The Indiamike Guide to India

seraph

So what do you think?

The following poll is based on suggestions from this thread.

Bigzero

i chose #3. Will be wonderful if we can somehow make it happen!

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PRIYA

#5 - To see what the initial response would be, thereafter go for the "biggie" if the calendar does well.

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Rob_The_Pom

What did I start......

Trouble maker pom, trouble maker.....

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passingby

I choose a book of pictures... I am willing to invest my all my free time into doing it. I am actually pushing Mike into doing it and once I get his approval, I will start working on it...

mira4bai4

A tricky Wiki wacky Miky Wiky travel guide.

Evolution is not a theory it is NOW

BhuttaJi

Aye Rob_the_Pom,

Just what have you started Is it just me but I have read nothing from Mike regarding this? I still say that sullying this special spot with cash enterprises could lead to it's downfall and that would be a tradgedy!

To all those who are about to shoot me down; read my comments on the actual thread first please.

Ps: Not trying to be funny but this is not a democracy! We are guests of a man who had the vision to offer a place to meet. I for one don't think I have a right to change that. Just happy to be part of it as it is

Rob_The_Pom

My original thread was only a joke, honestly!
It came from the same line of thinking as the Indiamike cricket 11!

cyberhippie

Passingby isn't there a certain amount of financial risk in publishing a book especially one of photos those don't come cheap??
I'd like to think it would be a bestsellar but how can you be sure, maybe preordering might be the way to go!!
To minimize the financial risk to you or mike!!

BhuttaJi

Mate seriously only joking yeah.

I know that it was as a joke but it's 'out there' now and we'll get through it

I haven't voted as I'm still making up my mind, however, I do agree that a way of accessing the info stored within the forum would be handy. I suppose it would stop all of that repeated question stuff folk get so bugged about.

But we are all India nut's so when it happens C'est la Vie

passingby

I am nost sure how much it will cost to publish a book. I am actually trying to publish one of my own.. I will see my luck with that.
but I am willing to invest some money into a good project. I think publishing a book with India photos is a very good project and I am willing to try it out. I will help Mike as much as I can. I am still not sure if he wants to do that...
so I am pending his aproval..

Karma Queen

i do absolutely love the idea of the guide book. i think if we could get the publicity (lonely planet is some serious competition, after all), it could do well. i would be more than happy to help with anything if you wanted me

however, it does concern me that indiamike is often opinion based. now, i know LP is obviously opinion based also, and it would be pretty impossible to write a guide book that wasn't... but LP has a particular stance. i mean, all the writers have to write with similar sorts of opinions. if IM were to do a guide book, we would all have to sort of merge into one spokesperson... do you know what i mean? and that would sort of go against what IM is about, in my opinion.

having said that, i still love the book idea. although a book of photos would also be great

volga_volga

i chose #4 - the site can be very amuzing reading, esp if you are a regular (which I have ceased to become for some months)

on the other hand, as an amuzing reading it is already available for free, online

the amount of research involved in publishing a travel guide is ENORMOUS, and the info has to be systematised and properly organised

and it is already somehow classified for free on line also

I am confused who will be prepared to pay for an IM book? unless it is a coffee table book of photos which have to be absolutely stunning to be sell-able, and the stunning photos usually cost loads of money and the photobooks are cut-throat competitive esp on such much-photographed subject as India

i'd say, the IM proposition is - first-hand India travel related info exchange allowing for some diversions and community building discussions. a published material sounds nice to have but won't be an extension of the original value proposition (and not, I am not a management consultant )

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mira4bai4

I reckon a Wiki is the way to go, though having said that I have never seen a Wiki, sounds wacky. Seen plenty of Weka's, got a mate called Weka, Luv him to bits.

Publishing and printing, if a book with most excellent photos was to be ~ must be published in India, goes without saying and costs are pretty good compared to many other countries.

Actually a thought would be and this is an easy one really, using Acrobat Professional or something similar, the whole site could be down loaded and all of the threads etc could be edited quite easily and pulled into shape.

Now an annual Wiki full colour print up could be a go, it is always evolving and the annual harvest gets laid on the table for all to consume.

cyberhippie

Hi VV nice to see you back online (you sure you're not one of them managment consultants)
I have to agree with what you set out above.
Cost,staffing, copyright, editing, overall policy control, when you get right down to the nitty gritty it's a huge project!!
Again I'm not trying to put the dampers on things but I'll throw a few salient points into the bullring to do with trying to set something like this up, either in Wikepedia, PDF or book format.
1. Who is going to assume overall control on what is put out as a guide? We have MBs of conflicting, opionated and sometimes plain wrong info, alongside all the good stuff, who sorts the wheat from the chaff. Do we need to have a consensus of opinion on that?
2. Who will keep write and keep the guide upto date, this is imperative, as a guide that isn't updated isn't worth putting together. Assesing what should be contained in the guide breaking it all into bite size chunks. Arranging all this in a clear and concise format that won't catch up with you later as you start to add new ideas. This is a massive task.
IM is largely automated, but ask the mods here what a huge task it is to keep the ship afloat. A wikepedia would in my opinion an even bigger project constantly in flux and seeking to keep abreast of the latest info
3.Unlike out beloved IM this project would claim to be a guide (this is a discussion forum and as such people forgive the odd piece of bad info that slips through it's the nature of the beast) so people would expect this info to be correct and precise, who going to check telephone numbers, map details etc etc.
4.A book will almost certainly involve some financial risk unless we can persuade a publisher to front the money which is doubtful, so who covers the risky investment
5. A photo book will also involve investment as well as participation by the various photographers to waive their copyright,
Also I'm not sure if the quality of the 300Kb JPEG would be good enough for a quality photobook, original photos would have to be found I feel.
And it would have to be cheap to compete with the glut of good photo books on the market.

For all these reasons I choose a calendar, cheap to put together, a money spinner for mike (hopefully) and no need for endless debate as to what it should contain!!

Still I await your views on the things I've brought up, lets have some real brain storming here!!