Groping toward an online business model

"It's nice to be liked, but it's better by far to get paid," indie music legend Liz Phair once sang. In this spirit, on Thursday I launched a voluntary subscription experiment, asking people to pay $2.50 a month if they like BizMojo Idaho and the service it provides them.

Looking at my numbers for the past 30 days, I surmised that I could make decent money -- not a fortune, but not a pittance either -- if the people who visit this blog for more than 30 seconds a stretch were to pay what amounts to less than 10 cents a day.

BizMojo Idaho's average visit duration was 1:03. Considering that 30 seconds is an eternity online, I'm encouraged to believe that this blog is engaging visitors with its content. Likewise, returning visitors outnumbered new visitors 60 to 40 percent, suggesting that a lot of people have gotten in the habit of checking in. (The ideal, of course, is to snag more new visitors and convert them into returning visitors.)

I found it intriguing that 40 percent of the visits to BizMojo Idaho these past 30 days were on mobile devices, more than half of them iPhones and iPads. A year ago it was 25 percent. This is right in keeping with the national trends.

It's an uphill climb asking people to pay for online content. People can read stuff for free all day long. I can watch old Rolling Stones clips on YouTube for hours and not pay a dime. So it would be pointless for me to claim I deserve to be paid. Nor am I thinking of quitting, because I like the connection to the community that my writing gives me. So if you want it, here it is, come and get it.

Still, one thing I have learned about social media over the last 18 months is that success depends on a lot on the relationships you create. On his national blog, Andrew Sullivan recently decided to quit chasing advertisers and page views, asking his readers to subscribe instead. He made $625,000 in two months.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/03/07/173530392/andrew-sullivan-is-doing-fine

I would be foolish to put myself in the same league with him, but on a local level I'm saying that if you think I'm worth reading you're welcome to support me. The PayPal button is on the right side of the blog. Now it's time to go find out what the foundation out by the Eagles Lodge is going to be. In the snow.

St. Clair Road work may bring temporary detours

Sections of St. Clair Road may be closed to traffic this month as Idaho Falls Power crews replace power poles between 17th and 25th Streets. Work is set to begin Monday.

St. Clair will not be closed to traffic the entire time, but there may be days when the safety of the crews will necessitate brief shutdowns along certain stretches.

The project is part of the city-owned utility’s effort to replace deteriorated poles, some of which are more than 60 years old.

Idaho-made vodka takes another prize

American Harvest Organic Spirit, the Idaho-made vodka last seen at the Obama inauguration gala, has received a gold medal at the Spirits of the Americas competition in Florida.

In the brand's short time on the market, American Harvest has already been awarded a gold medal from the Beverage Tasting Institute, a double gold medal from the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the Tasting Panel Seal of Excellence award for outstanding quality.

American Harvest is made for Sidney Frank Importing Co. by Silver Creek Distillers, a company that took over a closed-down ethanol plant in Jefferson County near the Snake River in 1988. Unlike Blue Ice and Teton Glacier, also made there, American Harvest is distilled from organic winter wheat, not potatoes. It is available locally, and will be available nationwide later this month.

Air service will continue if Idaho Falls Regional Airport tower closes

The tower at Idaho Falls Regional Airport is one of hundreds that could be closed in early April due to across-the-board cuts in federal spending.

Although there is growing alarm in the local aviation community that the control tower could be shut down in early April because of federal cuts to spending, planes will continue to take off and land at Idaho Falls Regional Airport, Manager Craig Davis said.

"We don't want to lose the safety the tower provides," said Davis. "But the airport is not going to shut down."

Davis said he has received word from the three commercial carriers, United Express, SkyWest and Allegiant Air, all stating they do not plan to change their service regardless of whether the tower is open or closed. Even now, 12 to 14 commercial flights a week land in Idaho Falls when the tower is closed.

Nevertheless, Davis is leading an effort to persuade the FAA and lawmakers to keep the tower open. In an e-mail to local pilots and service operators, he said, "I have been working with the airport’s lobbyist organizations (American Association of Airport Executives-AAAE and United States Contract Tower Association-USCTA), the media (local and national) and key airport tenants to communicate our objection to this decision and to urge our legislators to negotiate a plan between now and April 1 to keep the towers in operation."

"It's a balancing act," he said. "But whatever happens we want (people) to know that air service will continue and that they will be safe."

In February, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the sequestration that went into effect March 1 could require trimming $600 million this year from the Federal Aviation Administration's budget. That will mean furloughing air traffic controllers at larger airports and shutting down towers at smaller ones. Idaho Falls is on a list of airports that can be found here: http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/media/Facilities_Could_Be_Closed.pdf

Tuesday afternoon Davis said he received a letter from the FAA telling him he had until March 13 to provide justification why the Idaho Falls tower shouldn't be closed. The justification has to be at a national level. "They won't take local matters into consideration," he said.

In his e-mail, Davis urged local pilots and anyone connected with aviation to contact Rep. Mike Simpson and Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, providing this link: http://afl.salsalabs.com/o/5893/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5779

Taleesha Hillman, the air traffic manager in Idaho Falls for Serco, the company that contracts with the FAA, is also looking for e-mails and letters to pass on to Washington, D.C. In charge of a four-person staff in Idaho Falls, she said it is "unimaginable and unacceptable" that the tower be closed down. "I have been at IDA for 16 years now and have diligently tried every day to keep people in the air and on the ground safe," she said.

In 2012, 159,976 people boarded flights in Idaho Falls, up from 149,194 in 2011 and 143,194 in 2010. Three carriers -- SkyWest, United Express and Allegiant -- serve Idaho Falls with direct flights to Salt Lake City, Denver, Las Vegas, Oakland, and Los Angeles.

Tacoma Screw Products plans store in Idaho Falls

Demolition of the old Plaza Lanes bowling alley should begin sometime this spring to make way for Tacoma Screw Products' store and distribution center.

Tacoma Screw Products, a 66-year-old company with 15 stores in the Pacific Northwest, has bought the old Plaza Lanes property at 1811 North Yellowstone Avenue in Idaho Falls.

A cyclone fence has been set up around the lot, at the corner of North Yellowstone and Hemmert Drive. After the contents have been salvaged the old buildings will be razed.

Founded in 1946 in Tacoma, Wash., Tacoma Screw Products specializes in the distribution of fasteners, tools and maintenance, shop and industrial supplies.With an inventory of more than 45,000 products, it provides service to more than 40,000 business customers. These include retail, manufacturing, construction, transportation, aerospace, maritime, agricultural, food processing, recreational, institutional operations, and city, county, state, and federal governmental agencies. When customers need custom or special fasteners that are oversized, require special threading or bending, the company has a machine shop to fabricate them.

In Idaho, the company has two branch locations, in Boise and Twin Falls.

More information can be found at the company's Web site, http://www.tacomascrew.com.