Exciting News About DailyStrength!

Hi DailyStrength friends. I want to be the first let you know about some very exciting news that we're announcing today.  DailyStrength has merged with HSW International (HSWI), a leading provider of authoritative content on the Web.  HSWI has deep expertise in creating quality, locally relevant content for consumers, and we're excited to merge our wonderful community tools with their excellent content.   I bet you're thinking two things: a) "Why?", b) "Now what?" or "How does this affect me?"  Let me try to answer both. Why?  The inspiration for DailyStrength was, and remains to this day, my cousin Andrew Kirsch, who died of cancer at the age of 20. I wanted to make Andrew proud by helping others on his behalf. With Andrew in mind, I developed a theory which ultimately became DailyStrength. The theory was that I could create a successful for-profit business, but, at the same time, help others in a profound way. I wanted to provide a product or service that improved the lives of the people that used it every day, and I didn't want the people who came for help to have to pay for it. The last 3 years have been a wonderful struggle to prove that theory. Running a business, especially in this economy, has been a challenge, but every time I got down, I'd jump in to one of our communities and see the emotion, the support and the love that you all were offering each other, and I'd be re-energized.  Everything we did, from hiring folks to building new features to making money, was done with the view that it must ultimately benefit the folks who come to us for help.  HSWI has seen the tremendous value of DS, and wants us to keep doing what we do best.  They are offering us the resources to invest heavily in new content and features to improve your experience and bring the power of DailyStrength to others. Now What? How Does This Affect Me? The only effects for you, my friends and fellow DS members, are positive. We can finally throw long-needed resources towards the features and needs of DS. We can expand the reach of communities and content we offer. Most importantly, we can continue to be here in your time of need.  In the short term, nothing will be different. Over the coming months, however, you'll start to see both big and small improvements to your DS experience as we offer new and improved services to you, our members.  The philosophy will remain the same; we'll just have more folks to help us help you. I can't thank you enough for being a part of DailyStrength and spending your time with us. We look forward to continuing to help improve your life. Doug    

Replies

deleted_user
deleted_user

is it true that we will have to pay for this or are these just rumours? the dynamic of the site will change if its not free. the reason this website is so popular is because it is free. it wouldnt be the same if ds charged a fee, it would become just like any other system thats out there, and then in the end ds may lose money as people wouldnt be interested. plus members could still keep in touch with their friends through email and msn etc...but we wouldnt have the discussion groups or journals.

also i agree with daddysgirl...doug does a very good job, hes doing his best. i can put up with slight technical hitches here and there, no worries, the most important thing to fix are privacy issues though.
deleted_user
deleted_user

not one word has been put in print by either Doug or by the announcement of the merger that i can see about paying in the furture for the site....it was one person who had a thought and then mob control took hold..sigh...

to run a site this large..and it has grown alot in the last few years...and Doug you should be so proud of what you have achomplished here..smile...takes money people...to pay for the bandwidth..tech support..etc...hence the advertisments...simple business...
to me it makes sense...when something grows so large as ds has grown...it needs more than what we have now...it needs more money and time put in it to survive...i hear everyone complaining about...emails...slow loading of pages...chat issues...how do you think these are going to be resolved without an influx of cash and people to do so???....it wont be...sigh...

And Doug is not taking the money and running as someone so aptly put it...he is staying with the merger and working with them to run the site....with the amount of money being paid to him..yes he could very well take the money and run..smile...hell i would...grin.....

so please stop the accusations...and realize that life continutes on...that is why we are all here..to find support..to find a way to carry on...becuase of the fact that we realize we need to find a way to face each day and move forward..so if we know ourselves that we have to go forward with our lives...who are we to expect everything around us to stay exactly the same while we do???...things change people...and ds has been constantly changing since day one..smile..always for the better..each one of you has made it change...you are not being sold...as for privacy...sigh..i will say it again....we are all adults..and you are using the internet...this is a free site....you get what you pay for...and even if you were paying for site usage...trust me...that does not gaurantee privacy..this is after all the internet..

on that note...congrats Doug...all the best...and i look forward to watching the development of the site..and the changes it brings..

thankyou for ds and all it has brought and the many friends i have met along the way to date...and the many friends i have yet to meet..smile

luv
heather
deleted_user
deleted_user

Is DS going to cost money to be a member & also to have a group???If so...how much will it cost to keep my friends???
deleted_user
deleted_user

Trust that all will be well. To read additional information and commentary about the \'merger\', click on the green letter link here: www.dailystrength.org/groups/leaders-group/discussions/messages/5704507
Think happy thoughts, put your smile on, and have the best imaginable day!
deleted_user
deleted_user

I just joined this site but I did read a bit about this. In all honesty, I think this is a good idea. I mean, what exactly could it hurt?
deleted_user
deleted_user

I love DailyStrength. Coming here and seeing all the support being shared and friendships made makes me feel good about life. I don\'t know about the changes because I am just an end user. Doug, I wish you well and want to just thank you for giving us someone to come to share love, compassion and understanding in a world that has too little of all of these needed attributes. (((HUGS))) Patricia
deleted_user
deleted_user

Doug, I thank you so much for DS. It has been a blessing to so many here. I know I have made many wonderful friends here and God has blessed us so through this site. Good luck with this merger. I will be praying for its success and blessings to you. Andrew would be so proud of you. Seek God for guidance Doug and He will not let you down. Hugs,
deleted_user
deleted_user

Thank you for being upright with us. This site has helped me so much. I just wonder if it will continue on as a free service. Time will tell I guess. Thanks again Doug. You have made Andrew proud. :) Hugs
deleted_user
deleted_user

Thank you Doug for the explanation - sorry to hear about your brother but your ideas here on Daily Strength have really been my sanity - so many things in my life have become clear and through the encouragement of others have come to accept all the negatives in my life. I haven\'t been on antidepressants for about 2 years now and this is due to this site and what you have offered
deleted_user
deleted_user

Thank you for taking the time to explain the situation. I can fully understand the merge and hope it does well. It looks like it will just expand this site to reach out to more people. I have even given this site to my counselor. With love to you Doug and I wish you well in this merge, I\'ll still be here.
deleted_user
deleted_user

My concern is still about how the site works (and doesn\'t work) and the lack of promised privacy. These issues are not being addressed. I have photos that were uploaded as \"friends only\" that are showing up on the groups I belong to home pages. That\'s just NOT RIGHT!! The site is getting slower and slower and harder to navigate. Chat has never worked right and DS has always blamed the chat provider. I really don\'t care whose responsibility it is. The buck should stop with DS! I wish someone would put some money where their mouth is and fix DS. Sometimes I can\'t even access it! You need to get bigger servers, but you already know that.

This is a great site and I don\'t know what I would do without it, but what good is it if it doesn\'t work right????
deleted_user
deleted_user

Thanks for all your efforts Doug. This is a wonderful site which has helped me a great deal with my issues. It has enabled me to receive help support and compassion from kind friends and I hope I\'ve been able to support them in return.
I\'m sure your cousin would be very proud of you....you\'re an inspiration. Lets hope it continues to be successful.
deleted_user
deleted_user

Doug, First I am happy to be a part of DS. I thank you for the vision that you had and were willing to put your own investments to creating this helping comunity. You should be proud of all of this. THANK YOU!

As a \"geek\" of sorts, my big wish is that the tech end would be brought up to where it shoud be. There is a large amount of my time on several computers, waiting for the site and the servers to move. Plus it is very difficult to get any type of tech suuprt on various issues. One that most comes up it problems in posting pictures. A position I would like to see would be some type of \"help desk\" section. The turn around time should/could be about 3 to 12 hours. I have worked in such an area for a national broadband ISP. Possibly with the new growth that could be a possibility.

Again thank you for the comunity you have created. Please ignore (as I am sure you have) the \"nay sayers\" and those who try to tear anyone who steps out and achives something. Bless you and you are in all our thought and prayers.

Paul
deleted_user
deleted_user

CIRCUT CITY too had dreams of growning and becoming so much more, well today they said they were done and closing all stores. Doug your vision for this site has long been since realized. Eachtime someone creates an account or logs back in day after day . You have helped sooooo many people or here with this beautiful \' gift \' I ask that you keep the same idea ture as the day you started it. Less is sometimes more,i admit YES there are some features i would love to see improve and some go away, but with any business i know changes are alwasy tough. You keep doing the great job that you have done for so long and THEY WILL COME !!!! I look forward to yet another wonderful year of FREINDS, FAMILY and CURES and HOPE .........
deleted_user
deleted_user

IS THIS COMPANY RELATED TO \"FIREFLY\"?