with html, java script, bbc, php and now have set my mind to learning flash.   I have all the software, and if I ever stop learning, I may as well be dead anyway is how I feel about it.

My favorite time is spent with my two children, Aspasia and Aricia; discovering their world on their level.  Other than that, I write epic prose in rhyming verse / poetry, children's stories, articles and I journal (not to be confused with blogging) constantly.  My favorite thing to do with my graphics applications is to make blinkies.   It is my only other addiction besides my kids.

I do take time out for meditation 1-3 times daily, depending on how much I feel out of balance or in balance for that matter. 

Now that I have perfectly bored you to tears, thank you for asking and have a blessed day and safe journeys.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

i wish i were able to commit more time to zaadz at this point in time…amazing that so much time has flown past since i joined, and i have precious little to show or prove my confidence and optimisim for this community's ideals.
having said that, i do believe in it, a good friend of mine is employed by zaadz as well, and i have high hopes for zaadz becoming stronger in the coming years….if…..
the reality is, i suspect, that a great many people here have opted out of much of the societal attitudes and belief systems that are currently wreaking havoc on all that many/most of us here hold true-and the malignancy known as lucre, coin, the 'almighty' dollar, et al, is one thing that is held in extremely low regard in so many areas. reality says however, that we are still at its dictates, so we need to accept certain realities and adjust to them in as least painful a fashion possible.
can zaadz survive/grow without charging any kind of fee? can it do so thru introducing adverts from similarily minded peoples/businesses and, for those who choose to not want such adverts, they can opt out by paying a nominal charge? and for those who would like, or can afford to seek greater involvement/interaction with named speakers, etc, pay for that opportunity?
in other words-all the perks and benefits of being a member of zaadz are retained at the (not so) basic level, with everything else becoming a 'for a fee' option…?
it probably sounds somewhat presumptuous for a currently not active member to speak out in this manner-but my intentions are to become much more active in the near future-my book is written, the world of employment beckons, and my art is calling…

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Of course 5$ is ok, and so on….of course it’s conscious capitalism….of course Zaadz is such a great place…that changes the wolrd…

I was ready to pay for an add free Zaadz, if it was an entitty of itself. Now it’s not anymore.

And there are more and more adds, and I get more and more e-mails from Siona wanting to give me an offer for a spiritual cinema or something - and the joke about the Yoga mat, will probably not be a joke anymore in a couple of months.

Zaadz is changing. From a free, idealist, spiritualy enclined community it is now turning into something else: a pay for, “spiritual” business oriented place. But Zaadz is always going to be free! Of course part of it will be…but of what interests if the ideal and the absence of hierarchy is not there.

This place of spiritually enclined people has been taken over by business…and the zpro feature did already change the dynamic. It changed the dynamic, because one can not share the same ideas in a pod, if one is working under it’s professional “persona”, as opposed as one’s private persona.

More later,

Patrick

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Some more,

So basically, we're going to witness a “two gear” Zaadz. The free one, will have less features and we'll have to pay with our brains by looking at those dynamics commercials which are already here on your right page now.

Then, if we really want to change the world (sorry Sonia, it was to big), we'll have to pay in order to do that. No more commercials - you can buy your peace of mind! It'll have more feature and so on.

This two gear approach is a worldwide trend in many domains: insurances, taxes and so on. So Zaadz is adapting and is not different anymore.

It also goes against the “free internet” approach. You are certainly all familiar with the ideas of  many companies wanting to create a two gear internet: we'll have to pay according to the data flows. Those companies have failed for the moment, but the fight is going on.

One amazing feature of Zaadz and most of the net is that it's free. It's such a gift to humanity….free knowledge, free sharing.

You may call it what you want, conscious capitalism or whatever else, but to my view, Zaadz has certainly chaged the world, but mostly, Zaadz is now on its way to be changed by the world and to ajust to the ambiant Meme: business on spirituality

Another thing and then I'll be done:

Those adds on Zaadz are so unproductive… I wonder how many are like me: I'm just fed up of seeing Sharma and Genpo' s face, bleep store or whatever else! It's just creating aversion for these people. No I don't click on these adds, on the opposite, it tends to make me drift appart from the guys. I am not resisting these adds, it's just spontaneous aversion. I mean why does a zen master have to buy space to go “commercial”? This is terribly paradoxical. Does he need monney? Fame? I just don't know…I'm puzzled!

Anyway,

Be all well,

Patrick

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Hi!
firstly, i hate Gaia/m. The first time i visited the site (upon reading the announcement), i didn't like it. And today, i thot i'll take a look again. And really really didn't like it.
The richness and depth of zaadz is just not there (for me).
It seems to be all about promoting more and more stuff. Perhaps i'm missing something??

that brings me to the survey. didn't particularly mind it. having read lots of siona's posts until now, i still trust the honesty that comes across.
having said that, i'm sure zaadz will change/is changing - and it's moving in one direction - towards becoming commercial.
While it was still zaadz, it was not so much in the face (atleast for me). Perhaps i'd learnt to ignore the ads on the side. 
However, subscription-only pods (did i get that one right?) don't jell with me at all, and seem to go against the spirit of zaadz.
Gradually, i'm coming to a point of letting go of zaadz.
Well, change is a part of life!

Hopefully, the spirit of zaadz will continue, or maybe Brian will come up with something equally good/better, sometime in the future. To be honest, i don't see this happening in gaia (honestly, it sucks) at all.

I have given the merger some time - hoping for the dust to settle down, and certainly don't like what's emerging.

peace and blessings to all!

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Hate?? Strong words! What did Gaiam ever do to you?

I understand, though, if it's not really your kind of company.

(And oh, goodness. Thank you so much for your kind words about trust. I feel I need to say something more about that, because this means so much. For me, that sense of trustedness and care is merely a reflection of how much I trust all of you. I trust this community to continue, and to keep testing its edges and exploring the world and for all of us to support each other in being our most authentic selves. So again, thank you, but thank the rest of this amazing group, too.)

I'm curious as to why the subscription-only pods would go against the spirit of Zaadz, given that the whole site is application only, and curious, too, about why you're 'hopeful' that the spirit of Zaadz will continue…. when it's up to US (including you!) to make that happen. :) If you leave, Zaadz will change. If you stay, it'll likely change, too (a part of life, as you wrote!) but at least YOU'LL be a positive, contributing part of that change…

So I, for one, hope you stay.

And as to Gaiam, well, where else could I get my own wind turbine? :)

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Patrick.

Thanks for the richness of your thoughts.

A few things. We've always been clear that Zaadz is a business, and that we're here to make money; it's in the letter introducing our mission, and that mission certainly hasn't changed! We're here to change the way people use and view money, and to change the way business is done, and perceived. We're here to be open and transparent about our decisions and thoughts and approached.

I'd question, a bit, the 'free internet' approach. Sure, most of us don't pay the sites we visit, but that same majority have paid for our computers, and pay a monthly fee for online access, and we also allow (or force) the sites to be paid for by others–usually, in this case, those giant businesses than can affort to spend millions on advertising. Being online involves many hidden costs. The fact that we're pushing these costs into consciousness and asking ourselves to think a bit about who is actually paying for these services is part of our mission of raising awareness in general. Money–to my mind at least!–is one of those big 'issues' for people, and I'm sure many of us would rather not think about the topic.

But why is this? And need it necessarily be so?

I'm sorry you feel that way about the ads; I certainly don't mind seeing Genpo's kind face! Why would seeing those create a spontaneous aversion? (If this IS the case, I should probably take my own little icon down. ;) To me it makes complete sense that someone like Genpo Roshi would want a sponsorship slot here; he's trying to reach those who might resonate with his message, and this community seems an ideal match. But that's just me. :)

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Michael? I always feel a little torn when I hear people say that they wished they had more time for the site. To my mind, there's no need at all for the spirit of Zaadz to exist only in a virtual arena; if you're out being busy in the world and spreading your beautiful light out there, isn't that exactly in alignment with the ideals here?

The one area I'd gently nudge at in your answer is your conception of money as being a 'malignancy.' If you go and read the mission statement and the principles upon which this site was founded, you'll see that we put capitalism at the top of the heap; we believe its wholly possible to transform the existing economy into one one that's more service centered, and more heartful, and more characterized than love and abundance than by fear. There's nothing wrong with money itself–it's just a convenient system of exchange. :)

And goodness! You're SPOT on. We're certainly not going to mandate that people pay! Again, the basic Zaadz option will always be free. These subscription services are just meant for those who want more, or who want to opt out of the ad-supported version. Also, not presumptuous at all… the fact that you're writing here demonstrates to me that you care a great deal about what happens here, and that, to me, is more than enough.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

thank you siona for inviting my opinion. i had a look at the survey and considered it thought provoking and well within the scope of a business venture such as gaiam. however, it strikes me as disingenuous for the original zaadz mission and vision ideas to become a ‘ranked’ subscription service. it would seem the notion that all can have free access while others who choose to pay more can have more access is delimiting the original intent of the mission and vision. as most folks in the world of cyberspace, i already pay for this much access and to go deeper into debt for this more rarified access seems dangerous. i’m reminded of jeremy rifkin’s book, the age of access: the new culture of hypercapitalism, where all of life is a paid-for experience … reminds me of what one sage person wrote as a crtique of his book, “an eerie vision of a world of gatekeepers paying each other for access to nearly every aspect of human life…”
respectfully,
dave

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Dave!

Thank you, even more, for having the heart and the concern to respond.

Again, as I've been writing, how is it disingenuous for Zaadz to become a ranked subscription service? We've been clear about our feelings about money and capitalism (namely, we believe it's not an inherently flawed system, and we believe it's wholly possible to transform the way we view and use money) from the beginning, and too, we've been 'ranking' people from the very start: Zaadz is still application only. We're wholly open to those who agree to our values of respectfulness and compassion and trust and kindness, and have no qualms about booting those who don't uphold them.

Instead of pointing the finger at some new hypercapitalism, I'd far rather get in and transform the system. What's wrong with making money doing what it is you love to do? What's wrong with rewarding people for doing work (or providing services or creating products or doing art or serving a meal) that you value? To my mind, I'd rather shift my own understanding of what is valuable, and what I value, so that I'm spending my money on those things that are in alignment with my beliefs. If we did this as a society, and started putting money to things like education, and open spaces, and cleaner technologies… well, maybe capitalism wouldn't have such a bad rap.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Thank you, Siona for your reasonable response to my previous posting. I offer my apologies if I offended you. It appears I’ve missed the point. You are also completely correct in reminding me that zaadz has always ranked its members (via the original invitation).

I came to this discussion after receiving an invitation on my personal email to take a survey. I did the survey (which was as I said in my earlier post well within the scope of business … Gaiam included) and then I was directed to this discussion group. After reading the opening question about the survey my response was simply to voice a personal apprehension about the escalating costs and proliferation of gates to access in the larger socio-economic world (and by extension the zaadz environment).

Of course zaadz needs to make money to operate. I sincerely hope that can be achieved in a way that preserves equitable access for as many members as possible. If subscriptions are necessary then my wish is that these too shall have equitable access for all included.

It occurred to me since I was so clearly off the mark it would be pertinent to review the zaadz mission statement:

“We’re gonna change the world. Our math goes like this: you be the change + you follow your bliss + you give your greatest strengths to the world moment to moment to moment + we do everything in our power to help you succeed + you inspire and empower everyone you know to do the same + we team up with millions like us = we just affected billions = we (together) changed the world.”

It’s a wonderful and inspiring sentiment. I fervently wish this to happen and I applaud all of you on the zaadz team as you try to make it so.

As for the notion of conscious capitalism, I recently recommended a book by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin titled, Your Money Or Your Life. There’s a passage which I feel sums up the life-energy=Money=Capitalism puzzle quite well (at least in the United States).

“Part of the secret to life, it would seem, comes from identifying for yourself that point of maximum fulfillment. There is a name for this peak of the Fulfillment Curve, and it provides the basis for transforming your relationship with money. It’s a word we use every day, yet we are practically incapable of recognizing it when it’s staring us in the face. The word is “enough”.

Here’s wishing that everyone in the zaadz community can define “enough” for themselves satisfactorily and that “enough” is equitable and compassionate towards Gaia.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

i agree with many other people who have expressed their reservations about a “for money” version of zaadz…i have seen with other online communities that making it available for a fee changes the dynamics of the community. most obviously, it limits who becomes part of that group. just to use a mundane example, dating services: there is a distinct under-representation of interesting, artistic, holistic, global-minded people, because many of these folks are not in plush executive jobs and they lack the disposable income to join dating services. this group also includes a lot of the single moms out there, like me! you will lose some of the most thoughful and interesting people right there, including many younger people with educational or post-grad expenses. admittedly, the fee proposed was lower than some types of subscription services, but still! i have seen over and over that making everything for-profit undermines the premise of the holistic worldview—just look at education, look at health care, look at who the average consumer of so-called alternative lifestyle products & services is…(and i say this as a yoga teacher!)
please stick with the basic and free service. the ads are not that devastatingly intrusive on zaadz; if someone thinks they are, let him compare it to myspace for an hour. i can cope with a sidebar of non-flashy ads.  let GAIAM do its marketing thing via all the catalogs and whatnot, and resist the tempation to make a buck off a vibrant community…

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

To me, the adjective “Spiritual” means ‘of the Spirit’, and describes someone who is tolerant, open-minded, and seeking enlightenment. Such a person encompasses rather than rejects or precludes, and therefore doesn’t regard things like commerce, ads, subscriptions, money, etc. with suspicion and negativity. It costs money to operate Zaadz, it will cost money to add the tools that many members seem to want to support their own growth, businesses, income, and so forth, and these tools will have to be paid for somehow. I think it’s always a good thing to be given more options, especially when they serve the community as a whole and help maintain the viability of Zaadz itself.

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Wow, Sally, looks like we were typing at about the same time.  But what you are saying is right in line with what I was thinking.  Thank you for your input!  I love the part about, “Such a person encompasses rather than rejects or precludes, and therefore doesn’t regard things like commerce, ads, subscriptions, money, etc. with suspicion and negativity.”  Exactly :)

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Sally?

Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you.

A deep, deep bow for your wisdom, and a big hug for your kindness, and thank you, again, for getting what we're here to do. :)

Siona

    print   send    permalink

Re: Subscription Survey!

Matthew- Thank you for posting that.  You typed what I was thinking reading down the list.

Support a ninja, buy a subscription? ;)

I live in a suburb of Philly called Voorhees.  We have a mall, called the Echelon Mall that went out of business (more or less) around 5-6 years ago.  Since then it has been pretty vacant– just a big mass of land with a few shops and a food court left.

Of course big business moved in and wanted to buy the area to build.  Local Colleges were among the bidders, and then Wal-Mart came and offered the highest bid.  The town of course has to vote on something like that– and there was quite an&