What’s missing?
by Doc on Mar.25, 2003, under General News
This is my periodic “Should I continue?” posting. Seems readership is down, and my time has been rather limited – two weeks lost due to pneumonia and a lot of catching up to do. Plus, sales via the SF stores is very much down compared to last year, and that’s what helps pay the bills. So, I ask – what can I do to make this better and get more participation? I’d like to put up more news, but I can only do so much so I limit to the more interesting stuff, plus what little comes in from others (I thank BaronMoritani for all the Dune snippets). Would a more open discussion forum (ala UBB, but with some free software) be of interest?
March 25th, 2003 on 8:07 pm
Collaboration ? Consolidation
Perhaps part of the problem is that you are the only one working on the site. Have you considered giving more people “Author” status, so that they can help you post stories, and keep the site fresh?
Another possibility to consider is consolidating your site with one (or more) of the other SF News sites out there. I’m sure a lot of your user base overlaps, so it wouldn’t mean you were doubling your audience or anything, but it would mean a that instead of several sites oporating on their own, you would have one site supported by more people, and providing a more unified stream of news — with less overall duplication, and a single place for discussion.
March 26th, 2003 on 12:07 am
Re:Collaboration ? Consolidation
More Authors may help, but the only things Authors can really do is approve the stories – ANYONE can submit a story. An author does have the ability to bypass the submission process, but that doesn’t matter that much. The real advantage of multiple authors is getting the stories to screen faster, but there hasn’t been much for that to make a difference :^)
Still, if Author status would get people to post more stories, I’d consider it.
In terms of consolidating with another site, that isn’t likely to happen unles a site is planning on closing down – we like our control too much… :^)
March 25th, 2003 on 8:11 pm
what he said
I found this site via a slashbox and have always enjoyed the tidbits found here however sparse they are.
I agree with the last post as to having more “author’s” adding stories.
Whatever you decide, thanks for the good site!
March 25th, 2003 on 9:32 pm
I read Sci-Fi Storm headlines daily
…I have Sci-Fi Storm as a Slashbox, and I check it and Bureau42 at least once a day. If there were an RSS feed of scifi wire, I might just consolidate on that, but as it stands, I like the combo I’ve got.
March 25th, 2003 on 10:21 pm
Ditto
I read this site via a slashbox, otherwise I wouild no know about it. I agree with the previous poster. Bring in more authors, maybe they have more connections. And unfortunately you need to get more exposure where people will come to the site. As was done with Slashdot.
March 25th, 2003 on 10:26 pm
More authors
More authors would help. I read headlines daily via slashdot and more stories woudl increase readership.
March 26th, 2003 on 1:12 am
Re:More authors
I just write to let you know that I read your site’s headers every day from /. and if I found something interesting I go to site itself. Good work! Please don’t stop š
March 26th, 2003 on 6:46 am
it’d be a damn shame…
i like to visit the site for news and visit at least once a day. i think there are a few things that are lacking here. one, when the news is posted, it is posted in a very factual sort of way, not leading readers into a conversation. i think this is an aspect that people look for in sites like this (for instance slashdot or bureau 42).
i think it would be a shame to see the site go as i appreciate it. if you do decide to shutdown though, i would ask the guys at bureau 42 if you could post occasionally there. your sites are similar, but the coverage tends to differ which is why i visit and enjoy both sites.
keep up the good work. mvsr
March 26th, 2003 on 6:10 pm
What’s missing
Perhaps you should try taking the slashdot moderating idea to the logical extreme. Let anyone post stories, and then let the stories as well as the topic be moderated up and down. This would probably require rewriting slashcode, but I think this and all other slashdot-style sites could benefit from it.
March 27th, 2003 on 12:04 am
Keep it going!
I rarely scoop you, but when I do I post it.
I read every day, via the daily newsletter, which is great.
I’ll try to post more in the future… promise!
Anyway, I like the daily newsletter and the categories – I’d like more book reviews, but I’ll have to write them myself, eh? I’d also like some game reviews, as I just bought an XBox and have no games.
March 31st, 2003 on 5:48 am
regular updates
I think this site needs more action. The place can go days without apparent change.
I know sci-fi news don’t happen by the minute, but if the site appears dead, people will stop coming to look…
Sorry to hear about the pneumonia…I’d stay away from china if I were you : )