Speed Camera Database to Turn Professional

chris_w · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:00 am Post subject:

Have you thought about asking for more volunteers? I have no doubt you would have loads of replies.
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Thanks,

Chris

Darren · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:05 am Post subject:

Darren · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:11 am Post subject:

I should add that if we are guilty of handling this poorly then so be it, none of us are PR Guru's but we have , do and will always firmly be supporters of GPS and we're simply trying to raise the game.

We consulted on and decided a unit price for the database based on many factors. Thanks to Merchant card services and PayPal any less than £2 would have meant a large proportion of the sum going into their coffers and so £2 was the obvious sum. We may well consider incentives, discounts, rewards etc but we are a way off any implementation as yet and so we do not know what will be the case when we go 'live'.
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Darren Griffin

soweezy · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:14 am Post subject:

over the past 10 months I've submitted 25 cameras/updates

I know that's just 2.5 a month but the database is more accurate for it...

will they count toward any future discount scheme ? Wink

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SW

Garmin Zumo 390LM

ps73uk · Regular Visitor Joined: Jun 15, 2005 Posts: 116

The £2 per download is fine, but i hope you will at least consider an option of a £20 (ish) annual subscription?
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Garmin Streetpilot i3,
Tomtom One
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Paul

Marc_L400 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 21, 2005 Posts: 12

Drewzel · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:27 am Post subject:

Darren,

To you and the other PGPSW Team and moderators it would never be my intention to dissmiss the wonderful work that has been put into this site since its inception.....for that I thank you all. I, personally have only been into GPS for just over 9 months...and I used this site as my PRIME source of research material before plunging in and buying some gear. I feel I have saved myself much angst (and money) in doing so. I have purchased alll I need through your various advertisers/sponsors. I have obtained help from the forums an the past also.

I personally do not have a problem with paying for the database (to which I have not yet contributed (mainly due to not understanding the process...POICapture, I feel, has made this easier), though I do feel that a per download model would not be favourable from my own point of view. Why not a "members-only" section of the site where an annual subscription can be charged.

You say that you want to expand and improve things further.....why not tell us about some of the ideas you have planned...then we might be able to judge whether a payment would represent "good value for money"...suggest levels of subscription.....classes of members....etc etc.....just thoughts.

On reflection, I feel that if this had been explained more fully in the first instance then some people would have understood where you were all coming from.....instead of feeling put out at having to pay for their own information. It is all about "managing change" as the saying goes in management jargon and it seems that you probably set off on the wrong foot!

So please....lets hear about the things you have planned.....this is an exciting time in GPS....lets all share it and hopefully feel a part of it!
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Regards,

Andrew

gsxr1000 · Regular Visitor Joined: Mar 14, 2005 Posts: 66

i think it is a fair price for a worthwile product

considering the time and effort not to mention the bespoke software developed here and the almost endless support we recieve in the forums it not to much to ask

running my own website, like some others here, and more likely 99% of people here dont run a webite, there are costs that soon add up, fortunately, my website sells my business and it isnt logged with google etc as i only advertise locally and dont want enquiries from ireland or the outer hebrides, but with a busy site like this the costs can grow as the popularity grows due to bandwidth.

sure advertising is going to bring in revenue, but look at other thinks like planning events and the costs incurred by the team travelling to and from, not to mention telephone calls.

i truly think some people here are acting like muppets and cant see it as a bargain

maybe the old british attitude of "I WANT EVERYTHING FOR NOTHING" is more prevalant than i thought.

at the end of the day you lot have no qualms about spending hundreds and hundreds on the latest gear but have a severe problem over a £2 quid levy that often raises your awewrness to licence killers

get a life

s_roberts · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 08, 2005 Posts: 20

Just like the congestion charge people were against it, this is the same thing - people are against it but will still end up paying. Although you will probably be able to download the database from so many sources that the income will be minimal.

If the pocketgps team introduce feature such as auto update and installation of the database via a sync system then this is something revolutionery and people will pay for this - you can see that the vast majority of users do not even know how to copy and paste files over - you can tell from the number of posts in the camera database section

Drewzel · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:16 am Post subject:

Darren,

Further to my previous post .....(at the risk of repeating myself)...had it not been splashed all over the home page "Camera Database to go professional" and had, instead been explained fully as an intended expansion and general improvement of the site (and the services offered through it ),with some ideas and intentions actually being proposed, then I am sure that people would have been more inclined to be positive where they could perceive a benefit. Everyone likes "something for nothing", myself included....the mistake IMHO was to wrap it around just the camera database and the bandwidth issue.

Some people will ALWAYS object to having to pay for anything that was previously provided "free" (to them). The majority would be willing, I am sure, to pay for added value on the site and/or a vastly expanded site/experience/bespoke software/easier downloads/additional POI's/additional reviews etc etc.

I dabble a little in family history, where on many sites the user can view material (indexes) freely but then has to purchase credits in order to view/download the really useful information that they require. The more credits that the user purchases, the cheaper each individual view/download becomes. In this instance...the credits are time-limited but that need not necessarily apply.....database contributors could maybe qualify for addtional or discounted credits......just further thoughts thats all.

I suggest you (and the team) maybe produce an article for the home page outlining some of the plans and enhancements you would like to implement on the site for us all to see....maybe then there would be more positive feedback when people are able to see the whole picture rather than the the blinkered view of the camera database only...it is, after all, only one part of this site's user-experience (though no less important for that.....many thanks Oldboy!).
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Regards,

Andrew

s_roberts · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 08, 2005 Posts: 20

Enhancements like what ?

SimonB · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:44 am Post subject:

As a thought.... could PGPSW just supply Fixed Camera Locations for Free in one POI File.

Then for additional cost, provide all the split POI's as are currently available.

This should provide enough info for people who just want free data, and then give a suitable justification for those who want to contribute etc.

Simon
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cantgetlost · Frequent Visitor Joined: Nov 14, 2005 Posts: 291

You state the obvious that other like minded business people say you should be charging, what would you expect like minded people to say?
I've visited the site for over two years and joined the forum when I got my own satnav.
The reputation of this site has been built using input data and experience provided free by many of its forum members whilst you state that talk and planning for a "professional pay side " has been going on for a long while.
I would say you have hidden you intentions, you can disagree, but have you really been open about your plans?
You have also sought voluntary donations, so you have extracted funding without being open and above board re your commercial aspirations and plans.
Above the PayPal Donate link it states "please help support the pgpsw COMMUNITY"
Where exactly does "COMMUNITY" fit into yours and your fellow directors well planned professional charging scheme?
You can duck and dive as editor, but it seems clear that you have failed some simple common business manners. You talk about FACT but talk twaddle and ignore how you have promoted the ethos of the site as a COMMUNITY.
We have helped build the sites reputation as members of a COMMUNITY as you state, now a small number decide to make part of what the COMMUNITY has built a paying business.
Please state your intentions! Our donations have helped fund your business start up costs. Yours, not the communities who will now have to pay for what they have helped provide.
Do you honestly see this as a fair way to work? Will you exclude all forum posts as they are our intellectual property. And as I said to BT, NTL, SE, NCP, Vodafone and others. Are you prepared to gamble that your legal representation is as good as mine? They all backed down!
So why not try and start again and use some lateral intelligent thinking before Sh 1 t ing on people!

SweetWilliam · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 20, 2005 Posts: 2

mossman · Regular Visitor Joined: Dec 21, 2005 Posts: 90

Earlier, Darren posted

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