An update for site users on our very positive user statistics for 2006, recent activities of OTM and an appeal for assistance to ensure the future sustainability of the site.
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Newsletter subscribers and OTM site users might like to know what we have been up to over the last year. The web portal is now getting more visitors than ever before and all our user statistics are extremely positive.
•OTM is heading for 250,000 visitors in 2006, a 60% increase against 2005
•October 2006 was our best ever month: 23,463 unique visitors
•We recorded our highest daily number of visitors (3,107) on September 19th
•We carry around 700 news items a year – 50% more than in 2005
•We have over 8,300 subscribers to our newsletter
•The database content has increased by 20% over the last two years
•OTM-commissioned articles on subjects such as tax & social security, co-productions etc. have been downloaded over 50,000 times since publication
And we are now ranked number 4 on a Google search for ‘on the move’. About a year ago, we were number 47 and, because of the massive increase in site use, we have now leapfrogged over all the American house removals firms and evangelical religious sites to claim our rightful place on Google! Which means people can now find us much more easily.
These are all major achievements for a specialist web portal which is still run as an extremely slimline operation, having no fixed office base and a freelance Editor working two days per week.
OTM was a partner in the extremely successful Mobile.Home conference held recently in Helsinki which debated issues around mobility in the performing arts and attracted 550 delegates from around the world. As part of the wider Mobile.Home project, digital portraits of 15 internationally mobile artists have been commissioned. Important research has been carried out, in collaboration with Pearle*, into obstacles to mobility within the EU for performing artists in the fields of tax, social security, visas and work permits and intellectual property. A report will be published in December 2006 which will include possible solutions to the problems.
Mobile.Home received funding from the European Year of Workers’ Mobility 2006 and the European Commission’s Head of the Year, Jimmy Jamar, spoke at the conference and identified the cultural sector as one of the few employment sectors in Europe which is naturally mobile. It may be a model for other sectors and have important lessons to share.
OTM has been invited to present its work at the closing conference for the European Year of Workers’ Mobility in Lille in December 2006.
At the same time as our users and content are increasing rapidly and we are receiving such positive feedback on our activities, we have been seeking a solution to our longer-term sustainability.
At the end of 2006, the G2CC partnership which has funded the core activity of OTM for the past 2 years through the labforculture project, comes to an end and is non-renewable. Over the past year, we have been persistently, consistently, at times, even desperately seeking a funding solution which would enable us to continue to build on this great potential, to run, improve and extend the website and commission more online resources to support mobility for performing arts professionals across Europe and beyond.
We have many supporters across Europe but, to date, we have not yet identified a stable, viable solution for 2006. There are many ongoing discussions and we remain optimistic.
However, I would urge OTM newsletter subscribers and site users to consider how they might be able to help. We would welcome any letters of support, introductions to friends in high places, brilliant ideas and, yes, especially financial donations. If your organisation is coming to the end of its financial year and has an underspend, why not let us help you balance the budget!
If you can help us financially, we can provide bank details, receipts/invoices, acknowledgement on the site etc. The critical period for our survival is in the first half of 2007 and we are hoping that new funding options will be available after this. But we need to bridge the gap and all your help and contributions would be much appreciated.
Judith Staines
General Editor
info@on-the-move.org
