What's going on a SearchWarp, September 7th, 2011
Posted: Wednesday, September 07, 2011
by Bruce Horst
WryteStuff
Ok, it's time for me to say it. The conversion of the old SearchWarp to 'SearchWarp Spaces' is more difficult than I had imagined. And apparently I'm an older dog than I first thought, and I'm having trouble learning new tricks.
The new format for SearchWarp is doing well, despite the fact that it's probably more than 10x as complex than the previous design. Traffic to the existing writers articles are more than twice what they were a month ago. This isn't as high as the level at the beginning of 2011, but it is enough to allow me to continue working on SearchWarp instead of abandoning it and looking for a normal job.
I feel compelled to talk about my reasoning for this new direction for SearchWarp. I probably should have presented this a month ago. For SearchWarp to remain a viable operation, the site needs to increase overall by about 20x. This means 20 times the number of active writers and 20 times the new articles posted every day.
Sound insurmountable? Yeah, I promise that you can't present a negative argument to me that I haven't already presented to myself.
Sometimes I think that all of the Internet is going to combind into a handful of big sites, leaving out smaller sites like SearchWarp. This has already happened to some extent.
The new website design is meant to accommodate 20 times the writers as the old SearchWarp design could. It's no longer a matter of who Jean or I favor. We've always known that getting onto the home page was like a prize for our best writers, but with only 8 slots to fill, we could only accomodate about 25 writers per week. The idea is that the new groups home pages will each function like the old home page did, so they are like the old home page times 20. Make sense?
I'd like to see leaders emerge for each group. I'm working to allow group leaders to perform functions that Jean and I used to perform. Pick of the day, favored writers, writing assignments, message to members, etc. Do you have opinions on these topics? Let me know. Maybe you'd like to be a group leader.
We've always maintained that the success of SearchWarp depends on the talent of the writers that the website attracts. It's never been about us, if it was, it would have failed a long time ago. It really is about quality writers. With this new design, we hope to attract 20x the quality writers as before. Is this possible? I guess time will tell.
Ultimately, there must be a way for SearchWarp writers to earn a respectable living from their writing. We have a plan in mind, but will it work?
If you have suggestions, please let us know.
This Article has been viewed 585 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsI have to leave the business calculations to others. I hope whatever you wind up doing will be the very thing that it takes to get it going. I'm having my own problems. I start an article and research here and there and still can't seem to get it together. I often have to discard one after I've worked on it for hours. You're doing great on choosing the weekly assignment articles. It seems I can get into one of them easier than any I come up with.
I promised to write exclusively for you, but I have recently written 2 or 3 which I shared with the Examiner. Reason for that is my slots were about to die on me. If you don't submit an article to one of your topics within 60 days, you lose it. I have three slots which I'd like to hang on to...just in case.
I appreciate your good management efforts Bruce and I wish Jean had not taken another job but I understand.I'll tell you Joel, there's no indication that I've seen that you're having trouble with your writing, in neither quality or quantity.
The problem for me is that when I work on something, I spend most of my time making it work. Then if I have any extra time, I'll make it intuitive and cool. I haven't had much extra time lately, so most of what I've done so far is just functional.
Hopefully that will change soon.
Keep up the great writing!
What do you want me to do? I need to do this. It makes me feel good and makes me better.That's great, Jack. You are an incredible writer... one of my favorites for sure. I plan on adding a function that allows writers to group their articles into series, inspired by your writing. Hopefully it will be added in the next week or two.
If you'd like to lead a group of writers, that would be great. Be the first to volunteer, and you have your pick of all the groups! The first thing groups leaders will be able to do is post announcements on the group home pages, and send those announcements out to the group members by email. This would mostly be used for keeping the group focused by suggesting writing topics.
Are you in?
Sure I'm in. I don't know how writers might feel about having a "leader" though.If that wasn't clear; yes, I volunteer.Ok, great. Which group would you like to lead?story tellers-I got a million of 'emOk, done. I'll have the first of the 'leader features' done, probably Monday. I'll send you more info when it's done. For now, you can think of a writing assignment or theme for the group to work on.
Thanks, Jack!
That's the thing about the Internet--it's constantly changing! And being new to SearchWarp, I don't know what the old design looked like, but I find the current layout effective.
I do like the idea of group home pages being like the current home page. And it sounds like what you're really focusing on is more traffic. Expanding audiences is always a good reason to change.
I like the idea of group leaders/moderators. I also like the idea of group-specific writing topics and being able to choose which topic to write about.
And I have to agree with Jack, I like this. I look forward to coming to this site everyday, being an "active" writer among other active writers. Do what you have to do to keep this going, Bruce! I'd hate to see it go.Thank you Melissa. We are so glad you found SearchWarp!
I agree with Melissa. I have just read this and can't imagine life without searchWarp! Let me know what I can do along with other searchWarpers to help.
Thanks, Elfreda. I see you're not part of a group yet, are there any that interest you?When you say a group, do you mean a topic? Is so poetry.It's OK Bruce, I was being slow this morning. I have joined a team and am now looking at the group options!!
Are group leaders and others contributing to assignments ideas etc volunteering or are these actual paying positions. I would love to contribute my ideas and some time in anything as I only work part time. I continuously hope to find someone to offer something for my articles on an ongoing bases or work for a site such as this. Dream it is not however today it can be considering the job I hold now is only in a coffee shop. Getting published the old fashion way and honest way has fallen off the shelves today.
How can I contribute, send me Bruce with ideas and answers to my questions.
Thanks
KellieThese are strictly non-paid, volunteer positions, Kellie. I would love to be able to pay volunteers, but I haven't found a viable way for that to work.
You help by simply participating in a positive way, just like you have been doing. If you'd like to volunteer to lead a group, that would be great. I'm about to start a discussion in the Q&A about group leadership. Please participate in that, too.
Somehow this time the transitions are easier to follow - maybe I am getting more flexible in my vintage age... you are definitely doing a super job with the transitions! THANKS for all the good work!
Hi Bruce. You know my heart and prayers are for you and all of us who love being a part of this community. Sounds like you are growing in tremendous ways and I know that by Jean being out in the work place, many will be blessed by her presence - wit and wisdom and all! You are doing a tremendous job, I only wish I could be as involved as I used to be, but my part time working days have been over for quite sometime and I don't see them coming back anytime soon. BUT I will always support and pray for your efforts and I am thankful for those who have the time and are stepping up! Blessings to the both of you and lots of love too :-) T
Like Teresa, I've not been able to spend as much time reading and writing as I once enjoyed. I'm really hoping that changes soon. From the little I've seen, however, you're moving in a positive direction. Change is never easy but you and Jean are doing your best to bring everyone along with you. I'm still with ya, just not as often as I"d like! I will watch for updates and information and do what, if anything I can, to make the transition a smooth one. Thanks for all your hard work!
SW looks great, Bruce, and I am thrilled to see the numbers go up. I am just now reading this days after you posted. Guess that explains why I didn't quite get the q&a question. Now I get it and think it is all a great idea. Ultimately, who doesn't want to be part of something functional and even make a little money at it. I think you guys are moving in the right direction!
Although I am late in reading this article, it seems as though you have done a great job. I was confused at first, with Blogz, and some of the changes. Maybe that was, because I had already started a journey into the ebook world.
In 2008 I was writing to my own blogs, then I found Searchwarp, which I value trememdously. My blogs were hacked so badly, that I shut them down, and came here. It is a great community, and a good foundation for those wanting to expand their writing experience.
The variety of things we are writing about here are really a training ground for the professional writer. Thanks, Bruce, and thanks to your wife as well. Great Place!
More comments
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.