A big announcement from Dave

Wheewww Dave,Thanks for clearing that up for everyone.I already had broken out in a cold sweat.

Marie, that's great - well said!!!

Trish reminded me that I left out a detail about the advertising. When I first started putting ads on DG back in 2003, I made it so that subscribers would be able to disable ads and never see that.

Well, that continues. I've already talked about this with NameMedia and they agree it's critical to continue that. So, please rest assured that for as long as you are a subscriber you will continue to be able to turn off ALL ads to the site, and separately to turn off any "Sponsorships" that might also be present.

Dave

And your subscription will be good over at gardens.com, too, so you won't see ads their, either, unless you request them via your preferences.

dave

And who doesn't know she's the driving force ? ;)

enya_34:

I'm nervous too, but once I see how things go over the next few weeks, I'll probably be okay with it. I'm sure once I read some updates over the next few weeks/months, on how this change is having positive effects at DG, than I will feel better about it and I'll understand the change better. I'm glad you, Trish and Terry are staying here. I'm sure this will be really great for you guys and I wish you the very best of luck.

Dave: Thanks for being honest about this and providing that clarification. I have been a happy subscriber and I hope to stick around for a while.

- Brent

Dave,
I am excited and very glad to be a part of DG. It has opened doors for me to both new friends and new gardening experiences I would never have known. I look forward to the coming years and trust you to guide us in the future as you have in the past.
Congratulations!

Barb

First off, Congratulations Dave, Trish and Terry!!!! Dave's Garden has been my internet home page for the last year. I canceled cable TV just like JasperDale. Who needs TV when you can use your mind on DG? LOL

Second, change scares me too, particularly when big buisiness is involved. Dave, I'm letting go of my fears and putting all my trust in you. You've brought me this far... it's only got to get brighter.

A question: Do the people at NameMedia garden?

Lots of love and support,
Harper

Thank you Harper. :)

Yes, many of the NameMedia people garden. In fact, the guy (named Mark) who created the design for gardens.com is a newbie gardener himself and is excited to learn more about veggie gardening. :)

Dave

I've only been around DG for less than a year, but I love this place. I check in several times a day. Sometimes I dig down to the earliest threads when this site first got off the ground. By doing this I get a glimpse of how this site has changed over the years - every change seems to have made this site only better than before. Therefore, I am confident that you are just doing it again - making a great site better and better each day. Thanks for all your effort and the sacrifices you've surely made in the past six years. I'm sure this is God's way of blessing you for your diligence, wisdom and integrity in managing this site.

Allow me to live up to my name for a moment. :)

If there would ever happen to be a "divorce", who gets DG?

What number is in mind for the new subscription price? How will that affect the members outside of the US when some have problems meeting the conversion price as it is now?

No partnership begins with expectations that it'll be broken off later, but if NameMedia and I part ways, they keep DG.

The new subscription price will probably be $25 per year. As for international members who may have trouble, we still have plenty in the garden angel fund (along with the Garden Angel committee).

Dave

Congratulations Dave! This is such an awesome site, all the others pale in comparision.

The hike in the subscription price will be well worth it and is long overdue.

It has been a wonderful experience getting to know Dave, Trish and Terry over the last several months. This team and all of you have built a phenomal gardening community. As we have looked to expand NameMedia we have desired to work with teams and communities just like DavesGarden.com. We are very proud to have Dave and Terry join our company and DavesGarden and all of you to become part of our expanding media network. Today is a very exciting for all of us and we look to the future with great excitement.

-Jeff Bennett, President & COO, NameMedia

Let me add my congratulations also.
I'm sure DG will continue to be a quality site as long as you're involved.

Paul

Many congrats to all!!! I love change, in fact, I'm allergic to things being the same. I look forward to the ride & cannot wait for more fun to begin! SherryLike

Welcome Jeff! Although I'm not sure it rings quite "right" to welcome you to your own place, it certainly feels right to welcome you into the Dave's Garden community :-) May we hope that you too are a gardener and we'll be seeing more from you on that subject too?

--Ginny

Congratulations to all of you! You’ve earned this chance to make life easier for yourselves and your families. I'm glad all of you are staying so that DG stays true to it's beginnings. A hearty "Welcome" to you, Jeff!

I've enjoyed DG for almost a year and became addicted the first day I peeked in :). This is a wonderful place to learn and grow as a gardener as well as a joy to meet and chat with people from all over the world. I, too, am a happy subscriber.

DG is my home page. I grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair and log on first thing in the morning – every morning! I also sneak peeks at work when no one is watching! My day is not complete without a dose of DG.

I’m looking forward to checking out Gardens.com. To quote someone famous "Keep those fingers dirty" (mine always are)!

Break out the bubbly!
Sharon


This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 1:37 PM

Jeff, welcome! :) I'm sure you have been on DG enough to see that we welcome everyone into the garden. We're happy to have you and hope that you will also become active on the boards. Any chance you garden? lol Of course I feel the need to throw in some father like threat about if you hurt Dave we will come get you, but I doubt that's necessary. :) I hope you know I'm just kidding...kinda. lol

Dave, I noticed a couple days ago that you were posting in the beginner forums and I thought how wonderful it was to see you posting about GARDENING! I've been witness to how your participation has waned over the years, be it no fault of your own, and I've always kinda felt bad for you to be so busy that you can't enjoy your own garden. I'm very happy for you guys and look forward to seeing you around more! :) ((((hugs))))

Call me skeptical. You sold a business, which, by your own admission, has had a tough time paying the bills. Now, a larger business has paid you for DG. They now have equity sunk into it, and they now have to pay you folks a salary. One of their main businesses is directing people to sponsored links. Why are they buying DG? It's not to preserve what you started, but to make money. It is a business, after all. DG is eyeballs to them. How can they monetize those eyeballs? As an investment professional, it makes absolutely no sense to me that a company backed by VC money, a company that specializes in linking customers to advertisers, would purchase DG and not change a thing.

Dave,
Congratulations... on your new "old" job... not having to worry about finances while you are doing what you love is wonderful! So I am glad for you and all your team!

the only thing I really hope is that DG will stay "the same wonderful site where I can still talk with all my other gardening friends... I love them.. DG is more than just a site where I get info about plants... this site was a life saver ... I problably would have killed all my plants if it was not for the wonderful people of the Rose Forum and Northeast forums! The reception was great... I was in another site before but it was not as alive as DG... and being a new gardener myself (started last spring) I have learned so much already, but I will check out the new site when you have it up and running...

are you moving to Boston??? it's the best place to be.... the red sox are here you know!!!!! well, I am a little bias since I live only 25min away!!!! next time you come here to this area let us know... I am sure all the other members from the Boston area would love to meet you!!!!

Dave, Trish, Terry and All - Every good wish for your continued
success. Congratulations !

Heck, Dave, $25 is just one extra large pizza, some fries, and a
big soda, delivered, once a year. At least that's how my husband
always broke things down for me, and I love great pizza. As you
well know, it's a lot more fun when you share it with friends.
Please pass me a slice :o)

Congrats on the new venture.
Stupid question maybe, but if posts made at either site show on both sites, what's the point in having 2 sites?

Hey, Jeff - I like you. :o) Good luck to ALL of you.
Anita

Kevin_5, I'm not a business man by any stretch of the imagination, but I understand that the biggest value that NameMedia is getting is me. I don't intend to sound conceited; that's not at all my intention. At the same time, though, I've been offered many jobs over the years for many large internet companies (most of whom you have heard of). They all wanted me so that I could develop additional websites for them.

So, from an investment standpoint they will get their value out of the work that I will put into projects outside of the DG sphere. Maybe I'm naive, but I don't think so.

Dave

Congratulations Dave, Trish, and Terry! It will be interesting to see how things evolve in the future! I have every confidence it will go well for us all! Thank you for a wonderful garden site!

Congrats Dave . . . sounds like a well deserved offer that was too good to pass up.

I know from first hand experience that a site like this is a lot of work and requires a good team as well as quality feedback from the members. I am looking forward to the progression and wish ya'll the best with the new team/company.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help :)
GD

Thank you for your quick and honest answers Dave. I know as much as anyone, how important it is to take care of your family and have dependable finances as well as a plan for the future. DG has always been "your baby". I hope it stays that way. I wish you and your family the very best trip down this new road. Same to you Terry!

Welcome to DG Jeff! You are sure to find many ways to get roped in, whether you plan to or not. LOL

BOUQUETS and congratulations Dave! What an awesome opportunity to do what you really love without worrying about the hassles! I realize that you and yours have thought and debated all the conceivable issues beforehand...but TRUST is not transferred by osmosis. Hope and pray there's never a need for a "divorce" but if it ever happens will we, as the gardening chickadees, know before or after the fact?


Edited for silly spelling error!

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 1:59 PM

WOW! I think I'm still in shock only because I wasn't expecting this. I go blubbering and bawling to DH. He asked what was wrong and I said Dave sold DG. He said...noooooooooo. Well, after reading and thinking about all of you have said, I know in my heart of hearts you are doing the right thing for you and Trish and Terry.

Congratulations and best wishes to all of you!

Congratulations Dave, Trish and Terry. I've really enjoyed this site and appreciate the hard work that you all have put into it. Dave's is my home page and the first place I look at in the morning with my first cup of coffee.

I'm relatively new (since the end of May, 2006) compared to everyone else here, but feel like I've been here much longer than that. I was made to feel right at home from the first time I logged on. I appreciate the sense of community found here and hope to do so for many years to come. I've learned so much from so many different forums. I've really enjoyed "traveling"around the world through the folks and photos here, without ever leaving the comfort of my own home. I look forward to the enhancements you plan for our future gardening. I'm looking forward to seeing more of you on Dave's Garden and hope to see Jeff here as well.


Janet
UniQue Treasures

Janet, I'll second that. That's exactly how I feel too.

Dave, Terry and Trish, congratulations ! I'm sure you took the right decision and everything is going to be great for all of us ! Thank you so much for your wonderful work which brought us so many friends and so much knowledge about gardening and plants ! I've been here for 4 years, 3 as a subscriber, thanks to a very dear friend of mine whom I met here, on DG ! I have now so many friends and my life is wonderful ! I check in here everyday, as many times a day as I can ! You are all wonderful and I'm greatful that you thought of us too when you made this move !
Adina

I'm speechless, (well almost)! DG has been my "window on the world" ever since I joined. There have been ups and downs over the years with plants, health, pets, etc, etc. and I have always turned to my DG friends for advice and encouragement.

I am soooo happy that you are happy, and where you lead, I will follow, gladly. Of course I was hooked when I saw the infamous "Dave picture" with the awesome plant on his head......who couldn't fall in love with that! LOL
Pati

Pati, I think I missed that picture. Now I gotta see it. Could you please send a link?

I owe all my gardening skill and expertise to DG. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Harper

Congrats, Dave! Sounds like a great thing for you.

That said, I must admit my stomach is hurting. I don't deal well with change. I am not good with the computer and it has taken me 6 months to learn my way around this site. And that is just enough to be able to use the basics like Dmail. There is still so much about this site I don't know and nooks and cranies I have not ventured into. I don't fully understand the diaries thing and I just found out about the classified. I know, I'm way behind. I really didn't even know you were real.

The *remedial* site sounds like a good place for me. I do have one question. When I renew my subscription to DG will it also cover the Gardens.com site as well?

Yes, your DG subscription will be good over at Gardens.com, too.

best,
dave

Yes, the first thing I did was look at the date! Not April 1st! I skipped to the bottom of the announcement to get to the gag line. No gag line. It's real.....

Congratulations on succeeding in your business venture - even though, in the old days, it wasn't thought of as a business venture, just a way to fix a frustration, which then grew and grew to become the Dave's Garden we now know. You deserve the rewards you are now receiving. You are a good, kind, and extremely intelligent person and I am happy that has been recognized by others outside our community. I am happy for you and your family.

I have to admit - Heronswood and Burpee were my first thought, and I just can't shake it. I'm a little scared.
Having said that - Of course I will stay with DG - as long as you are part of it.