June 26, 2013
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Looking Ahead
We’re just over the halfway point for donations in the Xanga Fundraising Campaign (link). Yet, aside from a couple of posts from the Xanga Team, the level of communication is less than what I had expected. I can only conclude that they are overwhelmed with the work before them and simply don’t have the cycles execute a coherent communication plan. As with any corporation or organization going through a significant change, you need a solid change management plan which includes a communication plan.
With less than 3 weeks to go, I hope the Xanga team really step up the communication.
1. Take advantage of the Front Page. Feature the Fundraising Campaign more prominently in the Front Page.
2. Send out mass message. I’m not the first to suggest this. Jose mentioned this the other day.
3. Change the login so that when people log in, they get a reminder about the Xanga fundraiser and the link to it.
4. Move out the top blogs so that @Edlives, @RoadLessTaken, @Saintvi and anyone else who is actively helping get permanently featured there until we meet our goals.
5. Ask the community for help in executing your communication plan.
Many members of our the community who have jumped in. Joel (Edlives) has done a good job of describing Xanga 2.0 and how it will be radically different than we see today. Alex has spent quite a bit of time hosting a radio show on www.blogtalkradio.com/roadlesstaken with Xangans (past and present). One of my favorite bloggers (Chris) will be on this Thursday June 27th at 8:30PM EST. Check Alex’s blog for the schedule. There’s been so many good ideas expressed on that show. Saintvi has a fundraising campaign. Many others have offered suggestions on fundraising and alternate pricing models. I hope Xanga is listening.Despite my concerns about the need for more communication from the Xanga team, I still have faith in the next version of Xanga. I’ve pledged some time ago and will stay to see what the future looks like. I’ve gotten a lot of support from my subscribers both past and present. I’ve grown and learned a lot here. I started my Xanga simply as an online journal. But it’s more than a journal now. I have no idea who will be here with me. I know some of you are moving on and I’ll find a way to stay in touch with you. For those of you who are still on the fence, I hope you’ll make a donation.
Pledge Here: https://xanga.crowdhoster.com/relaunch-xanga
corrected tag for Alex / Roadlesstaken & Joel / Edlives
Comments (31)
I plan to stay here — I do have a WP account which I will activate if necessary, but I am hopeful that the fundraising will be successful.
@slmret - I have a test WP account that was set up many years ago. But I’m optimistic that this will end well. Thanks for the rec.
@ElusiveWords - I’m optimistic too — especially now that we’re half way there!
These are all excellent suggestions that I really wish were being implemented right now. I think the remaining $30,000 could easily be raised with better communication. I am still optimistic, though!
My impression is that the Xanga Team has no plan at all which is probably the reason why we are where we are. This also makes me have little faith in the ideas for Xanga 2.0 – with no plan it will fail.
Thanks for the encouragement. I have to decide at what level to contribute and do it.
I am optimistic Matt, and like you I have pledged and contributed and will stay here. I love your suggestions, and I hope the Xanga team will take action and get the ball rolling harder. I too have a WP account, but I am hoping that I won’t have to activate it.
@reginasikora - I hope it won’t come down to the very last minute. It’s probably up to us in the community to prod, persuade and push others to pledge.
@beowulf222 - maybe it’s a loosey goosey plan – not the greatest for an organization undergoing change. I really want to know where they are in their project plan. Are they almost done testing? What’s left to do?
@Fatcat723 - you’re welcome Rob. I know every $ counts in your budget right now.
@ZSA_MD - I’m optimistic too but also a bit nervous. It looks like the community may have to do more than it had thought.
Thanks for the encouragement. I will be here and am looking forward to the upgrade. Excited even.
Haha, I wonder if that Alex.xanga.com is gonna get a random tag by you sent to his email. Thanks for the shout out and hopefully I will be talking to the Xanga Team very shortly (maybe this Sunday…)
@Roadlesstaken - hahaha… I didn’t even notice it but it’s fixed now.
@edlives - you’re welcome, we all appreciate you pitching in to help everyone see the benefits of 2.0!
@Roadlesstaken - @ElusiveWords - now that you mention it, I think Joel on Xanga is curious as well. By product of this? they may see the tag and investigate and then pledge support.
@edlives - oh no…. I really messed this up!
@ElusiveWords - don’t worry about it, seriously. It’s all good.
Excellent post, Matt. Good suggestions, too. You’re so right about the fundraising – they put it in an obscure corner of the the front page – why not make it th first thing people see?
@edlives - remind me not to post late at night … lol.
@stepaside_loser - thanks Andrew, appreciate the rec too.
@slmret - @reginasikora - @ZSA_MD - @edlives - @Roadlesstaken - I should have thanked you earlier for the rec you all gave – much appreciated.
What @beowulf222 said, unfortunately. I was a part-time church administrator once, and if any kind of organization lives and dies by pledges of support, it’s churches. Every day they also face having to coax members who have already pledged and so have no further obligation into giving additionally. So I’ve seen how it is done. None of even the most basic steps are to be seen here.
@ElusiveWords - You see, everybody focuses on the technical aspect of the relaunch. The technical part is solvable, and for what it’s worth, they could stick with this software … it’s not broken. Dated, but not broken. Bigger question is how do you want to get new people to use this blogging network. By charging them? With all the free offers out there? Errrrrr.
@stepaside_loser - ”They” should have purchased a book “Business Plan for Dummies” before ringing the alarm bells. I think this can be a case study for how not do launch a relaunch.
good post and I am optimistic but unfortunetly can not send any financial support at the moment because I just got put on disability retirement and am having a temporary cash flow problem all my own.But I pray for Xanga all the time…its one of my lifelines!
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Various Xangans have really stepped up and done a lot to bring attention to the cause. The Xanga Team itself? Not so much. As corporate communication strategies go, you could be excused for thinking they could care less if Xanga actually closes.
HERE HERE!!
Well said Matt.
@n_e_i_l - I agree. Maybe the whole thing will succeed despite Xanga’s lack of communication. It’s painful not to hear from them.
@beowulf222 - they really have to market themselves a lot more aggressively and set themselves apart from all the other free blogging platforms out there. And that’s just the beginning. It’s going to be a long road.
@Tallman - I’m sorry to hear about what you’re going through. I hope when they rebuild this, they can find some way to accommodate people who just want to blog for free. It is a lifeline for a lot of folks.
@christao408 - you’re right, it’s really puzzling and disappointing why the Xanga team hasn’t been more visible. Thanks for the rec.
@rudyhou - pledge pledge… thanks for the rec Rudy.
@RushmoreJ - thank you, appreciate you dropping by.
@ElusiveWords - We can hope, but it’s following the arc of all fundraising. Those who have given are the ones who would have given anyway. That’s when the real work starts, and none of it has been done. All we have is second-party boosting about how special Xanga is, which won’t move anyone any further than it already has, and glowing promises about Xanga 2.0, which by now is obviously vaporware, or there’d be some preview or freemium offer. Unless there’s an actual revelation tonight that no one can foresee, the only way it will get to $60K is if, besides the 350ish already signed up, 25,000 more people give $1 each. You don’t even have to try to ridicule that, but it seems to have actually been the idea for how this was going to work.
@slmret -
I should have used the@ElusiveWords - more so that people notice today’s blog. But we will have to have an even harder uphill climb to reach the $60k that is at least still moving.
Eleven days more and I have just begun to fight. Thank you for visiting my blog.