Hi Everyone and Happy Summer,
As is usual for San Francisco, it's been chilly and windy a fair bit but at least 4th of July weekend was nice and sunny. I hope that you're all having a good summer so far. I've been working on various assorted small projects, both work and personal. And there is one that has pointed out to me just how San Francisco is changing.
A few weeks ago someone backed into my motorcycle and knocked it over the side-stand. For you who don't ride, that means it hit the ground pretty hard. Various stuff was bent and broken, but it was all stuff that's pretty easy to replace, except -- the stay that mounts the rider's footpeg was cracked. And I couldn't find a new replacement. So, I decided to have it welded.
I went to Al's Welding, where I've been going for more than two decades. They couldn't take the job because they were moving to Richmond. The reason? Their rent was getting too high. I got in touch with my mechanic for a referral. The guy he sent me to was closing up shop. Rent, again. Next I looked online and found a guy who seemed pretty good. Called him. He moved to Petaluma about six months ago. And, you guessed it -- his rent went up when his lease ran out. I called another mechanic. He not only didn't have a referral but he asked me to let him know if I found anyone because the two welders he usually worked with had both moved out of town. I finally found a shop that was still operating and I should have the bike back on the road soon, but I'm wondering how long that shop will be able to stay in business. I'm also wondering what other services that I've always taken for granted may have been priced out of San Francisco.
I haven't been spending all my time working on my own stuff. There are a few things in progress around the shop that should gel in the next couple of months. One on them is my project to set up an online forum or message board so that sponsors can communicate with each other more easily. At this year's general meeting this was something that people were enthusiastic about and so it's high on my to-do list. At the time, we had some discussion about the best way of going at it. Several people suggested using Slack, others preferred a more traditional forum, and some others suggested that an email list-serve would be good.
After giving it some thought, I decided that an email list would be too intrusive for general chatting. Though I like them very much for working on projects and for sending out things like these notes and our newsletter, it seemed to me that it would work one of two ways; either people would use it a lot, in which case there would be too much traffic (we have over 600 sponsors), or people wouldn't use it much at all, in which case why bother to set it up. That left the choice between Slack and a forum. I think that there are good points for either of them. Slack is conducive to something that feels much more like a free-flowing conversation, but (in the free mode) it doesn't support archiving, which means that the conversation gets lost over time. Forums, on the other hand, are more rigid and (smart) people tend to be more careful about what they post, since it does get archived. And forums are better suited to being a long-term repository for information. Finally, we would "own" our forum and the data, whereas Slack is a single company and (as they should) runs things to suit themselves.
My final conclusion was to try a forum and see how it works for six months or so. Over the years I've been burned several times by becoming dependent on an outside company, only to have them change their business practices. That makes me hesitant to create that sort of dependency unless I really have to. I hope that the forum will be a desirable and successful part of what we do with the sponsor program. If it becomes that, I don't want to risk it being ruined because of another company's decisions.
All that said, if the forum isn't active and working well in six months, I think I'll shut it down and give Slack a try. Of course and as usual, any comments or thoughts about this from you are super welcome -- just reply to this email and it'll go right to me.
All Best,
Alan
Upcoming Sponsor Events
If you would like to RSVP for any sponsor event, just reply to this email and, if necessary, let us know if you're bringing a guest. That's all there is to it. And, same goes if you want to get in touch with me -- just reply to this and it'll get to me.
The Pithy version:
(1) Every Saturday in July at 8:00 pm -- Bay Area Theatre Sports Improv has been kind enough to give sponsors a discount code good for 30% off unlimited tickets to the Star Trek themed improv show "Warp Speed", Saturdays in July at 8:00 pm.
(2) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Inspired by the rousing success of the first one, we'll be doing a monthly game night at the Cafe on the second Monday of each month. Guests are welcome and RSVPs are appreciated but not required.
(3) Tuesday, July 25th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(4) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. Sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak have again very graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! The event will take place at the bookstore and the cost will be $10. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible.
(5) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(6) Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 pm (note earlier time) -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). 21 and over, no cover charge (but there is a 2-drink minimum), guests welcome. Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
The Protracted version:
(1) Every Saturday in July at 8:00 pm -- We have several sponsor friends involved with the marvelous Bay Area Theatre Sports Improv, and BATS has been kind enough to give Borderlands sponsors a discount code good for 30% off unlimited tickets to their new Star Trek-themed show, "Warp Speed"! The show's happening every Saturday in July, 8:00 pm, at The Bayfront Theater, Building B, Third floor, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. You can purchase tickets here: http://www.improv.org/shows/tickets/?eid=19479&edid=69232 and the discount code to use is REDSHIRTS. Go support their wonderful creative endeavors and have a great time at a discount! Their website, with further info about BATS and their shows, is here: www.improv.org
(2) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Join fellow sponsors & "game" staff for chess, Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble, Pictionary, or whatever other board games you'd like to bring to play! Please bring games that have a usual play-cycle of less than 3 hours, so probably NOT Monopoly, Seven Ages, Arkham Horror, or The Longest Day (that's the Normandy Invasion strategy game that takes an average of 90 hours to play). Are you a secret Balderdash champion? Kick butt at Connect 4? Here's your chance to shine! We'll have adult beverages (after eight pm), iced tea and lemonade on offer, but feel free to bring your favorite beverage to share. Also, you're welcome to bring food if you wish -- the cafe will be shutting down at eight. RSVPs are appreciated but not required, and please feel free to invite your friends along, as there really isn't any limit to the number of folks we can accommodate -- the more the merrier.
(3) Tuesday, July 25th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(4) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. We're very grateful to sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak, who have again graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! Here's the way it will work: We'll be hosting the event in the bookstore. You're welcome to show up early, if you like, or just come to the door at eight or so. Joe and John will be bringing the wine, with covered labels, and we'll be pouring and chatting about what we think, guided by Joe & John, for a couple of hours. The cost will be $10, and the proceeds will go to the Borderlands' Building Fund. We might even have a prize or two for the folks with the best (or luckiest) palates. This will be a very low-key event and so, if you don't know much about wine, this is a perfect chance to get your "feet" wet. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible. Oh, and please do be over 21 years old. It also might be a good idea if you've had dinner before you arrive. The glasses are pretty small but there might be a lot of them.
(5) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(6) Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 pm (please note earlier start time) -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). Nebula Award winning author, singer/songwriter, snake handler, Borderlands sponsor, and all-around amazing person Seanan McGuire has graciously offered to be a special guest at the very first Borderlands Sponsor Karaoke Night! This will be an enormously entertaining event, and we hope you'll join us to show off your vocal prowess (or your irrepressible attitude, if you happen to lack vocal prowess -- that's great, too). The Mint is located at 1942 Market Street, San Francisco, and we have reserved space for sponsors. Some pertinent info about The Mint: it is a bar, so this event will be for those 21 and over. There is no cover charge, but there is a 2-drink minimum. Guests are welcome, and please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
