The biggest expense is the Amazon image/asset/db hosting with can be multiple hundreds per month. And probably $50 for a webserver from not-Amazon and a couple hours a month of developer time.
At $298/mo, it’s barely scraping by imho
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Dreamhost, AWS, Digital Ocean, Mailgun.
It’s breaking even at the moment. We are experiencing growth in the community and the usage cost is gradually increasing as a result but we’re not to the point where I have to be like “hey kids, you’re going to have ads today!.” I still see new patreon subscriptions a couple times a week as well.
I plan to put some options together and take them to highly relevant and known good vendors within our community and try to get old school sponsorships for ad revenue instead of selling our traffic analytics to ad networks for less money and getting only mostly relevant ads in return. That way it will still be community funded, but in multiple dimensions.
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Huh. The original post in this thread reads as if we had tons of spare funding. Since it’s around break even point then I agree as well that the money for these ideas should come from another source rather than Patreon.
Sorry, thought this was enough to indicate a seperate fund. My bad.
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Do you want me to look into an employee discount for your stuff? I think there are some accommodations but it would have to fall under an account owned by me.
We can talk offline if you want!
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Thats how i understood it. I think its a great idea. But i believe if we are going to fund a build it should be more woke than just having a build thread for it. It needs to be a video log so it can be put on the esk8 news YouTube channel. Also we need to get more content on that channel i think other than just interviews. I think showcasing builds is a good way and also putting the footage from esk8 events and maybe even interviewing random esk8ers that go or attended the event. Let me know how i can help. I have enough down time rt now to volunteer any help thats needed to write or research stories. Also yes keep it funded separately. I like both ideas maybe pic one week for a reg build and the following week a trash n bash build
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You’re right on all counts. Getting the most mileage possible out of reviews/projects is crucial.
Sent you a PM.
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I think this is a really fun idea, could be reminiscent of the “you build it, we skate it” YT series. I have had a couple of ideas.
- a box of used parts that make up a potential build with 1 major piece missing, which has to come from fabrication or my own stash of used parts. A call-a-friend type thing where I can get someone to help me on a specific goal, but only after they have consumed 3 beers
. - A build based around a specific hardware component (specific trucks, new ESC, whatever), test and then swap out some major piece and re-test.
- Shoot-Outs, where we have a test build but multiple versions of the same hardware type (VESC’s, Trucks, Gear Drives, etc.) are swapped out after 100 miles and nasty wanton physical abuse. Score each product based on previously set criteria.
- Charity Build - we, as a community pick a charity, users & vendors donate parts, after the build is completed auction of the build and all of the funds are then donated to that charity.
Just some thoughts…
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These are all pretty much better ideas. Dick.
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LOL, I got most if the from taking to you 
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I watch that channel braille skateboarding. They have a lot of good content.
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To build interest make a competition and involve as many people as practical. Something like this:
- @mmaner and another builder (Builders) put together competing builds for whatever goal the community sets. Speed, range, whatever - but simple and measurable.
- Community members and/or vendors pledge parts for the competition. Whatever they have and are willing to give up for fun or exposure.
- The Builders draft their parts from what was pledged, alternating turns, and build their boards.
- The performance is measured. A king/queen is crowned. The boards go to the winners of a drawing from the people who’s parts were drafted.
Just one way overly complicated suggestion. Do something less complicated but get a lot of people involved. The possibilities for smack talk are endless.
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That’s cool. I could totally see this being a great series.
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I think all are great ideas, including videos reviews and build process.
Few general ideas of mine:
- making video reviews of other people boards, and small interviews, from other builders like @Sender @DerelictRobot @b264 @J0ker etc
- having a fund for forum members birthdays. Maybe for regulars only who show they are active. So when it’s somebody’s birthday, they would get a gift. It could even be an extra part from a vendor. And birthday person could only pay for shipping or something.
- make esk8 news, overlord senpai LHB merchandise t-shirts or something to spread the word. Could be sold for cost only. @Venom121212 could help
- have a raffle for those who’s board broke/stolen/ insufficient funds etc.
-but mainly we need more videos. It’s much easier than reading xD @Lee_Wright is gut at it for example.
Please flag if this is not the right place to post
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Reading is easier for me than videos. Especially with lots of photos.
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No, this is great. We’re trying to figure out what will be interesting for everyone.
I think this is something we can all understand and get behind to maintain the community’s online presence.
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One other idea, inspired by
design a fast solar powered esk8. That could gain wider attention which means you can get better parts donated. I might be able to convince someone to donate high efficiency solar cells if they were going into a game changing design. I know a guy. Actually a couple guys. That is a definite maybe tho.
Who wouldn’t want to sip a margarita while their board charges itself in the sun?
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Modern solar panels reach a energy density of around 200W per square meter.
Assuming you could fit a 20cm by 60cm panel onto a deck, you could get a usable 20W for battery charging i guess.
But that’s with non-rugged panels you would otherwise use for buildings.
I really love this idea, but it’s hard to find a panel that can handle the abuse at a reasonable wattage.
Then again, this could be really cool for a proof of concept.
The latest high efficiency cells are 40% efficient:
https://www.spectrolab.com/photovoltaics.html#concentrator
The solar constant - how much sunlight hits an average spot on earth is 1367 W/m^2. 40% of that is more than 540 Watts. With the area you estimated you could get roughly 66 Watts out. That kind of input would require different batteries and charge controllers to handle.
The guy that runs Spectrolab is one of the guys I know. In fact I interviewed him out of college when my org hired him.