Confused. Web server cost pennies. Writers, heck lots would do it for the press. Publishing a magazine? There are tens of thousands of millennials just in SF alone that have net worth in the millions, and would love to be involved. Did you cast the net?
This comment really undervalues the craft of "writing good things", by a lot. These writers, editors and staff deserve a good wage. Not to work just for "the press".
I'm on the side of 'confused' as well. With that much traffic, it shouldn't be hard to run a business with great revenues or massive passive profits.
But having visited this site for the first time, it looks like an old relic that's about 4 "generations" out of date. I am not enticed to click on anything.
They also clearly missed the boat on social media (10.3 million visitors and you have 3500 Facebook likes and 6000 Twitter followers?!), who knows what else was missed.
Does a site like this really need a large sales staff? As programmers, can't you program a better self-serve system and moderate it?
Content doesn't need to be that expensive. There are ways.
IMHO, this is the kind of site that a group of experienced web marketers could seriously turn around, keeping just a few excellent and aggressive young writers and editors on board.
this is the kind of site that a group of experienced web marketers could seriously turn around, keeping just a few excellent and aggressive young writers and editors on board.
You mean like The New Republic did? Sure they could probably have cut costs, changed their focus, become more mainstream (perhaps focused more on articles in list form) and remained profitable, but the end result wouldn't have been DDJ, but something else and just a shadow of its former self. Sometimes its best just quit while you still have a good thing going, rather than relentlessly running your brand into the ground, desperately chasing just one more dollar.
If Heathkit got their act together, I'm sure they could become successful again. The Maker/DIY movement is big, and they do have that brand name. They could even use the classic designs, retro is super big at moment. Yes, tubes are back! :-)
Many years ago, I worked in a lab where I synthesized a variant of Interferon using solid phase peptide synthesis. It was all manual work, using pretty basic materials. It's just a peptide after all.
I finished at 11 PM. Cleaned it up, walked across the street to probably one of the world's most respected Cancer Hospitals. Gave it to the MD on staff, he said we'll try it now. Right now.
A lot of things go on when people are at life and death cross roads. Lots of things out of the mainstream. When all hope is gone, sometimes miracles can happen.
My family came on boat number 2 after the Mayflower. For the first time in my life, it may be time to checkout of the USA for awhile. Maybe it is time? Can always visit, but maybe this is it. This is just insane at this point.
