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The response in subscriptions has been promising; we're a ways away from hitting the level we really need to, but I'm hoping that the paid memberships will continue to ramp up over the next month. What has been very encouraging, however, is an astonishingly creative list of ideas from the audience about what we could do to generate more revenue!

What I've done below is drawn up a list of ideas (lumping appropriate ones together) and have inserted my comments on each. I encourage everyone to post what their thoughts are on the items below, perhaps suggesting a new idea or listing the ones they like the most and why. In the end, we have to please you, the reader, if we're going to get out of the woods.

• Gate off [all|most|part] of the archives; only paid members get them all.

  I don't like this because a) it instantly cripples our advertising reach, which does currently generate revenue, and b) it penalizes newcomers -- one of the appeals (or so I am told) of UF is that a new reader can access all of the cartoons and get into the UF universe at little or no risk.

• Only subscribers may post comments.

  I don't like this one either. If anything, I want to encourage discussion and communication between members of the audience. That's one of the pillars of UF -- our community.

• Annual Subscribers get an exclusive something.

  I really like this one. And we can offer various levels: everything from a t-shirt that says something like UF Minion since 2002 to a box filled with UF goodies, including limited edition artwork, all of the books etc. at a discount. This will mean adding a few dollars to the least expensive option to cover the cost of the t-shirt, to a high-end ($500?) option where you get it all and then some. Of course, there will be an option to just get the normal annual membership if you don't want any goodies. Also, people who already have subscriptions will have the option of getting into the different levels for the difference in price.

• A Donation system for those with a few bucks lying around.

  Easy enough to do; I confess I twinge a little at it because I want to think I'm giving you something for your money other than what people are already getting for free.

• Get more payment options in: credit cards & money orders.

  Working on it! It makes sense. Money orders, however, will have to be limited to annual memberships. Tracking a $3.95 monthly piece of paper is very time consuming.

• How about a student-level membership?

  I'd be happy to offer one of these, but I'm not sure what it looks like. Say $20 a year, but how do we easily verify that a subscriber is actually a student? It would be unfair to the people paying the full rate if others got away with paying less just because they say "I'm a student, trust me."

• Auction off limited-edition items regularly.

  A good idea, but auctions tend to provide spotty, sporadic income. One month the rip-off of a teletubby I paint in watercolours may be the rage; the next month, a complex rendition of geek life in conte crayons brings in a single bid of a dollar.

• How about more merchandise?

  We'll certainly keep pumping out merchandise, but be advised that the royalty rate is very low. Books generally provide a better royalty, but neither will get us out of the woods like subscriptions will.

• What about those of us who just can't afford it?

  I trust people when they tell me they just can't afford it -- I was a student once (and I'm a cartoonist now!) so I know all about what it's like to be po'. So, actively and consistently working with the advertising on the site (read: clicking on ads, registering, participating in advertiser surveys, etc.) does help.

  Before I let you continue on to participating in the comments, I want to take a second to profusely thank everyone who has so far (and who will soon) answered my appeal for help by subscribing, buying books & goodies, sending in suggestions, getting into the ads and sending in supportive e-mails. With an audience like this one, I don't doubt that UF has a good chance at pulling through and thriving for some time to come. There's still a ways to go, but at least the first step has been taken!

  Thanks again, gang. :)
  

I've always maintained that the smaller (as in less than 10,000 attendees!), non-commercial conferences were of greater appeal to me, primarily because their raison d'etre is keyed to the community as opposed to corporate interests. Duckon upped the ante further by being a family-oriented con; the next generation of geeks were being exposed to all of those things that make us who we are, people with an insatiable curiosity trying to understand the universe around us.

During the Opening Ceremonies, each of the guests of honour were asked to say a few words about their favourite SF novels. When I approached the podium, I was pleasantly ambushed by an audience member who offered up a six-pack of Pitr-Cola! The mastermind behind this effort was one John Buell of Illinois, who also had the cunning mind to take photos of the entire process. You can see them here:

• Over 100 cans of the Official Drink of Evil
• At the podium, unaware of what is to befall me
• The only evil smile I've ever been able to do
• Ambushed!
• Pitr-Cola spread amongst the audience
• Not Pitr-Cola, but I'll bet more guys will go to Duckon next year. If you're nice I'll tell you who she is.
• A marketing message after the ambush, unbeknownst to me

The Pitr-Cola ambush alone was enough to make my weekend there. My hat's off to all of the participants, including but not limited to Lindalee Stuckey, Nick and Jan DiMasis, and Lindalee's entire class of Computer Science pupils who helped cut out all of the labels!

Over the weekend, Duckon offered a truly eclectic variety of panels and workshops, from the "Learn To Speak Klingon" classes to model rocketry and their famous "Make a Blinky!" session where you get to mess with all kinds of integrated circuits, switches, LEDs and soldering guns. I had the pleasure of teaching a class on basic cartooning to about a dozen children aged 4 to 10 and a couple of other kids that were in their 20s to 40s. What a riot. :)

Over the years I've been to a great many cons, ranging from tiny, intimate ones with about a hundred attendees and titanic, Hollywood-esque ones with in excess of 20,000 people. Without reservation, I recommend Duckon not just out of preference for cons with a cause as noble as raising money to promote children's literature, but because it was run professionally and with a firm grasp of what is important. The Con Committee of Duckon and I agree on this: the most important thing is always the audience, and they went to great lengths to ensure people had a good time.

My own contributions to the event were limited to a piece at the art auction and the T-shirt art. I do hope that what I provided helped them raise a goodly sum for their charity. Both can be seen at the Duckon website.

Having left Chicago with a smile on my face, I have to extend my congratulations to Uncle Vlad, Angela, Terrance (thanks for the rum!) Jeff and all of the rest of the Con staff who not only put together a terrific event, they did it all with an eye towards educating the younger generation. Admirable.