Thanks for all the input, folks.
Personally, I like edgy thoughts. It creates conversation. Toss in some passion, and here we go.
I'll forego the passion and stick with facts.
Since the gist of this thread is about Pond Boss conferences, I'll start with that. Pond Boss I's mission was to begin to unite an industry. Our goal was to take an undefined, fledgling industry, bring people together and start relationships. We wanted pond pros to personally meet the vendors that many of them did business with, and to meet those they were yet to meet. We wanted vendors to get to know the niches of this industry, and the people that make things happen. We wanted to put landowners in front of experts, and for those landowners to become better stewards of their land and water. We had 36 speakers, about 25 vendors and just under 300 attendees. Academia was represented, as was some agency people, and the private sector. Part of our mission was to build bridges among these three "competitive" sectors, in that attempt to start unifying the industry. Pond Boss lost just over $10,000 on that first attempt. What we DIDN'T expect was the coming together of the Pond Boss family. Didn't think about the camaraderie, but that was, by far, the biggest take home point.
Pond Boss II had a similar goal, but to lose less money as we did our part to unify the industry. We had the most attendance, to this day, of just more than 300 people.
Pond Boss III, IV, and V were held at Big Cedar, with more of a focus to share knowledge and have plenty of social time. Those of you who attended any of those know just how cool that venue is and how much free time there was. My favorite part was the Buzzard Bar, where ideas flowed faster than the adult beverages and a local skunk family chased patrons and hand outs.
We lost money.
Pond Boss VI, in Rockwall, was our next attempt. We broke even on that one. But, we saw the Pond Boss family in full force, doing what they do, gathering knowledge, spending time together, and building valuable relationships everyone can use today.
Pond Boss VII was put together with great effort. It's a huge undertaking with a significant financial commitment. For the record, it costs more than $100,000 to put on an event like that. Our decision has been to put together and hold a quality event. We did that. As far as cash flow, we didn't "lose" money this time...until we count the significant man hours put into it. That's how we lost money on this one.
Here's the bottom line about Pond Boss conferences. We are a business. We do attempt to make money. At the same time, we understand the value of the Pond Boss family, which includes this forum.
At this time, I personally have no desire to have another one. Too much effort and time to do it. A good part of that reasoning is outlined in this thread. People don't want to pay that much. I get that. I don't want to put on an event that isn't classy and full of information. I thought that changing up the program, bringing in lots of new ideas and new speakers and new vendors would be a draw, but it wasn't. Today's times suggest that anyone, at any time, can find out anything the want to know with a quick trip to the University of Google. Maybe so, maybe no. Maybe so, maybe know. But, with all the keyboard brilliance out there, in my heart, I know that we need these relationships to truly find out the facts, logic, and sense. I hear what Tony is saying about that. He knows what he knows and is happy with it. As far as the suggestion there is no paradigm shift, that's completely untrue. I'm immersed in it, and see it. Hobbyists have little reason to seek it.
As far as Pond Boss being a business, that's true and won't change. The conference lose money, and this forum loses money. We've had many vendor friends offer these thoughts, "Bob, we won't buy a banner ad because everyone there is a 'do-it-yourselfer." We haven't cracked the nut to make the forum profitable. But, the value of the forum, to our business, is the fair exchange of ideas, with the hope that forum members will help convince people to subscribe to the magazine. The magazine fuels the business. We don't sell subscriptions, all this fun stops and someone else gets to go pay to start a forum. As big as this forum is, the 24 hour, 365 day per year cost of hosting is pretty dang high. These fun and games cost money.
Further for the record, Pond Boss, Inc., still believes our mission is to help unify an industry, and do our best to do that as we work hard to produce a quality work with the magazine, with the biggest mission to help as many people as we can to be the best stewards of their land and water as we can. That's another reason for this forum. As far as what we do caters only to affluent people, I want to think about that. I did bristle when I read that, but in our pursuit of fairness, it deserves thought. For all of us who aren't affluent, here's how that really works. Affluent people don't tend to go to our conferences. Why should they? They can afford to hire any or all of the experts and vendors which grace pages of the magazine? Do they subscribe? Yes, they do. They understand the value of what fuels Pond Boss, and they want to see it continue. I laugh out loud when someone complains about the cost of a subscription. My perspective is this...$35 is less than most people spend on a Friday date night meal somewhere. To further influence that, I have had many, many people tell me things they've learned from the magazine, or the conferences saved them untold dollars and angst from mistakes the DIDN'T make. What's that worth?
Finally, the moderators I chose were selected for specific reasons. If you get moderated, and don't like it...too bad.
If you think you've been treated unfairly, take it to a pm and address it. If you still don't like it, bring it to me. I have supported members in the past and it caused us to lose a moderator years ago. I support our moderators as they are they guys on the ground, doing their parts to help guide this forum in the way I've directed it. Mike Otto and I own this thing and we'll continue to do what we think we need to do to keep it moving in a healthy way.
With these thoughts in mind, I want everyone participating or reading this thread to know that I'm mulling over these thoughts. Sometimes it takes me a few days to truly absorb it all.
If any of you take issue with the forum, its rules, this thread, or any other, feel free to stop participating. We'll miss you, just like some of the others who stopped. Life's too short to let something like this forum affect you. If I or the moderators think you need to be banned, we'll do it...just like the handful of others who've been banned.
Here's the bottom line. Support Pond Boss in ways you can. Don't degrade Pond Boss on this forum. Build the family here or go away. I want people's children to be able to read any given thread here and grow and learn from it. I want new people to feel welcome and invited. If you can't do that, go find another place. Our mission is to continue to help people become better stewards of their land and water, as simple as that. We are also a business which intends to make money to fuel all these fun vehicles the entire world has the opportunity to benefit.
