X-Message-Number: 1800 Date: 22 Feb 93 20:03:31 EST From: Perry Willis <> Subject: marketing CRYONICS > To: CryoNet > From: Perry Willis > Subject: Marketing CRYONICS > Date: Sunday, February 21, 1993 I am developing a marketing proposal for Alcor (as per the recent board meeting), and have followed the discussion here with a great deal of interest. Re science fiction fans -- could there be a difference between the kind of people who subscribe to ANALOG and those who attend conventions? I would expect some cross-over, but I would also expect most ANALOG subscribers to be less "other worldly" than most convention attendees. I would also expect to find subtle but important differences between those who subscribe to ANALOG, OMNI, ASIMOV'S, and F&SF. Such distinctions could be important in a direct mail or display advertising campaign. It would be very helpful to me to have Charles Platt's thoughts on these questions? Re the propensity of "the first born" to accept cryonics -- I was the person who brought up this subject during a recent tour of the Alcor facility. I have had long experience with the "first born" phenomenon in the Libertarian Party, and I fully expected to see it repeated with Alcor members. It certainly held true for the five of us in the room that night. We'll have a chance to learn more about this in the near future, and it may turn out to be useful after all. My company has begun a project to conduct precinct by precinct voter ID surveys. We are using a four question test to identify prospective libertarians, and one of the questions is "Were you the first born in your family?" Obviously, acquiring the information is only the first step. The "first born" factor doubtless has little predictive value by itself, but it may turn out to be a powerful indicator if used in conjunction with other markers. The sub-purpose to our surveys will be to find "early adopters." Years from now our voter database could become large enough to serve as a screen by which to sub-select commercial lists rented for Alcor. Even the longest journies begins with one step . . . Meanwhile, I'd like more anecdotal information. Would everyone who posts here please say whether are not they are first born? Thank you. Re not contributing to research because "we're already convinced cryonics will work as is" -- Mr. Darwin raises an interesting point that no would-be cryonics fundraiser should ignore. I am not signed up for suspension yet, but will be this year. I rate the chances that I could be revived after being suspended with existing methods at about 10%. For this reason alone I value research very highly and would contribute to it, but what I would do doesn't even count as a data point yet because I am NOT signed up. Mr. Darwin's theory refers to people who are. So let's have a few data points. Will the people who post here please say how they would rate their revival chances if suspended using current methods? Would they also say if they value research highly enough to contribute to it? I'm hoping for a high participation in my fact finding mission. Thanks in advance. Perry Willis The Renaissance Group 5113 W. Bluejay St. Tucson, AZ 85741 Voice: 602-579-7954 FAX: 602-579-7930 CompuServe: 76216,2726 [ Everyone, please direct your replies directly to Perry Willis rather than to the cryonics mailing list (CryoNet). I would like to avoid a lot of "me too" postings to the list. Also, I think that sending replies directly to him will make the data collection easier and more organized than it would be if the replies were spread throughout the various CryoNet postings. Thanks! - KQB ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1800