November Poll: What would you give for better Nifty Tech Blog?

Chaos has reigned in my life as October ends and November begins. In last month’s poll, I asked everyone how well they liked the polls and if I should continue them, or just halt them and move on to something else. I have to admit that I’m still concerned about the fact that each month a smaller percentage of readers are responding to the polls. I’m wondering if I’m really asking the right questions. So how did things turn out for October’s poll?

I have to admit, when I stopped to look at the poll results, I was gobsmacked. You see, there is only one category of responses in October’s poll. Unanimous! Yup, only 4 people answered the poll, but they all answered the same way. They voted for me to continue with the polls, because they enjoy reading the poll answers! I am glad, because that was part of the plan. The poll answers are supposed to be entertaining as well as informative for me.

I also got some feedback in the comments of last months poll. Mainframe chimed in and suggested that I only put up polls whenever something significant comes up. He makes a good point, and I have to admit that as fun as it can be to make up the polls, the timing of significant events doesn’t really line up well with the calendar. So this poll will most likely be the last one that is connected to the calendar.

This month’s significant event is the current fund raising effort to be able to afford a better host for The Nifty Tech Blog for 2011. So far, we’ve gotten one very generous donation  that has put us at 10% of our total goal. But the same economic slump that has hit me bad enough to ask for donations has hit all of you as well. Folks just can’t afford to spare two to three dollars to support our future. Or they can’t justify the donation without getting some kind of more significant return.  Something materiel.

So, this month I’m asking folks, what would it take to make you feel willing to donate to The Nifty Tech Blog? Special content for supporters? Nifty Tech Blog logo branded merchandise like coffee mugs, mouse pads, hats and t-shirts? Donation via small recurring PayPal payments? Because of the nature of this question, you’ll be able to select all the answers that you find appropriate, and I will not even attempt to provide a complete list of options. If you’ve thought of something that I haven’t, please comment here and let me know what it is. If you like someone else’s suggestion in the comments, be sure to comment to let me know you liked it!

And you don’t have to reach into your pocket to show your support for The Nifty Tech Blog. Tell your friends about us, Tweet about us, like our articles on Facebook, and talk about us on your blog. Put a link to the Nifty Tech Blog on your site, and I’ll add your site to the Friends of the Nifty Tech Blog sidebar! And if you haven’t already done so, check out the folks listed under Friends of the Nifty Tech Blog. These folks have help make us what we are today, and set the stage for us for the future. They’re a generous and creative bunch of folks that you should get to know.

Of course, if you’d rather help out by donating a couple bucks to the cause, we’d appreciate that, too. We’ll try hard to make the content worthy of your donations.