The Site's monthly Summary

[Pat Pixley]

I waslook at the the site's Monthly Summary and our numbers have
been dropping since August  New post , New Topics & new members
have been dropping.  Just keeping track of the numbers

[MoonDawg]

       If I had an 8 1/2" X 11" poster available to print I would post it in the
showroom area of my store. I'm thinking of something like the cover of the
2008 SMC calendar but with a description of the wealth of information that
is available on this site.
      I have constantly people asking me about the history and function of
their machine. Pointing them to a website address could save time and
increase membership and in turn higher sales for our suppliers.

[Jim]

I don't let website numbers dictate our success... We've been here for many years and many of you have been here for the same duration! A slight hiccup in statistics may be due to the holidays and nothing more...

I'm thinking of something like the cover of the
2008 SMC calendar but with a description of the wealth of information that
is available on this site.

This would require a slogan or tag line of sorts for SMC; I like the idea as well...
How about "Soda-Machines.Com, An online community dedicated to educating, collecting and restoring collectible soda machines for people like you, the world over!"

[Gumbo]

[ "Soda-Machines.Com, An online community dedicated to educating, collecting and restoring collectible soda machines for people like you, the world over!"
[/quote]

I think Jim got the slogan right on the 1st try. I second the suggested slogan above! If posters were made, we could all hang them in our shops or "Soda Rooms" for all visiters to see. The posters would be a great way to promote our site.

Anderson

[bubba]

Very Good Jim... That sums it up perfectly..   

[MoonDawg]

     Great Jim! We may not want to use collectible twice in the same sentence
but you hit a strong point with "People like you"    Most early
machines are so simple that very little mechanical experience is needed to understand and service them.
     I remember the first machine that followed me home. I had no idea how it worked and
thought that only qualified technicians could tinker with it.

[davethebirdman]

With all of us watching ebay so closely we could also e-mail buyers of machines
bringing to their attention this site... I know e-bay sometimes block after auction communication but some do get through.

I have done this with all the machines that have been bought this side of the world since I joined.

This might sound a little "out of salt" but I actually like it this way. I know almost eveyone's first name. Have PM'd most people. I have belonged to other forums which have a larger membership and you don't get that personal friendship you do here. I am looking at it from a collector's point of view rather than a business point of view.   

Just my Pennies worth...

Dave

[Jim]

You're right Glen, it does sound a little wordy, but I did just spill out a quick one-liner for the slogan...
How's this instead:
"Soda-Machines.Com, An online community dedicated to educating, collecting and restoring antique soda machines for people like you, the world over!"

On another note, getting bigger isn't always better... I think SMC has grown to become what I set out to accomplish: A nice community of people willing to help each other as well as those who quickly come and go at SMC. Through the course of time, we have seen a few people create hurdles for us; but in the end, they fade away and the core of the fellowship remains to continue on...  I can only hope this Site doesn't fall prey to the selfishness, egotistical and deceitful ways that have plagued so many other Sites...  But then again, that will up to us to monitor...