From the Chair: We are a non-profit

I was recently elected Chairman to the Board of Directors. I am ready for the challenges and look forward to working with each of you.  I posted the following to the Board of Directors to provide them (and you) with a look at how I will be approaching the next year. Look for more from here right here on the GCD Blog.

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We are a nonprofit organization. We rely on the talents, time and generosity of volunteers, but we operate using the best practices of nonprofit management. There are many different web sites, books and forums that provide organizations like ours with suggestions, guidelines, and recommendations. We aren't going to follow any cookie-cutter program or force ourselves to mold into an organization that we are not. We have unique a mission, and we will continue to maintain our identify. We will, however, consider how other nonprofits deal with similar challenges to those that we face.

During my research, I found some simple tips that aligned with my objectives.  You can read the article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-laszlo-mizrahi/10-tips-for-running-a-suc_b_1631775.html, but here are my slightly modified interpretations of those 10 tips for the next year:

• We will have a clear vision, mission statement, and performance metrics: what are we doing and how will we know we got there?
• We can say "NO" to good ideas: each proposal must answer the questions of who will do it, what is the schedule and how will it be funded.  
• Perfection is the enemy of the "good enough: this is a guiding principle of mine in any project I work
• Work backwards from the finish line: what is the end objective of each effort and let us work together on how to get there from here
• Remember to K.I.S.S. 
• Lead from the front: I can't stress enough -- work outside your comfort zone
• There is no "I" in team: we are a team, and we will accomplish our objectives as a team
• Under promise and consistently over-deliver: authorize and track projects that we can reasonably deliver
• Don't forget to take a vacation: seriously, take time to index and do what you love to do.
• Smile: I strongly encourage you to meet our fans, members, and professionals with enthusiasm and a smile. You are GCD's ambassadors. 

I will make mistakes. I expect be called out, but I am surrounded by some of the best people I know within the GCD. Many of you have a substantial body of work that clearly demonstrate you are willing to do what it takes to advance our objectives.  Very little of what I just said will be any different than what you've already been doing since joining the Board. It still bears mentioning so that you know where I am coming from.

Outside Your Comfort Zone

I don’t like Golden Age comics.  There, I said it.  In our little community, that seems like a shameful sin, but I can’t hide it any longer.  I understand the history, appreciate their significance and respect the creators.  If it wasn’t for their hard work, books that I enjoy wouldn’t be possible, and for that, I am deeply thankful.  Still, the stories themselves don’t appeal to me or speak to my generation.  I am not a historian nor am I particularly well-read when it comes comics.  In fact, my corner of fandom is so small, that I can’t carry on a decent conversation with the GCD elite.  I don’t even try.

And there lies beauty of the GCD, right?  We have a community of fans with a variety of interests that range across the ages, genres and national borders.  We have experts and novice alike indexing issues creating a database that is versatile enough to be used by users from all different types of backgrounds and interests while still maintaining accuracy strong enough for researchers.  That is no small feat and considerably more ambitious than similar online comic database who are more focused in scope.  Our members are really that good.

We’ve been at this for 20 years with a impressive success story to share, but I want to challenge you as we look forward to the next 20 years.  Expand outside your comfort zone.

The 2014 GCD Convention experience has been my foray outside my norm.  It has changed (for the better) how I see the GCD.  I continue to struggle with meeting new people or starting conversations with strangers, but the rewards have been worth the energy and fear.  I’ve met so many different types of people who have never heard of the GCD and always encouraged by their reactions when I explain it.  It has been  positive experience for both me and, I hope, the GCD.

I encourage you to look for opportunities to reach out to a different set of comic fans that you wouldn’t normally visit.  Go to conventions, shows and exhibits that are not in your area of expertise to talk to the independent artists, manga lovers, store owners and pop culture podcasters.  Find venues that you wouldn’t normally attend.  Share your story.  After all, we are a grassroots organization that will grow through personal connections and interactions.  Our future is strongly tied to members like you spreading the word.

Happy Birthday GCD!

Happy Birthday GCD!  Yes, you.  I am talking directly to the 200+ people from around the world who turned an ambitious dream into the largest collaborative comics database online. Each of you have been a part of a 20-year-long, pioneering experiment that continues to grow in content while still attempting to take advantage of expanding technology.  Take a moment to think about that achievement.  We started with Snail-mailing floppy disks and now have an online data entry system.  The database is completely searchable, making it accessible and relevant to the entire comics community -- professionals, fans and scholars alike.  Unlike other similar (and much younger) ventures, we utilize editors to maintain a higher level of data quality.  Our database includes international comics and older, often forgotten, comics.  And we did it all with volunteers just like you.  One word springs to mind: Impressive!

It is worth my time and effort to celebrate our 20th Anniversary, so between March and November 2014, I have been and will continue to be working with other volunteers to highlight you and your accomplishments.

• Volunteers will be running booths at up to 6 US comic conventions!  Members will also share their experience at other shows across the US and Europe.  Check out a full list at the GCD Conventions Site.
• We started a GCD Community Page that will be incorporated into our “official” website. It is place to document our member contributions, history, photos and member accomplishments outside the GCD -- a reminder of who we are and where we come from. A celebration of our community 20 years in the making.
• We have t-shirts!  Originally designed for convention volunteers, we will soon be making them available to GCD donors.  We are working on the details now and will have something out to you shortly.  Based on some of the buzz, you are interested.
• We will creating a press kit to share with the outside community.  Unlike the “news-like” nature of a press release (which we will continue to generate), the press kit will be a brochure that we will use as we expand our presence to comic news sources, application developers and other potential collaborators.  It is our chance to shine.

The Grand Comics Database Blog is YOUR blog.  We will be using this forum to share information from the traditional sources such as news from the Board and reports from the Committees.  The real meat, however, will come from you!  This is your place to post research articles, experiences and other contributions if you don't have your own blog (and even if you do).  Submission details will come out shortly, but do not hesitate to contact me if you have something to share.

It is a busy nine month birthday party, but our 20th Anniversary only comes once.  There is still a lot to do, but I encourage you to take the time to congratulate yourselves.  You deserve it.

Daniel Nauschuetz
PR Coordinator