X-Message-Number: 33361
Subject: Barriers to entry to cryonics, etc.
From: Kennita Watson <>
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 17:10:59 -0800

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If we are going to take off, we need to lower both the perceived and the actual 
barriers to entry.  Probably best not to mention the full cost of suspension 
($200K), since 1) virtually no one actually pays it, and 2) it makes a lot of 
people swallow hard and flee.  Better to discuss the per-month cost that people 
actually pay, for insurance, membership, etc.  If the full-body cost still makes
them gulp, add up the costs for neuro.


To increase visibility and get more people involved, we may want to have 
non-suspension memberships, whose cost would go to research and be 
tax-deductible.  We might also want to have store-genetic-material-only 
memberships, with and without data and/or physical object storage.  There could 
also be benefit donations, to cover costs for suspension of a profiled 
financially-strapped member.  Or a lottery ($100/ticket, winner gets a 
contract?).


What other ways are there to get people involved?  Getting a lot of people 
involved a little bit is arguably even better than a few people a lot, but any 
ideas are welcome.  A video contest?  AT&T paid a $20,000 first prize for a 
boring topic, and got probably millions of dollars worth of publicity from this 
excellent video (which is as good an argument for cryonics as for AT&T online 
services):

http://simplify.att.com/videos/dave-and-att


The Alcor Web site is competent, but I don't think I'm alone in finding it dull.
One addition I think would help is a page full of "Why I'm signed up for 
cryonics" entries.  We need to communicate our excitement about the 
possibilities for the future!  Maybe in a brighter color.  FWIW, maybe the 
entire Web site should be brighter; that shade of blue is sleep-inducing, and 
certainly not a call to action.  Who came up with it? What do other folks think?


It's been a while since I worked on http://gocryo.org .  Check it out; is it 
worth more of my time?


Live long and prosper,
Kennita

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