Possibilities - The Colorado TravelBank - Growing a BBS...

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

THE COLORADO TRAVELBANK - GROWING A BBS...
------------------------------------------

*** From May 1991 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1991 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

The Colorado TravelBank -- Growing a BBS...
by Alan Bechtold

TBBS information systems often grow as the result of a carefully thought out 
plan, or as a solution to some predefined communications need.  But that's 
not always the case.  Sometimes they simply grow, as if they had a life of 
their own, nourished by the needs of their users and the imagination of the 
system designer.

That's exactly how The Colorado TravelBank, a TBBS information system owned 
and operated by system designer Jay Melnick, has grown over the past seven 
years.  Melnick said, "I started out saying to myself, 'I like the 
technology and the idea of it all, let's just do it and see what goes.'  If 
I had started out thinking my system had to achieve certain monetary goals 
within so many months I would probably have shut the doors a long time ago."

The Colorado TravelBank TBBS started on a Tandy 1000 IBM PC-compatible 
computer equipped with a 10-megabyte hard disk drive and one 2400-baud U.S. 
Robotics modem.  Now it resides on a 286 IBM clone with 40 megabytes of hard 
disk storage, eight incoming lines and eight CTS Fabritek 2400 baud modems.

Today, a wide variety of users -- from the average tourist to ski and travel 
writers around the country -- call The Colorado TravelBank for detailed 
information about ski conditions, the latest festivals and cultural events, 
hiking trails, white water rafting expeditions and too much more to list in 
any single article.  It's a continually updated encyclopedia of information 
about Colorado's massive array of vacation, entertainment and sports 
options, both indoor and outdoor, available to anyone with a modem who takes 
the time to call and look around.

Growth has been slow and steady for The Colorado TravelBank, but the system 
is now earning Melnick a reasonable profit, in spite of the fact that Jay 
didn't know what to expect when he first brought it online.

The system itself is simple and straightforward.  After a few opening 
screens detailing available features and a simple registration form, users 
are greeted with a single menu offering "Events Calendar," "Activities," 
"Maps Section," "Fishing and Hunting," "Team Sports Connection," 
Attractions/Facts and Mini-Tours," and "Culture" options.  Each option is a 
gateway to another menu offering access to more specific information.

The "Activities" option, for example, leads the caller to a menu listing 
popular year-round, winter and summer Colorado activities.  Planning on 
visiting Colorado this summer?  This is the place to find extensive details 
on everything from backpacking, hiking and bicycle trails to whitewater 
rafting, sail boarding and scuba diving.  Complete information, including 
activity locations, contact telephone numbers, dates and operating times, 
pricing and more, is the rule and not the exception on The Colorado 
TravelBank.

Almost all of the information on The Colorado TravelBank is presented as 
TBBS Type 2 or Type 1 ASCII text displays, without the use of TDBS or 
extensive ANSI menu graphics.  Melnick says it's the information that's most 
important on his system.  "9600 baud and fancy menus are great, but a lot of 
the systems you see are primarily for file transfers," he said.  "My system 
is more of an information-based service.  People would slow down anyway, to 
read a lot of the stuff on the system."

Jay says the nature of his system forces him to act more like an editor than 
a BBS system designer and operator.  Much of his day is spent calling a 
variety of state and city governmental offices, tour operators and cultural 
event organizers.  "It's a lot like editing a newspaper," Melnick said.  
"But, instead, I ask people to provide their information on disk.  Some of 
them say, 'Yeah, no problem,' and others have to be walked all the way 
through it."

Melnick said he helps a lot of his information sources and has actually gone 
to a few providers' locations and consulted with them on-site, to help get 
their information in a form he can more easily use.

"It's a lot of work," Melnick said.  "But, the wealth of information I've 
gotten back from these people makes it all worthwhile."

Thanks to the growing interest in computers and online information services, 
Melnick's said it's getting easier to get his sources to provide their 
information by uploading it directly to his system.  Jay says computer 
phobia still exists -- he has to deal with it on a day-to-day basis -- but 
more people are coming around to using computers and online services every 
day.

This opinion is borne out by the growing number of information sources 
Melnick has been able to add to his system and by the ever-increasing number 
of callers who make regular use of The Colorado TravelBank.

"I'm up to an average of 432 callers per day right now," Melnick said.

Fortunately, TBBS makes maintaining such an active, information-laden system 
fairly easy, so Melnick can spend more time tracking down information to 
post on the system.  "It's routine and easy," Melnick said.  "I go into the 
system every two-three hours, seven days a week -- except, of course, during 
late-night when I'm catching a few hours of sleep."

Melnick says SysOm, the TBBS Option Module that allows remote access to a 
variety of DOS commands and functions, is indispensable.  "I run the system 
almost exclusively by remote control," Melnick said.  "When I go into the 
office, to work on the computer itself, it's almost always just to back up 
data or perform other administrative-type functions.  But, most of my 
uploading and other activities -- roughly 95% -- are all done remotely.  I 
couldn't do it without SYSOM."

Continued growth seems assured for The Colorado TravelBank.  The recent 
addition of downloadable area maps has attracted a lot of interest and 
positive response from his callers.  Plans are nearly complete for the 
addition of advertising-supported 800-number access to the system.  "I 
guarantee you, with 800-number access, no matter how many lines you have, 
they'll all be busy constantly," Jay says with a smile.

Melnick says anyone can achieve similar success with a TBBS-based public 
information system, with a bit of work, perseverance, and imagination.  
"It's the one business you can still get into with just a computer, the 
right software and your imagination," he said.

He advises that you keep the information you provide diversified enough that 
the system appeals to several groups of users, so you don't have to rely on 
any one group for success.

Promotion is also a key to success, but Melnick doesn't spend much on 
advertising.  Instead, he relies on press releases to local media and cross- 
promotion with other public bulletin board systems around the state.

He also suggests that multi-line systems offer one line for free access, to 
introduce the system to interested parties, if you plan to generate profit 
by selling access to the system.  Set a daily time limit set for callers who 
reach the system via that line and make sure it's considerably lower than 
the time you allow your paying callers.

Advertising is another potential profit center for a public BBS.  Melnick 
warns that advertising on a BBS should be informational.  Useful information 
that has been sponsored by an advertiser is more effective and readily 
accepted by online users than catchy slogans and flashy screen designs.

Melnick also heartily recommends TBBS as the software of choice for a 
successful public bulletin board.  He says he likes most everything about 
TBBS, but his favorite feature is the people behind the product.  "It's the 
quality of the people and the quality of Phil Becker -- and I'm not saying 
that just to stroke Phil," Melnick said.  "All the people Phil surrounds 
himself with are what sold me on TBBS from the beginning.  I researched 
other products for at least six months before making my decision to go with 
eSoft and that's what sold me."

You can take a look for yourself and see what a successful online 
information system looks like first-hand.  Jay invites anyone who's 
interested to give The Colorado TravelBank a call and look around.  The data 
line telephone number to call is 303-320-8550, at 300/1200/2400  bps.

- END -
PS0591-5
Rev. 5/91

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

