List Business

This week is the sixth anniversary of the Community Development Banking list: the first posting occurred on 12/26/1994.* Here's an annual summary of list subscribers and activity.
YEAR************Subscribers*****Posts
95**************427*************1245
96**************601*************1107
97**************562*************1197
98**************692************* 605
99**************698************* 806
00**************937************* 630****

When someone drops their subscription to the list, I wait a week and then send out a survey asking what their impressions of the list were.* During this year I received 69 responses to that survey.

*** 32% of the respondents indicated they didn't know they weren't still on the list.* It is important to remember that ALL email addresses go fuzzy once in a while.* The list software deletes about two subscriptions a week due to problems getting through.* If this happens to you, re-subscribe at the new web subscription address, HTTP://www.alternatives.org/cdblist.htm
*** 14% were just changing their email address.
*** 5% were brave souls going forward without email.
*** 3% promised to be back later.
** One each left due to retirement, maternity (congratulations) and the end of a project.

Those leaving would have liked to see more discussion of CDCs, Sustainable Development, Canadian issues, IDA, Foundation, NGO, Money Management, small business, microfinance, and childcare lending.* They strongly felt the list had too much traffic, was too US centered (including CRA) and had too many activist partisan diatribes.

I take guidance from one of my favorite business books:* A Complaint Is a Gift : Using Customer Feedback As a Strategic Tool by Janelle Barlow and Claus Moller

ARCHIVES are stored at http://www.lightlink.com/cdb-l/** A second commercial archive is available at http://www.egroups.com/group/communitydevelopmentbanking-l

Have a good Holiday,
Bill Myers
List Moderator

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