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State of the Bored Address

DerekJohnson
DerekJohnson Administrator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 68,471 Founders Club
edited August 2016 in Hardcore Husky Board
To Benny Beaver and Whom it may Concern:

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As Hardcore Husky prepares to enter its fourth football season, it's a good time to give you (our "valued" posters), some indication of where we're at and where we're going.

So many of you are here every day and the health of the website is very important to you. I have made no secret of my disillusionment of UW Football and the way it is being run by the narcissistic, insipid people in charge. For me, it would be a type of relief to walk away from Husky Football and never think about it again. But there is one thing that keeps me here and motivates me to manage this site, and that's you fucksticks. Our dynamic and eclectic community is second-to-none for message board entertainment. It's a special thing we've got going here.

That being said, I have spent thousands of hours and much energy keeping things going. When I put out the call for donations three weeks ago, many of you immediately kicked in, and I deeply appreciate that. But the overall numbers were a little disappointing, leaving us short for covering expenses for the year ahead.

Here are some basic numbers: Since starting the site on Nov 26th, 2012, we have had 22.1 million page views. We currently have 2,071 registered members. When you take into account some of you douchebags with multiple handles, I estimate that we have about 1,900 unique members. Of course, many more people than that like to lurk at our threads.

In the month of August, we have taken in about $3,100 in donations. The vast majority have been subscriptions to the Wigwam. Conservatively speaking, it costs an average of about $290 a month right now to run the site (Including server fees, Squarespace, podcast costs, domain, etc). That includes our independent IT and graphics people (Matt, Sondra and Lucy) who have been paid $605 so far this year. I also have to pay 25% of all donations in the form of taxes.

Last year we took in a total of $3,900 in donations and $1,200 in revenue from our sponsor. Unfortunately our sponsor didn't feel we were driving enough business to their Edmonds location, so they discontinued after two years.

Anyway, if we raise a total of $5,000 for the next twelve months, that would enable us to cover expenses. Meaning that in the coming months we need to raise another $1,900.

I've been in contact with a handful of regular posters who plan to donate in the next month or two, so I feel really good about surpassing the $4,000 mark.

But in regards to the next twelve months, I'm asking you regulars who haven't given to consider making a donation. Even $25 helps out and keeps the lights on. I monitor the site stats daily, and I monitor people's accounts. A lot of you guys (and gals) are logging on to Hardcore Husky 2-4 times a day and it's clear you really enjoy what's happening here. Please consider giving back to this community.

Now then, regarding the future of Hardcore Husky...

Many of you have encouraged and praised me for creating and running the site. While I really appreciate that support, I feel like the site has outgrown my original business model. I don't feel like I am doing enough to maximize what we've got here. I realize the need to spend the next 6+ months rethinking the business model in order to adopt a new approach for next year.

Recently I reached out to several regular posters via PM and asked them for feedback. Multiple people suggested more emphasis on football content on the Hardcore Husky main board. I agree with that insomuch as helping steer it in that direction, as long as I'm not trying to dictate where the overall conversation is going.

Tequilla also made a very valid point, when he said that I needed to decide whether to make this place a hobby board or to take on a more professional approach. Given the thousands of hours I have spent managing and moderating the site, it certainly feels like a part-time job already. So it might behoove me (and my esteemed colleagues from the original Bored of Investors) to rethink the site in a more professional sense.

The real trick to this is to not lose our identity. The Game of Thrones character Bronn epitomizes what this site is about. That MoFo is a glib swashbuckler who fancies himself a womanizer, but beneath it all there is a conscience. That's our general persona and/or attitude here. The key with Hardcore Husky is to foster an environment of free speech that teems with ideas and humor. The last thing we need to is suppress that creative, pub-like atmosphere with heavy-handed moderation and rules meant to streamline profits and mainstream the site. At the same time, I maintain subtle limits so the site doesn't implode amid a maelstrom of debauchery and endless one-liners.

That is always first and foremost in my mind when implementing changes here at Hardcore Husky. Keep our identity, keep our soul. It won't be easy, but it's a must.

So over the next 6+ months I will be planning ahead to next year. I welcome all constructive suggestions that any of you may have.

In the meantime, I will be writing a weekly article on Mondays during the football season. My topics may or may not involve the Huskies (as my interest may or may not continue to wane), but I will do my best to write entertainingly on some topic.

The Hardcore Husky Podcast will broadcast once a week during the football season. I will be joined by former Huskies Kyle Benn and Mike Monan along with the Sweatpants General, Koopdog, on select episodes. (I still haven't worked out that schedule yet, I may let it grow organically).

Last but not least, our old friend Larry (aka DeLarry) will be entering the podcast world. He and I will be starting a second podcast, covering the Tennessee Volunteers football program. After much discussion, DeLarry and I are adopting the Vols as our second team to root for, given our disdain for the incompetence of the the current UW administraton. He and I will learn about the Vols as we go along, and we're both looking forward to those conversations.

So here's to an enjoyable 2016 football season. Let's hope the Huskies can finally accomplish something of value after a lost generation of fucktarded football, dim-witted administrators, and sociological experiments gone awry.

Again, if you spend time in our community and want to contribute to its overall health, please make a donation via PayPal on the right-hand margin of the site. Or send a check payable to Derek Johnson at PO Box 8298, Port Orchard, WA 98366.

Thank you to everyone, and remember the words of Dave Barry -- "You can only be young once. But you can always be immature."

Derek
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Comments

  • Gladstone
    Gladstone Member Posts: 16,419
    edited August 2016
    DerekJohnson said:



    The real trick to this is to not lose our identity. The Game of Thrones character Bronn epitomizes what this site is about. That MoFo is a glib swashbuckler who fancies himself a womanizer, but beneath it all there is a conscious. That's our general persona and/or attitude here. The key with Hardcore Husky is to foster an environment of free speech that teems with ideas and humor. The last thing we need to is suppress that creative, pub-like atmosphere with heavy-handed moderation and rules meant to streamline profits and mainstream the site. At the same time, I maintain subtle limits so the site doesn't implode amid a maelstrom of debauchery and endless one-liners.

    @Swaye TRUE?!?!
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  • Swaye
    Swaye Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 41,739 Founders Club
    Gladstone said:

    DerekJohnson said:



    The real trick to this is to not lose our identity. The Game of Thrones character Bronn epitomizes what this site is about. That MoFo is a glib swashbuckler who fancies himself a womanizer, but beneath it all there is a conscious. That's our general persona and/or attitude here. The key with Hardcore Husky is to foster an environment of free speech that teems with ideas and humor. The last thing we need to is suppress that creative, pub-like atmosphere with heavy-handed moderation and rules meant to streamline profits and mainstream the site. At the same time, I maintain subtle limits so the site doesn't implode amid a maelstrom of debauchery and endless one-liners.

    @Swaye TRUE?!?!
    I am a swashbuckling womanizer, but I also cry whenever a Bond girl dies in any 007 flick. So yeah. It's true.
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  • IPukeOregonGrellow
    IPukeOregonGrellow Member Posts: 2,183
    Maybe it's because I'm a Duck with a degree in pumping gas and a minor in marketing, but I would think a monetized Google ad feed at those metrics would keep the lights on.

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  • PurpleReign
    PurpleReign Member Posts: 5,479
    Baseman said:

    Question (serious): how can WE attract more Dawgman/Realdawg(fags) subscribers? sure 90% + have to be brain dead but certainly there has to be a segment, even if it's only 2 to 5% who are tired of the SOS and brain rust, and are looking for a place to call home.

    I had no idea HH existed until Kim mentioned it on the site(dumbfuck)

    Part of me wishes I'd taken Sven's directive to "LEAVE". I spend too much time here. My productivity has gone in the toilet and my family thinks I'm a sick fuck. That said, I love this place and want to see it thrive.

    What did Kimmy say?
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  • unfrozencaveman
    unfrozencaveman Member Posts: 2,303
    Dennis_DeYoung said:

    PurpleReign said:

    Few things real quick:

    - Request volunteers to join a small team to help take some moderator duties off your plate.
    - Add some additional revenue streams to the site.
    - You must branch out into social media to bring in new poasters.
    - More articles is a good idea, content drives traffic. You should guest write on other sports sites/blogs in exchange for them linking back to HH.

    Not sure what all they do, but TigerDroppings is just as politically incorrect as HH and they have way more members and traffic. Maybe you could reach out to their admin for advice?

    And before anyone gives me crap, yes I will donate this year!

    And ShaggyBevo.

    Duh.
    Derek, you should contact BlackLab (owner of Shaggy) and pick his brain. He's a good guy. They originated out of similar circumstances. Like Koop said in your last podcast, we've basically lost a generation (20-30 year olds, lower end of the Millennial generation), whereas there hasn't been a dropoff @ TX. The drought hasn't been that long

    Bottom line, every time I check that site out, 700-800 members online, he apparently picks up 4-8 million views a month. So they prob get about $2-3K in ad revenue plus donations which sounds like the way to do it
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  • Baseman
    Baseman Member Posts: 12,369
    PurpleReign said:

    Few things real quick:

    - Request volunteers to join a small team to help take some moderator duties off your plate.
    - Add some additional revenue streams to the site.
    - You must branch out into social media to bring in new poasters.
    - More articles is a good idea, content drives traffic. You should guest write on other sports sites/blogs in exchange for them linking back to HH.

    Not sure what all they do, but TigerDroppings is just as politically incorrect as HH and they have way more members and traffic. Maybe you could reach out to their admin for advice?

    And before anyone gives me crap, yes I will donate this year!

    How about tonight? HH telethon...
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  • DerekJohnson
    DerekJohnson Administrator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 68,471 Founders Club
    1. When I have put ads on here, people complain that I sold out

    2. Soon after, we get flagged repeatedly for bad language, and the ads get pulled (as happened with Google advertising).
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  • PurpleReign
    PurpleReign Member Posts: 5,479
    UWhuskytskeet said:

    whlinder said:

    I'll get around to tossing $25 your way. Other message boreds are fully free and make their money through ads. We're* creating free content after all. Or stealing it. same same.

    Maybe become an Amazon affiliate? I'd do all my shopping through a link here to support the sight.

    I'll wait a couple days before I make my next purchase if that's the direction Derek wants to go.
    Me too!
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  • Swaye
    Swaye Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 41,739 Founders Club
    DerekJohnson said:

    1. When I have put ads on here, people complain that I sold out

    2. Soon after, we get flagged repeatedly for bad language, and the ads get pulled (as happened with Google advertising).

    This is a big fucking problem. Not number 1. Fuck anyone who thinks you are selling out trying to break even in year 4 of a website you have sunk thousands of your own dollars into. I mean seriously, fuck them.

    Number 2 is the issue. If you take away all the cursing and buffoonery this place becomes like neutering the Thunder Dome by making it gay only. Not just normal gays either, but the really fruity ones. Would kill the entire site mojo. Could you get creative and put most of the boreds behind a wall (like Wigwam), and leave a couple of clean boards visible to everyone? Call it the Freebird bored or some shit...I am just trying to think outside the box, but the need to be "clean" presents real problems for money generation.

    I think Coke (and others) are really onto something with the social media thing. This site is really no different from ShaggyBevo or Tigerdroppings....but they have HUGE traffic and member bases. There is a market for this kind of hijinks. One of our core problems is that Texas and LSU are simply much, much better football programs than our shit show. People from all over the country follow them religiously. UW, not so much. Thanks sloppy tits. That said, with proper "marketing" on social media, there is no reason we couldn't pull a larger swath of people who are just football fans looking for a fun time. This could be the faggy Pac-12 equivalent of those. I really believe that. There is nothing else like this site for football on the West Coast. Market the shit out of it. Use social media all stars like Grundle, Coke, etc. If they can get us 50 new contributors in a year, that is better than any financial donation they could have made.

    My fucking fingers hurt and I am making @Tequilla blush.
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  • DerekJohnson
    DerekJohnson Administrator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 68,471 Founders Club
    PurpleReign said:

    Few things real quick:

    - Request volunteers to join a small team to help take some moderator duties off your plate.
    - Add some additional revenue streams to the site.
    - You must branch out into social media to bring in new poasters.
    - More articles is a good idea, content drives traffic. You should guest write on other sports sites/blogs in exchange for them linking back to HH.

    Not sure what all they do, but TigerDroppings is just as politically incorrect as HH and they have way more members and traffic. Maybe you could reach out to their admin for advice?

    And before anyone gives me crap, yes I will donate this year!

    I haven't ever spoken with the Tiger Droppings folks, but I did consult with the owner of Shaggy Bevo when I was in the process of creating Hardcore Husky. He was helpful.
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  • DerekJohnson
    DerekJohnson Administrator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 68,471 Founders Club
    whlinder said:

    I'll get around to tossing $25 your way. Other message boreds are fully free and make their money through ads. We're* creating free content after all. Or stealing it. same same.

    Maybe become an Amazon affiliate? I'd do all my shopping through a link here to support the sight.

    I had an Amazon affiliate thing up for 2+ months and not many clicked through.
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  • Swaye
    Swaye Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 41,739 Founders Club
    DerekJohnson said:

    Swaye said:

    DerekJohnson said:

    1. When I have put ads on here, people complain that I sold out

    2. Soon after, we get flagged repeatedly for bad language, and the ads get pulled (as happened with Google advertising).

    This is a big fucking problem. Not number 1. Fuck anyone who thinks you are selling out trying to break even in year 4 of a website you have sunk thousands of your own dollars into. I mean seriously, fuck them.

    Number 2 is the issue. If you take away all the cursing and buffoonery this place becomes like neutering the Thunder Dome by making it gay only. Not just normal gays either, but the really fruity ones. Would kill the entire site mojo. Could you get creative and put most of the boreds behind a wall (like Wigwam), and leave a couple of clean boards visible to everyone? Call it the Freebird bored or some shit...I am just trying to think outside the box, but the need to be "clean" presents real problems for money generation.

    I think Coke (and others) are really onto something with the social media thing. This site is really no different from ShaggyBevo or Tigerdroppings....but they have HUGE traffic and member bases. There is a market for this kind of hijinks. One of our core problems is that Texas and LSU are simply much, much better football programs than our shit show. People from all over the country follow them religiously. UW, not so much. Thanks sloppy tits. That said, with proper "marketing" on social media, there is no reason we couldn't pull a larger swath of people who are just football fans looking for a fun time. This could be the faggy Pac-12 equivalent of those. I really believe that. There is nothing else like this site for football on the West Coast. Market the shit out of it. Use social media all stars like Grundle, Coke, etc. If they can get us 50 new contributors in a year, that is better than any financial donation they could have made.

    My fucking fingers hurt and I am making @Tequilla blush.
    That is part of the reasoning behind our Tennessee Volunteer podcast that will soon debut. It is one of several tools to help spread the word across the country.

    I don't like the idea of watering down a board for mass public consumption. It takes away from what and who we are. But I appreciate what you're driving at, which is to think outside the box.

    Considering the tepid nature of Husky Football, it is amazing the following and traffic we have here.

    Hardcore Husky is going to succeed one way or another. We will figure it out as we go along.
    I hadn't thought about using the Vols as an approach to expand the base (i.e. when I just PM'ed you). Let me think on that. It shouldn't take long. I am not known as a deep thinker.
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  • whlinder
    whlinder Member Posts: 5,272
    DerekJohnson said:

    whlinder said:

    I'll get around to tossing $25 your way. Other message boreds are fully free and make their money through ads. We're* creating free content after all. Or stealing it. same same.

    Maybe become an Amazon affiliate? I'd do all my shopping through a link here to support the sight.

    I had an Amazon affiliate thing up for 2+ months and not many clicked through.
    Hmm. We? suck then. I can't recall that... maybe it needs more FREE PUB?
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  • whlinder
    whlinder Member Posts: 5,272
    Also, 27 poasts and no one has asked "When does Sven get put in charge?"
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  • section_332
    section_332 Member Posts: 2,403
    We can all tell 2 friends about this site....
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