Become a Featured Member of elephant’s Grassroots Network:
>>>—> Get your name in front of 175K unique readers/month (as of March 2010, according to Google Analytics)
>>>—> Goal for sustainability: June 17, when our loan expires.
>>>—> If we don’t make it, we’ll all get jobs as barbacks at an obscure Caribbean beach somewheres.
A good new affordable option—you can get your business name—linked to your site, twitter page, Facebook Page or donate to the good cause / non-profit of your choice—on the bottom of every page of our site for $9/month.
Just sign up above, put in your name, and we’ll have you up on elephantjournal.com within two business days.
All funds from this new Grassroots Member Network go to 1) beginning to pay our writers, increase editorial quality and quantity, both!; 2) general operations 3) staff other than our ed-in-chief, Waylon, who will get zero of this. Waylon is paid through advertising and other sponsorships.
Yours,
Waylon
Founder of elephant magazine (founded: 2002, went national as indie magazine, & successfully transitioned online in 2009 [because mainstream magazine distribution is wildly inefficient from an eco-responsible point of view]) is dedicated to "bringing together those working (and playing) to create enlightened society." It's about anything that helps us to live a good life that's also good for others, and our planet. elephantjournal.com (named Top 10 in the US by over 40 sites) and host of "Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis," a national “top ten ‘green’ video blog," Waylon was born in Boulder, Colorado, raised at a Buddhist meditation retreat in Vermont, graduated from Boston University’s top-ranked magazine journalism school; and is a top columnist for Huffington Post, daily bike commuter, workaholic, mediocre climber & best friend of Redford (a rescue hound). His goals in life: to take a long bath tonight with Dwell, The Sunday NY Times, The New Yorker & a glass of Talisker with one ice cube; publish a best-selling novel (and get filthy rich); have 12 red-headed chil'n (and only one wife); run for President (and lose) & have fun all along the way. ~~~ founder: elephantjournal.com | host: Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis. Ft. on 20 sites, incl. Huffington Post. ~ 200,000 unique visitors/month: Google Analytics. ~ Treehugger: Reader's Choice "Eco Ambassador in Culture & Celebrity" + 2010 "Changemaker" ~ Discovery Network's Planet Green: "Green Hero" ~ Shambhala Sun: "Prominent Buddhist" ~ Naturally Boulder: "'07 Entrepreneur of Year" ~ 5280 Magazine: "Top Single '09" ~ MNN: Top 10 US Green Video Blog ~ Beliefnet: Top 10 Buddhist Blog ~ Shorty Awards: #1 Green Twitter in US ~~~ To connect:
"elephantjournal on Facebook"
"Waylon Lewis on Facebook" &
"Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis" on Facebook On twitter:
twitter.com/waylonlewis and our award-winning twitter account, named #1 nationally in green:
twitter.com/elephantjournal
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[...] Helpephant [...]
Asking the questions again to see if I want to support the site (I've been waiting for a response, but don't seem to get one): Still don't understand the model. I gather you are asking us to pay for a link, is that right? Isn't that what directories tried to do in the early to mid 90s? Didn't Google and all the other search engines basically say that is a no-no and devalue all similar type link farms? Or are you offering something different? I'd like to possibly support, but if all I get is a link at the bottom (wayyyyyy bottom) of the page, in line with a ton of other links, where no one sees it, what is the point? Why not just add us to your blog roll? Maybe I'm missing something? I'm sure you will get a bunch of early suckers (as you already have), but I don't see this as going "sustainable." Sustainability involves much more then just getting some cash coming in…
Thanks.
Sorry, Jamie, where did you ask these questions previously? I've been keeping an eye on comments, I thought, on our various posts. This is not a link farm. We're not even selling links, per se. These are basically little teeny ads, yes, at the bottom of our site. It's a subscription, you could said, a way of showing your support for ele going sustainable while we support you by giving a shoutout.
Thanks for calling our supporters suckers.
Thanks for getting back to me. My earlier comment was on one of the many solicitations for support/money/funds. I'm glad you believe this is a grass-roots reader supported model, but my concern is if I have a link smashed in with 100 others or so all at the bottom, Google will see this as a type of link farm. Just because you are telling us they function like mini-ads, that does not mean Google or anyone else will think that. I find the model discouraging, not only because it may devalue my site in the search engines, and also Elephant, but that it will not serve the purpose it is supposed to. Why can't we just donate to the writers we like? How is this sustainable? I'm having trouble making that connection? If I buy an ad, I know how many other ads are next to it, where it will be on the page, and that it will not be seen by Google as a paid link (which they don't like, but which your model seems to be advocating). However, if I buy a link (which is what you are offering), am I shooting myself in the foot by Google penalizing me for being in a massive list of other links? My concern are the repercussions – for elephant and for those people willing to buy a link. I'm worried this model will devalue elephant and all linked sites in the eyes of Google.
Perhaps I can shed some light as to why I choose to be one of the "early suckers." My first inclination is to take a moment to share how it is I view sustainability. largely I see it as the ability-to-sustain and so elephantjournal is an online publication which I read and appreciate therefore I have no problem helping in the ways which I can, for instance in this case it is in the form of donation. Like listener supported radio which also happens to be some of my favorite (SomaFM/NPR) I donate/support there as well cuz quite frankly I see it as a fair exchange, my donation is commensurate with the value I receive. Also I like the community feel/aspect the act of participating…again it's personal right? I see myself as a verb so that feels right and natural for me. And lastly I resonate with the DIY/self reliant aspect of it, meaning I am not expecting some one else i.e. an "advertiser" to support it for me. Anyhoo long live listener supported/reader supported mediums such as these…Viva la ele!
rock on Dave and Elephant! going to donate right now.. I love this forum, I love the articles and I love the writers. hoping my small donation can help keep it cooking. keep on keepin on EJ!
Yay! Means a lot coming from you, you've been a real ally and leader in the wwk (worldwidekula)
I'm supporting Elephant because it is a wonderful unique publication. It's not only just the right audience for me, but it's the place I plan to bring all my other friends in the Yoga blogosphere to. I want to help Waylon build this into one of the top places for Yoga writers and readers to gather. It's got a great start already.
Bob Weisenberg
(My Elephant blog)
Bob, you've been a great help in bringing writers aboard. Hopefully elephant can serve as a forum for "mindful" people of vastly different interests to come together, and a forum for great sister sites to contribute to, link back and get the attention of our readers, both.
I love this site…..so many wonderful resources………
I would write more articles, in order to improve the quality of Elephant, but I do not write to your audience. No one seemed to notice my article on the hypocrisy of supporting Tibet at the same time one supports a White House that extols the virtues of Mao. That should have been a heads-up for what took place later — a State Department clown bemoaned the Arizona law, as though it was a grievous human rights violation, to the Chinese, who meanwhile went on trashing Tibet. I fear we fail to look deeply enough into issues today and only respond in a knee-jerk manner to pre-programed symbols. Once we hit a certain level of robotic behavior it is game over…
this is a laugh for you from me
The shortest distance between two points is under construction.