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[Mark]

IdEngager Wrote:I don't know if you are a sports fan or not, but I feel like Bill Simmon's Grantland site would be a good model to follow. He's gone from being the sole writer on his Page 2 column to now having a revolving staff of writers producing content. Some of them were already known for other work (Klosterman), some of them are well-known bloggers (Carles from HRO, Molly Lambert, Chris Brown and Sebastian Prutti of SmartFootball and NBAPlaybook), and some are primarily known from Grantland. But they do a good job of producing a ton of interesting and varied content on a daily basis (even if I could do without the dissertations on reality TV), and quality of writing is definitely a level or two above what you seen on ESPN.com or similar sites. Granted, Grantland has ESPN money behind it, and you have just you, but I think it'd be a valid example to follow.

Really as far as the main site goes, content is king. I don't care who writes it or how much they get paid for it, as long as you deliver something original and interesting, I'll read it. I think since the switch to PostMasculine, the content's been a bit, well, bland. If you're serious about going from a PUA-centric audience to a more mainstream audience, you're going to have to stand out against a far larger group of writers. You can't just seem saner than the guy writing PUA blogs, you'll have to stand out against what I read on The Economist, Grantland, Hipster Runoff, any number of blogs and sites for various interests that I browse through daily. I hardly think I'm alone here, I'm intelligent and college educated, I work a job where I work roughly 4 hours of real work a day and have a ton of time to kill on the internet, but my attention span is limited. It's an Attention Economy these days (there's a couple good books on this subject). You're a talented writer but there's not really enough good content to justify checking the frontpage more than once a week or so. I don't want to tell you (or the other writers) how to write, but try some articles where you really go gonzo and really inject your personal voice into it. It's alright to be sorta general when you're dishing dating advice, but it doesn't really work as well with some of these other articles.

Like for example, taking from some recent stories, there was one today for "Highs and Lows of an International Lifestyle". I feel this is something that should be deeply personal to you, but it comes off as a bit too essay-ish as it is written. I don't particularly have any interest in being a perma-traveler, but I'd be interested in hearing something interesting about it. When you're sick and run out of potable water in India at 10 PM, I want to feel what that's like, not hear about it. I know you have cell phone troubles in other countries (I know this personally from traveling to the Philippines), but I want to feel your confusion when this happens. Think Hunter S. Thompson, not self-help. Another one, the posture article, is nice enough but nothing I wouldn't see on the Yahoo frontpage or something like that.

Anyway, regarding the forum itself, I feel the one thing the PUA movement really had going for it is that it really encourages people to participate and track their progress online. Now it's arguable that you'd actually want to spend all that time online, but it does keep a forum active. I don't think it's any surprise that the most active and interesting thread right now is the No Porn thread, cause it actively requires participation. The rest of the time, what is there to post about? The articles already have a comment section, and it's not like I'd want to start a thread for every personal question I have that could possibly be answered here.

This is a great post. Thanks for the feedback. I do read Grantland. And it's funny you mention Bill Simmons... I've read him weekly since 2003 and I feel that he's actually had a not-insignificant influence on me... but the funny thing about Simmons is that from a purely literary point of view, he's not a good writer. In fact, in may ways he's a bad writer. But the one thing he does well -- communicate himself in an incredibly casual and friendly tone -- he does so well that it compensates for it... when you read him it's like you're sitting with your buddy watching a football game together and just chit-chatting about this player and that player.

You mention the international travel post... I don't think that's my best written piece by any means, but I do think it's more personal than average for me. And I don't think there's much self-help content in it at all... I would say the centerpiece for my "non self-help, writing at 100% capacity" ability is A Dust Over India. That's a piece I'll stand behind as far as my writing ability is concerned. I suppose a minor problem of where my site is, is that it's not a literary site. It IS a self help site. And so I feel that I can't stray from that self-help tone or purpose too far or for too long...

I'd be curious to hear what you think more on this topic. Because ironically, "A Dust Over India" has one of the highest "time on page" metrics of any article I've ever posted. I do agree with you, that although I like the content produced by the new writers, it's not good enough... and in generally I'd like the content on this site to take it to the next level... the level of Grantland or Deadspin or something... but the resources aren't quite there yet... I think I'm capable of it, but I'd need to dedicate more time to writing (which I'd love to do, but can't right now)... and then I'd have to get some serious writers and compensate them well as well... which I can't quite do yet.