Some Housekeeping From The Editors of TW

Separating the wheat from the chaff...

Certainly feels like a busy 2014 so far.

So now with the January concerts at Carnegie Hall and across Canada behind us and the European summer tour of Neil Young & Crazy Horse ahead us, it seems like a good time to do a bit of "housekeeping" around here at TW.

To begin, if you've reached out to us but haven't heard back as of yet, we're not ignoring you. Seriously, we're not. It's just that often during heavy news periods like January with the Alberta Tar Sands and mideast concert controversies, it can be a real challenge to keep up with everything.

On an average day here at TW, we probably receive over 2,000 contact "hits" via email, Facebook, Twitter, blog comments, instant messages, physical mail, etc. While we do try and address much of the direct, personal correspondence, we tend to get behind and sometimes lose track of things. So if you do have something that needs our attention, it's best to email us and feel free to follow up on it.

Speaking of Facebook, some folks have asked about why our posts on Thrashers Wheat Never Sleeps | Facebook don't show up in their feeds. Frankly, we have no clue, but here's a suggestion.

Facebook now requires page administrators to pay to promote status updates to fans who already like our page. So, since we do not pay fees to Facebook, many people are missing our posts and only about 10% (or less) of our fans receive our updates in their news feeds.

That means you are probably not seeing most of our posts on FB! To keep receiving all our posts, hover your mouse on the "Like" button near our name. In the drop-down menu select "Add to interest lists." Then create an interest list (see below).

OK, moving along, some have also asked about any updates on our advertising blackout? You may recall that we have lost our advertising partner last year and TW no longer receives revenue from display ads on the blog. We still do not have any sort of explanation for why this happened, but the loss of revenue has forced us to reconsider how we go about things here at TW.

Basically, the cost model of operating TW is unchanged in that the more traffic the site receives, the more it costs to operate. So without an advertising revenue stream to support the bandwidth costs, we now have even a further disincentive to grow traffic and are exploring ways to curtail traffic load.

One method to reduce traffic is reduce posting frequency from daily to 2 or 3 times a week. Another option might be to eliminate the comment feature. Or archive the radio podcasts elsewhere. Or anything else we can think of.

And of course, you, our dear supportive readers would like nothing more than for things to remain the same in this ever changing world as the Big Shift inexorably moves towards us all. Some have asked "How can we help out TW?" Well, glad you asked because there are lots ways to help us out and the Neil fan community. We always suggest dropping us comments on the blog. Submit content like reviews, photos, videos, and Neil stories. That's really the best advice and doesn't cost you a penny.

Also, LIKE us on Facebook , follow us on Twitter and/or subscribe to our email list.

Like, share, forward, and re-tweet posts to your friends.

Or make purchases on Amazon.com via TW. Just look for the Amazon links on this page and TW will receive a small commission (about $0.48 on a $12.00 CD).

Or if you're feeling particularly generous today you can toss a few coins in the hat.

Only your credit card is necessary to apply directly & securely. No PayPal account setup necessary.

Again, we appreciate everyone's kind words of support. Always and sincerely.

Again, thanks everyone for their contributions. But mostly thanks for all the reviews, photos, links, videos, and comments. And your kind and supportive words, especially. We truly enjoy sharing the Neil love around the world. We've been doing this on & off for 20 years on Rust/HH/RH and 18 years on TW and we'd really like to continue -- readers willing.


So by helping us out, you'll also help out to spread the Neil love around the world. And -- maybe in some small way -- it all helps the Bridge School, Farm Aid, Musicares, First Nations People, and the LincVolt project. Because we all want to light a candle, make a difference, be the rain, and be the change.

Having said this, let’s all prepare for what is to come in what we believe will be a New Year full of positive, lasting change.

be the wheat.
peace and love,
thrasher & thrashette

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