ON Magazine

[tommcgee]

There is the conundrum that was being addressed in in the OP. He is a member and one of the primary reasons to join does not have great value to him.

My interest is the forum, don't care much for the rest, but that's just me. The ON doesn't have a lot of value to me either, but I still appreciate getting it. It's the connection with other riders I value.

I'd also appreciate the Anonymous Book as an App, but since the BoD have no interest in doing club buzz on the forum and I have no interest in club politics or rallies, I have no idea how to suggest this.

[mika]

The forum is what I value. The anonymous book is great but I have never used it. The magazine has had infrequent value when I owned my first airhead in the 80s but not so much after I sold it. Members can blow off or argue in defense of any part of what is offered. It is not a question of what is wrong but how do you improve what your association has to offer.

[sibud]

There is the conundrum that was being addressed in in the OP. He is a member and one of the primary reasons to join does not have great value to him.

Before anyone gets their undies in a bundle; it is not for the lack of the editorial staff trying to expand the range of articles offered. They have and continue to solicit articles other than travelogues.

The bylaws make ON the official means of communication for the association; therefore it is hard to avoid a bunch of clubbie articles.

The charter clubs are symbiotic partners of the national organization so is it a surprise that ON reflects that in many ways?

At the same time there has been a segment of undefined size that has no allegiances to local clubs. They aren't rally rats for one reason or another. Yet they pay their dues and expect to find some enjoyment out of the association perks.

If you want an association that continues to be vibrant in the 21st century figuring out how to meet the interest in some share is necessary to stop deteriorating membership roles.

Well said. We , MOA, have great opportunities ahead as we find ways to maintain current members while attracting new members as well.

[20774]

My interest is the forum, don't care much for the rest, but that's just me. The ON doesn't have a lot of value to me either, but I still appreciate getting it. It's the connection with other riders I value.

I'd also appreciate the Anonymous Book as an App, but since the BoD have no interest in doing club buzz on the forum and I have no interest in club politics or rallies, I have no idea how to suggest this.

I guess you didn't read the minutes of the Board meeting, on Page 20 of the October ON. Marc and Vince indicated that apps for ON and the Anonymous are expected out this year. These topics have long been in discussion and it's taken time to work out the details so it is beginning to happen.

[braddog]

There is the conundrum that was being addressed in in the OP. He is a member and one of the primary reasons to join does not have great value to him.

Before anyone gets their undies in a bundle; it is not for the lack of the editorial staff trying to expand the range of articles offered. They have and continue to solicit articles other than travelogues.

The bylaws make ON the official means of communication for the association; therefore it is hard to avoid a bunch of clubbie articles.

The charter clubs are symbiotic partners of the national organization so is it a surprise that ON reflects that in many ways?

At the same time there has been a segment of undefined size that has no allegiances to local clubs. They aren't rally rats for one reason or another. Yet they pay their dues and expect to find some enjoyment out of the association perks.

If you want an association that continues to be vibrant in the 21st century figuring out how to meet the interest in some share is necessary to stop deteriorating membership roles.

Well put.

I understand the OP's concerns and comments. Maybe he's not a club or rally person. I know that I'm not, and frankly there are often articles in the ON that don't interest me, so like someone else said, I turn the page.

My participating on these online forums comes and goes, depending on what's being posted, and what I'm looking for at the time. I've received a LOT of good information from these forums, and hopefully, maybe given some as well.

The national or international rally really IS a big deal for the BMW MOA. That's why there are so many pages dedicated to it. Yeah, sometimes I think it gets to be a bit much, especially since we know that the October issue contains the full review with pics of the rally. Some of the pics of the people are folks that have known each other and have been involved with the BMW MOA for many years. Some people like to see these pics, even if it's just a group of people posing in a group.

The thing is, as a member, you CAN contribute to the magazine. This is a very good thing. It allows members to add content that interests them, and hopefully, other members of the MOA. If you're someone who thinks the magazine could be better, and have some ideas, then my advice is to go for it. Come up with some articles, product reviews, riding stories, etc. If it interests you, chances are there are others that will appreciate it as well.

[Troutluck]

There was a survey a while back that did a good job, in my opinion, of gauging interest in various topics. It seems to me the editorial board made some big adjustments after the survey was processed, so I assume they paid attention to the data. Did you fill out the survey? I did, and I am pleased with the magazine.

I would like to see the MOA be more of an advocate for quality control issues, which I expressed in the survey, too.

[statdawg]

I am tired of print media and I want audible reads I can listen too while riding. Please Mo(a)mmy tell me about the big bad water boxer again and the Holy Water in the beast.

[ClassicVW]

A couple people mentioned either declining or possible declining membership. Can anyone speak to the actual membership numbers and what the trend is? With the recent increased MC sales, we shuld see a small rise I would guess.

[lkchris]

Lot of "voodoo economics" here.

Do you suppose this forum is paid for by solely club membership dues?

Do you suppose the national rally is paid for solely by club membership dues?

I'd think again ... and look to all the advertising revenue the ON generates.

And, I think it's pretty special to be able to learn of products marketed specifically to BMW owners. They may actually work and I may actually be buying from someone that understands BMWs.

And, the club's been going for around 40 years now and "club news" has always been a feature of the magazine, so I'd conclude lots of "voters" over the years have approved of that.

It's a social club and if you're not into socializing save for anonymous forum posting, well the problem's yours. Can't remember the number of times I've posted that the solution to a bike tech problem presented on a forum is so much easier and better found consulting with local club members. For the most part you ain't gonna make it as a lone wolf and it will be a useful education to discover that it takes a village. That is, actual contact with live humans ... and why not document some of that contact via photos/articles in the ON?

[PGlaves]

A couple people mentioned either declining or possible declining membership. Can anyone speak to the actual membership numbers and what the trend is? With the recent increased MC sales, we shuld see a small rise I would guess.

I don't have the actual numbers but membership is down some. But when I think about motorcycling as generally a discretionary recreational activity, and think about the state of the economy over the past 6 years it certainly comes as no surprise to me that some BMW owners are cutting back discretionary spending.

As for the magazine, I don't read it all every month either. But I can always find enough interesting things in it to keep me occupied for a while. If I didn't think the magazine was important to many members I certainly wouldn't be taking my time to regularly write a column for the magazine. At last count I had written something just over 140 columns in the past 17 years. When I conclude the members aren't interested, I'll quit writing and spend more time riding or wrenching.

So for anybody who has a good idea for an article they think should be in the ON get to that keyboard pronto.

[Darryl Cainey]

I equate the Owner News with a smorgasbord, a little bit of this and that.

Try some of that it looks good, skip this and I like those! How about these
and some of something I haven't had before.


I you don't like something skip it, turn the page!

[mika]

...snipped...
The thing is, as a member, you CAN contribute to the magazine. This is a very good thing. It allows members to add content that interests them, and hopefully, other members of the MOA. If you're someone who thinks the magazine could be better, and have some ideas, then my advice is to go for it. Come up with some articles, product reviews, riding stories, etc. If it interests you, chances are there are others that will appreciate it as well.

Excellent point. The option is there to contribute and help mold the various publications into offerings that contain other interests and views. As strong an argument and method of unraveling the conundrum there are a couple of problems presented by it too.

What are the hurdles to doing it? If you are not what is perceived to be a traditional member how do you overcome your internal fears to present something tangential to the norm? The practical issues are easy to explain but just between us forum bums are we really receptive to people who don't think like we do and want to do what we want to do? I don't know about the rest of you but I have enough trouble putting up with you guys without having to look and listen to yet another voice. How does a novice member overcome that if that is the perceived reception they get after the initial meet and greet.

The other problem with this is even in the current membership the association (along with just about every other one I can think of) is seeing a shift from on going participation such as you are suggesting and the desire of members to be served.

As has been pointed out, yes there is a bit of voodoo economics in all of this.

In very broad strokes the MOA rally system is a self sustaining system with the importunity of creating a surplus in some years which can be returned to the association to spend elsewhere. The profit from one rally provides the money to cover the up front costs of the next rally. This cycle is repeated. When there is a surplus in the funding of this cycle it can be used to fund other things.

ON has been a break even operation in most budgets I have looked at. Advertising dollars offset direct publication expenses and expenses budgeted under its umbrella. Advertising revenue was just one of the issues that needed to be accounted for in the move to offering an online publication in any form. Advertising dollars and what is promised in the contract small print is, I suspect why, the online version is released on the first of the month while the print version can reach homes before then.

The Anonymous move to being offered digitally in addition to print has been discussed and worked on for several years. Writing the ap is the relatively easy part. No doubt there are advertising dollars to consider that pay for the print and hopefully digital version; along with security concerns causing delays.

Membership is down. The peak was in the low 40k range and the last numbers I saw put the number around 34K+/-. Membership numbers have roll to play in all the voodoo no matter who the voodoo priest or priestess is.

Some more voodoo economics for you.

In the fist 10 years of the 21st century BMW sold over 100,000 bikes in the U.S.

BMW claims, IIRC, something like 78% or better of the BMWs ever produced are still operating so there are a bunch of used ones out there with owners and riders.

I saw a person post with the scene name 178000. My guess that is their member number. What happened to the other 144,000? Go beyond just explaining their absence away as having died, moved on to other things or a host of other things that are legitimate explanations for many of the numbers. What attracted them in the first place? Why did they leave? What was lacking to keep them in the fold? What can be learned from the answers to those questions?

[arthurdent]

I equate the Owner News with a smorgasbord, a little bit of this and that.

Try some of that it looks good, skip this and I like those! How about these
and some of something I haven't had before.


I you don't like something skip it, turn the page!

My wife looks forward to Jacks article every month and I read it to her before bed for a giggles. Other articles I pick and choose what is interesting, but often skip articles about places I don't want to visit. Won't get to many of them in my life, but worth reading about at times.

[r11rs94]

It was not my intention to be at all sarcastic. Curmudgeonly, definitely. And "or what" would be the main point - helpful. If I was in charge I'd want critical feedback before the numbers started shrinking on membership and circulation. It's my honest, and apparently initially unpopular feedback. It wasn't just one issue, it's been a couple now on just Sedalia and before that it's still a lot of pictures of people I don't know posing with other people I don't know. Now, if they were doing something fun together like bashing through a forest on a GSA or on a romp around some West Virginia twisties and it was in connection with some roads I'd like to visit or using some gear I might be thinking about then that's entirely interesting. And, there's some of that in there that I enjoyed. But just standing there posing for a photo is not interesting and elicits my "family vacation slide show" vib. I guess if there are sufficient numbers of readers that like to see that month after month I'll just stew in my curmudgeon-ness and live with it, or not. I do get some occasional benefit from the forums. I'm new around here so maybe I haven't been around enough to "get it." That's entirely possible..

You sound like you may enjoy the BMWRA's magazine OTL (On the Level) Check them out at www.bmwra.org This is one of my top 2 magazines.

[akbeemer]

It's a social club and if you're not into socializing save for anonymous forum posting, well the problem's yours......

Pittsdriver, Not piling on but the comment above got me thinking about my current pet peeve. You reveal almost nothing about yourself in your profile. I guess you are from Pittsburg....Kansas, Pennsylvannia?? And you ride a red K bike. Ask yourself, would you be more likely to value the input of someone you know a bit about or an anonymous poster on the forum? We are by and large a friendly bunch here. Tell us a bit about yourself. Briefs or boxers?