Ox asked me about my mention of a project involving our domain, ODC. To avoid going very far off topic on the lumber forum area I thought I'd bring it over here to respond, to put out some discussion points to see if anyone in this timber & saw mill community is interested. I learn from comments and discussion and promise a thick skin will prevail regarding responses
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The subject on the other thread involved privacy concerns and I brought up things like the email snooping that Google does to mine for advertising placements. Then I brought up our project for using ODC, part of which would be as a home base for email accounts that would be left alone from snooping to benefit a site's advertising goals, among other features.
The web has become a privacy desert, driven most often by over the top advertising pressures to make up for free stuff.
That does not mean I all ads connote evil. Nobody can or should complain about seeing advs when they are simply offered in reasonable fashion with good content, applications, etc. This forum certainly qualifies. But reading our emails or insisting on a ridiculous level of private information to use the service, etc? That goes over the top, IMHO, and many seem to agree.
In answering Ox's question about what we'd charge for email accounts & addresses using ODC, I said we are not far enough along for a good answer but my guess might be something like $25 annually. I really don't know. It will depend on lots of factors such as what we offer with it, etc. Like war plans, it will likely change on first contact with the "outside world" during the more focused planning process.
Pay a small fee and get no snooping. That is our major basic premise. Advertising will still be involved but NOT in emails ("yahoo" on that!) and with a 100% up front of no requirement to participate or give up information, especially without really knowing when or about the consequences. The most obtrusive thing we might ask for is your zip code. Hard to call that too personal I hope.
Probably not a good idea for me to lay out too much more specific detailed stuff here at this point, but I hope the idea is clear and I hope it appeals at least somewhat to begin with.
One thing we really need is a marketing/advertising agency with some moxie, one where the principals have some optimism that ODC and our concept will prove successful.
A lot is predicated on how much the use of ODC as a domain works. It will certainly make the marketing interesting and fun. I could list a thousand ideas I have brainstormed: billboards, 5 second radio spots, and so much more that might be used. Simple stuff, but trying hard for memorable.
Ordinay.com
What's more ordinary than that?
Ordinary.com
Go there and see why we put up this silly billboard [or radio spot]
The list is long in my brainstorming file; thank you apple for the notes app on my iPhone--I don't lose things for lack of a piece of paper and a pencil.
If anyone wants to take a quick trip over to our site (currently used for our restaurant and it is rather home-made, like our food), you can use one of the clicks there to send me an email. I will at your request add your contact info to our list of interested folks to keep up with for the launch.
Housekeeping note: anything sent to any "at ordinary.com" address will get to us via our Catchall box for anything not assigned. I use "ODC" to begin all subject lines about it, our Ordinary Dot Com acronym. We will not share or otherwise do anything else with information you give us.
Any comments, thoughts, encouraging or skeptical, positive or negative? Fire away. We learn by listening👂. Did you make it to the bottom? Thank you and thanks to Kirk Allen for allowing this area for off-wood discussions!