My, it has been a looong week here at ShoutWire. I’ve read plenty of conjecture, complaining, and calls to action. I’ve seen lurkers registering to comment for the first time, as well as pictures posted by long time users. It would seem that all the fuss has brought the community together like never before.
The Hollywire ProtestsFirst, I’d like to comment on the protests made against Hollywire regarding their controversial ad deal with ShoutWire. Call it epic, l33t, uber or whatever, but what I saw last weekend cannot be accurately described with internet catchphrases. What I witnesses was ShoutWire users uniting against a common enemy. Hollywire people trembled with fear as ShoutWire users unleashed a campaign of mayhem. People spammed their page, brought down their site, called their admins over the phone, and God knows what else. It was so bad that they actually threatened ShoutWire with legal action. My hat is off to all who participated in this campaign.
Also, special thanks goes out to everyone who emailed me pictures of horse cocks, etc. I even received one of a guy fucking a skull (below).
The Myspace page that I thought I had deleted has received many views, comments and friends requests, and many of you sent me emails regarding your own solutions to ShoutWire’s problems. This is the kind of comraderie and personal initiative that keeps me coming back here. Again, a heartfelt thanks to everyone who sent me an email, posted my last ed as a comment, or seized the initiative by trying to work out alternative solutions to ShoutWire problems.
AdvertisingHere’s the lowdown on advertising on ShoutWire. This is straight from Paul himself.
Regarding the HollyWire ad, Paul admits that he does not know if it will be gone by month’s end. He’ll try to cancel the deal, but if not, the ad will be permanently moved to a new home at the bottom of the front page where it will stay. Currently, it floats around the page.
I advised him that users might be more receptive to ads that target them, as opposed to ads that have nothing to do with ShoutWire’s content (as suggested by many).
You may have noticed the new Adbright full-page ads (they give a “click here to skip ad” option). Adbright’s flashy Powerpoint presentation claimed that these ads are less likely to deter people from visiting a site (as opposed to pop-ups). This is part of a campaign to rid ShoutWire of pop-ups and other annoyances – Paul says that they suck anyways revenue-wise. He singled out Tribalfusion as being the first to go.
Upgrades and ImprovementsThe pictures section is receiving an overhaul as we speak. Please leave feedback regarding the changes or any bugs that you encounter.
The video section sucked ass, so he’s removed it while the whole concept is re-evaluated. Again, suggestions are welcome.
Merchandise and ContestsEveryone has expressed interest in ShoutWire t-shirts, hoodies and mugs. Paul said that he loves the idea. However, he’s leaving it to us to get the ball rolling on it. If anyone is familiar with such things, email me about it or leave a comment below.
I offered to supply the cash for XP contests, but we ended up having a “I’ll pay the bill, no
I’LL pay the bill, no I insist, NO
I INSIST” spat. I ultimately gave in. Paul says he’ll put up the cash for April’s XP contest.
User InvolvementI know it’s hard to believe, but ShoutWire’s owner does not want to continuously piss off the people who frequent ShoutWire. As such, he is appealing for user input.
How many of you have ideas that will make ShoutWire a better site? Hmmm? I have a few, and so do the other admins. Now we want to hear from regular users. Some of you have made suggestions, and these are being considered. Just keep in mind that the suggestions have to benefit every ShoutWire user.
Please take a minute out of your schedules to fire off an email to Dock, Zero or myself regarding changes you want to see. You can also leave your suggestion as a comment. Remember, keep you suggestions practical – “remove all advertising” is not going to happen no matter how many people suggest it. You can, however, make suggestions regarding ads on the site. If any of you are experienced in such things, now’s the time to share your knowledge.
CensorshipThe deletion of editorials, articles and comments was the number one concern that I had in the past week. This phenomenon is, in my opinion, totally unacceptable. I expressed my concerns to the owner.
The reasons given for the deletions were straightforward. The fierce anti-HollyWire eds (mine and Zero’s) were deleted because HollyWire was going to pursue legal action. Apparently, offering cash prizes for the destruction of someone’s website may not be entirely legal. My “farewell” address was deleted because Tubearoo is a publicly traded company, and that ed had the potential to scare the shit out of shareholders and seriously affect Tubearoo’s bottom line. That, IMO, is a piss-poor excuse. He has since apologized for the deletion, but asks that future eds should not encourage people to physically attack other sites.
Our previous policy regarding censorship will remain in effect – over-the-top racism will be met with comment deletion or article deletion. Editorials and other content that meets our quality threshold (as outlined in the Guideline) will never be deleted, regardless of the subject. Admins have been instructed not to delete submissions that are critical of ShoutWire or Tubearoo.
About The Owner / AdminThe developer for ShoutWire (you know him by the nick “admin) is named Artem. He’s actually a very nice guy and has always been co-operative in implementing suggestions from admins and users. Just keep in mind that this guy is paid to do a job. Try to go easy on him when he’s doing his job, as we need this guy’s cooperation. Remember, this guy has to wade through the atrocious code left by the previous owners, and it’ll take a while to clean it up.
Paul seems to be a decent guy too. Though we may question his actions from time to time (understatement of the century), he’s not an asshole or anything. He always takes the time to address my concerns politely and quickly.
That’s not to say that you guys should go easy on him though. If you see something on ShoutWire that you don’t like, do what you do best – riot and raise mayhem until your concerns are addressed.
Is ShoutWire Doomed?I would have thought “yes” if you had asked me this question last weekend. However, I underestimated the resolve of the users and admins. Very few were willing to just give up on ShoutWire, especially admins who have put many hours of effort into maintaining the site.
Now that I have learned that the owner is desperate to find a solution that will please everyone AND make some cash, I’m cautiously optimistic.
ShoutWire is a for-profit site. That’s not going to change. There are going to be ads, and there is probably always gong to be some feature that pisses off one or more users. Ultimately, the plan is to make ShoutWire a desireable place for us to get “news” and have fun while earning a couple of bucks for the owner.
ShoutWire has never been profitable. It’s pretty much a bottomless money-hole. But surely there’s a way for ShoutWire to be awesome AND profitable, no?
Keep in mind that the owner is looking for any suggestions that will make the site a more pleasant experience for you, the user. However, realize that we must do so within the framework of a for-profit site.
As always, the admins are here to help. If you see something that needs immediate action, or if you have a question about anything ShoutWire-related, do not hesitate to contact us via email, in the forums or in the IRC channel. That’s what we’re here for.
I‘ll remain around for a while so that I can answer any questions that you might have in the comments.
OK so it would seem that many people are still not shouting articles on the submissions pages.
We'll try to keep them spam-free, but to make things easier...
1) Try sorting the submissions by "most shouts" or "most comments." That way, you'll see articles that people are already interested in (and those that are stirring up debate). Plus, you'll see absolutely no spam or junk articles that way!
2) Shout from user profiles. If a certain SW user seems to submit articles that you find interesting, check their submissions from their profile and shout them from there.
3) Submit something ffs. You know those articles that all of you guys hate so much? Those submitters are ALWAYS submitting. If you want to see more articles that you enjoy, find 'em and submit them.
4) Stop lurking and participate! So you've been reading articles and comments for years, but haven't registered yet? Get on with it already! Our registered users are just itching to shit-talk your opinions, and i'll bet you're anxious to start telling people off. Get cracking and register!