Electronic Bugle trial

[Barney Eaton]

Notice to all foreign BCA members.

At the Ames Board meeting, I made a motion that a 6 month trial be started for an electronic Bugle. The motion passed the board and will start when the BCA office has the email file ready.

If you are a BCA member and live outside the US you need to make certain the BCA office has your correct email address so that you can receive an electronic Bugle. You will continue to receive a hard copy, but you will get the electronic copy at the same time as US BCA members get their Bugle.

Once this starts, your input to the BCA office and the BCA Board will determine the future of an electronic Bugle. The trial is to get feedback and work out any unforseen problems.

Will there be an electronic Bugle for US members? This trial will help decide that answer.

[Reatta Man]

Barney,

If you guys are using a tracking Web site or software program, you could easily extend the trial to U.S. members and post the Bugle to a restricted Web site.

Instead of sending the file (probably very large) you just send out the unique login and password for that month's edition. By using the tracking software, you can record Web visits, length of visit, and the domain (including whether foreign or U.S.) for tracking results.

Send me a message if you or any of the board members would like further details.

Joe

[Barney Eaton]

We have people much more computer literate than I that are working on this.

I just want the foreign BCA members to be aware as early as possible.

Two reasons for doing the foreign members as a trial.

(1) they receive their Bugle 4-8 weeks after it is mailed and have a huge disadvantage if they are looking for Buick parts.

(2) there are roughly 400 foreign BCA members making it much easier to manage.

Thanks for the input and maybe some of the Board members that read these post will take your suggestion...... I am now a Board alumni.

[Erik]

This initiative sounds absolutely great!!!

I'm looking forward to the first edition

[Guest buickapollo455]

just go back to black and white inside covers, and cut our membership cost back to 35!!

[bhclark]

Love the idea....can it be sent about 4-5 days after the Bugle is mailed so they don't get the jump on us. :D:D:D:D:D:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[buick840]

Love the idea....can it be sent about 4-5 days after the Bugle is mailed so they don't get the jump on us. :D:D:rolleyes::rolleyes:

:) Good one Brian!!

Maybe I'll look into bribing the postmen in Cincinnati (Hamilton), Ohio to hold onto the Bugle a few exra days

I for one will be very pleased to get an electronic copy.

[rivgs]

Love the idea....can it be sent about 4-5 days after the Bugle is mailed so they don't get the jump on us. :D:D:D:D:D:rolleyes::rolleyes:

That is exactly what will happen, The electronic version will go out about the same time it is hitting the U.S. members mailboxes. So everyone will get to read it about the same time.

[Thriller]

Looking forward to it...you know that I'll provide feedback, wanted or not...:eek::cool:

[BUICK RACER]

Looking forward to it...you know that I'll provide feedback, wanted or not...:eek::cool:

You can tell us if there's anything good in it, right?

[Thriller]

There was a time I got my paper copy about the same time as you Roberta, if I recall correctly. Then it got convoluted and I got mine later than the other locals. That seems to be straightened out again - I got my July Bugle on the Friday before we left for Ames.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Received August copy yesterday.

Ben

[MartyWorld]

Notice to all foreign BCA members.

At the Ames Board meeting, I made a motion that a 6 month trial be started for an electronic Bugle. The motion passed the board and will start when the BCA office has the email file ready.

If you are a BCA member and live outside the US you need to make certain the BCA office has your correct email address so that you can receive an electronic Bugle. You will continue to receive a hard copy, but you will get the electronic copy at the same time as US BCA members get their Bugle.

Once this starts, your input to the BCA office and the BCA Board will determine the future of an electronic Bugle. The trial is to get feedback and work out any unforseen problems.

Will there be an electronic Bugle for US members? This trial will help decide that answer.

Excellent idea.

How is the "electronic Bugle trial" going, or has it started yet?

Thank you,

Marty

[38Buick 80C]

Marty,

It has not started yet. The office is putting the finishing touches on the program and then we will be requesting everyone (international) who wants to be in the trial update or reconfirm their email addresses with the office. Also we are planning to put out a roster next year so shortly we'll be reminding everyone to update their info for the roster too.

Of course anyone can call or email the office with address, car, email, phone, etc changes as these things change or you can call to just say hi.

[John_Maine]

Sorry, I'm old school. I want a magazine I can hold, look at and read any time I want. I don't want to have to sit in front of a computer to read any book or magazine. If the Bugle ever goes all electronic, I will be gone. I know that's contrary to the majority but that's how I feel.

[38Buick 80C]

John,

Just to be clear, no BOD member has ever said it is going all electronic.

You want your hard copy, you got it!!

Someone else wants it electronic, they got it!!

Someone else wants both they get both!!

Everyone is happy!!

This is all in theory, right now its a trial so we can learn as a club so that if we offer the above it works correctly so and everything goes smooth.

[buick5563]

Mr. DePouli,

Thank you for letting us know that the sky is not falling.

(Spellcheck makes me want to further Italianize your name)

[dei]

Brian,

Just sent my request for the electronic Bugle to the office and looking forward to this trial. With the mailing process here in Canada one can never count on receiving it with timely regularity except it will be at the end of the month sometime so this should be the answer for me.

Further, my experience with the local car club here, Canadian Transportation Museum and Heritage Village, which I have been a member since the age of twelve (they had an Associate Membership for the children of members) decided to try emailing in order to save costs and believe me it in fact did the trick. However the timing wasn't great. With putting on a 20,000 square foot museum addition and membership down the decision to raise dues to help with costs was counter productive at first. It was about two years before membership started to rise after the Grand Opening and suddenly there was about 10,000 dollars in the membership treasury which had never ever been that much since the existence of the club.

So my two cents (Canadian) here is that it should be a savings by emailing and I hope we can see positive results. As to a hard copy, print it out and take it out on the porch and read it if you like. By emailing and saving to a memory stick or disk look at the space savings. I recently have burned way too many Hemmings Mags out in my fire pit I though I needed to save in the basement all these years! Those were bought off the shelf, not subscription and hate to think of the money that could have gone into my 58's.

Just some thoughts and keep up the good work on the Bugle.

[John_Maine]

Hi Brian - no, I didn't take it that the Bugle would go all electronic, but with the way things are going, who's to say that will be the case in 10 years. High School kids in Clearwater, FL got Kindles instead of text books. It's just a sign of the coming times. Look what's happening to book stores, large and small. Just like the movie rental business and CDs, they're dying off. I believe most everything will be forced to go electronic completely in the next few years as the majority seem to like the technology and with rising costs and fewer subscribers, magazines will have no choice but to abandon paper.

[RICK YOUNG]

I cannot wait for the October Issue.

There may be a very large portion of "CROW" served up.

[Barney Eaton]

If there is any confusion, it is my fault. It is not what I said to start this discussion, it is what I did not say.

Brian is a Board member and he is quoting you the plan.

There are BCA members that may only want an electronic Bugle...many of them may be younger members.

There will always be BCA members that want a hard copy.

And......there may be BCA members that want both.

The electronic trial helps the Board make some decisions and there should be a huge improvement for foreign BCA members in getting a (electronic) Bugle at the same time members elsewhere get their hard copy. Foreign members have been at a disadvantage when it comes to buying parts..... by the time they get their Bugle, the parts they need may have been sold. We (the BCA) has a potential of attracting more foreign members if we can put them on a level playing field when it comes to finding parts they need.

The electronic trial should give feedback from the foreign members to the BOD to take the next steps in deciding on what levels of membership will be made available.

In Brians words.................

You want your hard copy, you got it!!

Someone else wants it electronic, they got it!!

Someone else wants both they get both!!

Everyone is happy!!

............................................................

[Thriller]

I cannot wait for the October Issue.

Heck, I'm having trouble waiting for the September issue...should be here any day now...since I've jinxed it, I definitely won't get it this week.