Tuesday
March 27, 2001
Money for clothes
This is an article we should have been reading 2-3 years ago ["Growing
up"]. For some reason we in the Iranian community think that iranians
making money off of other Iranians -- even if by honest means -- is a very
bad thing. I've NEVER understood this.
Needless to say, in the past I've had my disagreements with Jahanshah
Javid and his editorial policies. But nevertheless he is providing a valuable
service that has done a lot to bring together the Iranian diaspora. This
is an effort that has turned into a full-time job. So what the hell is
wrong with making some money off it?
In the beginning it would have been a bad idea because no one would
have signed up and the site would have floundered. But now that it's been
built into THE most popular Iranian site on the Internet, I think there
is room for maneuvering here.
To begin with, I think that Javid should raise his advertising rates.
More marketing is needed. If BMW and Mercedes execs become informed as
to the popularity of their cars among Iranians, they will be quick to advertise
on the website. And I for one do not mind paying a small yearly subscription
fee -- say $10 for the whole year -- to access the site, even though I'm
a student.
Ten dollars is NOTHING, especially for what I'm getting out of the site.
I doubt most people would mind paying $10 for the whole year. Even if half
the people currently using the site agree to it, that's still a lot of
money... more than enough to afford some health insurance and even some
new clothes.
I propose that Javid conduct a survey on iranian.com to find out what
percentage of people would support that idea.
Nariman Neyshapouri
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