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RE:MCA Ideas

Hi John,

A couple questions for you:

#1 was your bath water hot - warm - or cold?

#2 what does it cost to print one hundred copies of your books?

I couple quick things ran thru my head reading your suggestion - which I agree is an excellent idea, but with some challenges. Who print$ them, who $it$ at a table to $ell them?

As you well know - in the recent issues of the Clipper the newsletter editor has taken items (stories and pictures) directly from the web site and placed them into the Clipper!!  This could be a conduit we already have that could be shared with those who choose not to use the website.  One of the challenges I want to explore with him is to insure that the web site and the web site authors (and contact information) might also be available in the printed medium do give credit to the weiter and to promote the web site.

For those of us who read every post three times, it makes the Clipper boring reading but for the vast majority, it is new hot stuff!!

BTW - there is another Massey web site out there that I have noticed has borrowed some of our nice pics and placed them on their web site as well.  We must be doing something right!!

Keep them coming John - AND OTHERS.


RE:MCA Ideas

Just so you don't think all these ideas are falling on deaf ears ...

Although I missed the MCA Board teleconference on Tuesday night, I did share with the board about John's idea of having an internet membership.  A fee would be charged to those interested and they would have access to the website but they would not recieve the newsletter, notices or other correspondence sent to regular members.  We will continue to pursue that idea and think about its pros and cons.  These membership fees could go directly into the web site maintenance account to help offset its costs.

We are also currently working with the web designer to get the PayPal button up for folks to renew their memberships on the web site.  At this point it would be available to only those who do not belong to a chapter but we will be working on that as well.  There probably will be a fee associated with it use (3%) to offset the PayPal costs.  We might have to do a test on a couple of UK memberships to discover if there are foreign charges associated with Paypal, as well.  I am not sure about that situation. Maybe someone out there already knows.

Although we are slow we do listen and continue to make MCA useful to all our members.  It is tough when we only meet about four times a year but we try!!

Any and all ideas are welcome.

Thanks


RE:MCA Ideas

Gary,

The bath was hot when I got in but pretty cool when I got out as I was reading a Wilbur Smith thriller!  That's the advantage of a bath over a shower - you can read in it!

Have no idea what it would cost to print 100 of my books.  But I know it would be very expensive.  Remember there is the binding and transport on top.  Normally publishers do minimum print runs of 2000 or so to make the job viable but maybe as few as 1000 for a reprint.

Who prints them?  This would of course have to be worked out - maybe a new MCA officer to take this on.  MCA would have to fund it in the first instance but a costing needs working through obviously to see if the idea is viable.

Who sells them - well MCA members at shows who I currently often see sat in tents and could be selling a memorabilia range for MCA.  And small traders like (maybe) S and S, Terry Kessel, Jack etc etc if you can interest them.  I don't think we have an MCA memorabilia activity yet and this does need developing - so this links in.  Other clubs have quite remunerative memorabiia activities which certainly contribute to club funds.

Which is the other Massey web site using our pics?  Are they within the MCA fold?  Need to watch out for copyright issues

Keep thinking!!!!!

John


RE:MCA Ideas

It is some two and a half years since we had any ideas!

So to try and revitalise this thread and maybe cause a bit of controversy (!) here are a couple:

1)  Is there any point in continuing with the Clipper magazine?  It must use up quite a bit of club funds.  There is sadly almost nothing in it except ads for events and I thought this last one was particularly poor with the only two articles with a grain of substance were reproductions of what myself and Malcolm had put on the MCA web site - hardly original!!! If it is to survive it needs effort to get in some articles with substance.

2)  In the last post Garyy was looking into optional internet only membership for MCA so that we could try and lure more people onto the site.  Has this fallen on deaf ears in management HQ?

Please don't regard this as griping - just an attempt to move on a bit with MCA and improve it.

John

RE:MCA Ideas

It would be a plus if members could email email other members through this website when they make posts.  A couple of websites www.smokstak.com and www.farmallcub.com  do this. I would think it would be limited to "member" use?

RE:MCA Ideas

Perhaps another idea for the Clipper would be for us members to send Rick articles and photos of what we are doing now and  what we have done in the past. I know I am one of the worst because I have never sent an article to the Clipper but now may be a good time to start.

What do others think? It is always interesting to read stories of  peoples experiences of tractors and farming etc.

Alan



RE:MCA Ideas

Alan,

We all get so busy doing what is most prominent on our minds at that moment, taking photographs and documenting what we do is often overlooked for articles later and I am a prime example of "good intention" but sadly they rarely get done because I have moved onto another project.
That's why I find the threads here on the website much more "user friendly" than writing articles for magazines, so long as you take the photos then posting and discussing on here is much easier and not all done in one go, plus there "should" be much more interaction from other collectors and that all helps to inspire us and our projects.

So my vote would be to scrap the clipper and put the energy into re-vitalising the website, as you say we always find other collectors experiences and stories interesting.

Malcolm.

RE:MCA Ideas

Interesting thoughts about the Clipper.  It would be really interesting to know just how many MCA members are still not able (or willing) to use the online website for news, event information, etc. and would therefore miss-out if we didn't have the printed media.  

Also, how many would struggle to find and print-out banquet reservation forms (such as for upcoming Massey Days) if they did not receive it in printed form by mail?  I have a feeling that number is higher than we might want to think.

I agree the Clipper needs to be improved, and believe that is going to be addressed soon.  But we can all help.  Those interesting stories about collections, restorations, trials and tribulations, etc. need all of our involvement.  But, like Legacy Quarterly, Antique Power, and other collector magazines, the editor needs to reach out to collectors and help put that information together as well.  Not just wait on stories to be submitted.

As I mentioned in another post a few minutes ago, I plan on submitting an article for the next Clipper to hopefully help out.  

Just some thoughts as I sip on my mid-morning coffee.   ;-)

JB

RE:MCA Ideas

I can but agree with most of what you say JB but if the Clipper is to survive then the editor needs, as you say,  to get out to people to get some articles in and not just plagarise the MCA web site.

We live in hope and no doubt that mid morning coffee provides a stimulus!

John

RE:MCA Ideas

Just got back after almost a five hour drive from our UK Spring Massey Meet in Bethesda North Wales where the snow is still visible on the top of the mountains.

We had a fine meal last night at the restaurant where the Massey Hall of Fame plaque was recently presented, the stage coach is now fully restored and displayed in fine splendour under its canopy.

Despite the rain this morning there was plenty of Massey discussion in the sheds before lunch in one of Bethesda's high street fine cafe's before heading back to Lincolnshire.

Another great Massey Gathering here in UK

Has the North American Spring Meet for 2016 happened yet? If so where is the report??

Malcolm