freakpowertix

i was one of a group of people asked by yorrik to help protest certain ongoing problems within this online community.  many of them are technical -- server crashes, extended maintenance shutdowns, lost message boxes, the inability to comment for extended periods, exceedingly slow comment or posting delays, etcetera -- & others are not, having to do with certain business decisions that end up pushing celebrity & entertainment industry "imperatives" over what seems to be all else.

i must say that i am unhappy: as so many cool people from such amazingly diverse backgrounds, from all over the world, are making the decision to leave buzznet. & not just because they're getting out of the blogging game.  i mean, many of them, in groups, have chosen to rebuild our community within a competing website.

& i see that there are damn good reasons for them to leave, too, on so many levels.

it's such a shame, though, as there is so much potential to build (or rebuild) this community into something much more vibrant & intelligent & creative than the direction it is heading in.  something like what used to be here -- a year ago, not too, too many months ago -- before the attrition really started to be glaring.  but with all of the neat features that have been added in the past year, like video, audio, link, bulletin, & layout innovations.

the ownership & staffing prides itself on being active participants within the buzznet community.  they all seem to have profiles within the group, respond to messages & comments, are flesh & blood human beings, some of whom i have met.

with that context, on one level, one might think buzznet prides itself on being all about open dialogue & free expression.  and that is something i have found here. but on another level, buzznet is hitting far shy of the mark.

primarily, it seems that responses to users complaints or issues have been erratic, at best.  i've appreciated the many assists i've gotten, but have also been annoyed that measures that could have allayed peoples' general concerns haven't been implemented: that is, why is it that "tom" from myspace can post very specific, widespread technical updates for myspace users but parallel announcements of that type, within this community, are almost entirely unheard of? & people's issues are dropped or even ignored, it seems, too... 

it doesn't have to be that way.  isn't there some way to include a host of real & regular users more in the process of maintaining, growing, & developing this site?

can't we all get along?  :(

the kcsb fund drive is over in 2.5 hours.

snkkkt.

is to never have to look at one of these ever again.




i know that's probably unrealistic, but...

the average tenure of a development person, i was recently told, is 2 years.  i've been doing kcsb-fm development work for 6.

i am so freakin' exhausted right now. emotionally drained.

only 4 more days to go, out of 10 total.  we'd raised a very solid $14,500 by 530pm yesterday.  it tends to pick up a bit too, at the end.  w00t!

my goal?  survival.  have been a bit short-staffed through much of this campaign, plus all of that bother with moving.

bleh...

We (KCSB) have managed to raised $6,000 in 2.5 days.  I'm feeling purty good about things right now.  I am really tired & sorely looking ahead to midnight exactly 7 days from now.  But we have to keep the momentum moving forward!

here's a new ad we're going to start posting all over campus.  the campaign is beginning to take shape for us.



here's our official press release.

KCSB 91.9 fm is currently holding its annual fund drive, which runs from November 6th–15th, filling the airwaves with its usual mix of independent music, public affairs, and sports programming, while letting listeners know how they can support the only non-commercial, community radio station based in Santa Barbara County. KCSB 91.9 FM is known as one of the best student-run stations in the country, and this year is especially significant as it marks KCSB's 45th anniversary of programming.

KCSB's accomplishments during this past year include presenting a live broadcast of President Clinton and Paul Orfalea's recent sold-out event at the Arlington Theater, a lecture by "Democracy Now!" host Amy Goodman, the refurbishing of two more production studios at the station, and the revamping of our official website, in addition to our usual sponsorship of events in the Santa Barbara area, ranging from UCSB Arts and Lectures films to appearances by such artists as Lila Downs, the RZA, and The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower. Looking ahead, a 45th Anniversary Alumni Reunion is also in the works for the spring of 2007.

About the Fund Drive (Nov. 6-15th): For a minimum of $20 (students) or $45 (non-students), donors can claim gift certificates, books, CDs, videos, event tickets, KCSB t-shirts, and more as thank-you gifts for their support. Supporters can also donate online at http://www.kcsb.org (but are not entitled to thank-you gifts for those contributions). From Nov. 6th-15th, listeners will primarily be calling KCSB's fund drive hotline, (805) 893-2424.

About KCSB: KCSB offers a wide range of sounds and perspectives from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The station gives year-round media training to individuals and groups who would not otherwise have access to radio resources. Students and community members learn to work as radio professionals in music, news, and public affairs. KCSB also runs popular shows such as "Democracy Now!" "Free Speech Radio News," and "Alternative Radio," among many others.

i just found out, reading rhiwena's last post, that nov. 5th is guy fawkes night.  it was also the occasion of a major dia de los muertos celebration in tucson.




nov. 5th is also jay's birthday.  it's strange i never knew about the historic connection to that date before.

turns out that nov. 7th was 'kicking bush's sorry ass' night.  the closest thing us good guys have gotten to a political "super bowl" victory in a loooooong while.




i hope that bush, cheney, rove, rumsfeld, rice & all of those muthafuckas are starting to get measurements on their fucking leg manacles, those muthafuckas.

sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss *~@

"KA-POW!!!!"