Well... the thread has veered off topic, and then become relevant !!
Okay.. here goes...
The financial situation of the site is this. We are losing about £1,000 a month. However, LifeStyle AV is propping this up with loans and paying little extras for 'advertising' whenever we need to make up numbers. LifeStyle AV also sells BeoWorld some of the prizes at a loss, but hey - that's less tax to pay. Hopefully the tax inspector won't see a pattern emerging!
Once we have all of the functionality issues completely nailed, and things are running like a swiss watch - i will then hit the advertising button and really concentrate on more members and advertisers. This will boost revenue to the point where we can be self sufficient, and that's all i ever ask. Like the rest of the moderating team, i give my time for free because i love the site to bits!
As for merging LifeStyle AV and BeoWorld.. well, they are both totally seperate Limited Companies, and they shall stay that way. At the beginning i was accused of buying BeoWorld to make pots of money and promote LifeStyle AV at every opportunity. I think my actions have spoken more than words on this, and not once have i thrust LifeStyle AV in anyones face - and as for making pots of money.. well, i think i may be more likely to walk on water. That aside, if BeoWorld ever did make pots of money - it would be spent on the site and its members anyway.
So, as to the purpose of the the 'spice up' thread. It was purely to find out if anyone thought we could improve! I promise i will get boring with this, but i will not sit back and let BeoWorld stagnate. I want the site to go forward constantly, and to be fun and informative at the same time. We have some fantastic members on here who add humour and laughs to the mix - but i simply wondered if we could do anything else!
I can categorically say i'm not concerned about BeoWorld, and i'm really happy with the way it's going. We are growing steadily, like an Oak Tree - and are putting down very strong roots. As i get older, i realise this is the way to stick around for a long time and get bigger and bigger! BeoWorld is doing just fine, honestly. It will only get better.
All i ask is that we all just enjoy BeoWorld, and get involved in the Forums. Don't be scared - post something simple as your first post. Just agree with someone, or do a laughing smiley! - we all start somewhere. I think my own first post was a comment that was so rubbish it was ignored - but it gave me the confidence to tell someone how to wrestle that back off a Beo4 to change the batteries or something.. and here i am now - the nutter that owns the site! (is there a madman smiley yet?!)
Lee
BeoWorld - Everything Bang & Olufsen