Update from SpaceGhost2K.
To all...
I really apologize for my absence lately. I feel obligated to offer some explanations:
1) I went back to school, to CSU Bakersfield. I am taking classes towards a business marketing degree. I ONLY took two classes: Macroeconomics and Statistics, plus an online class that was really just reading a book and commenting on it. The University courses were kicking my BUTT and yet, somehow, I managed to pull a "B" out of both classes. I had no idea they would take up as much of my time as they have.
So what did I do? Signed up for three classes this quarter. To make matters worse, the last week of the quarter falls on the same dates as the Las Vegas Licensing Expo, and finals week falls during E3. DON'T THEY UNDERSTAND!?!?
2) Went to San Francisco for a Metro 2033 event, to Seattle for a week for the Microsoft MVP Summit, and spent a week getting ready for a Japanese Night Festival put on by the Japan and Beyond club from school. Then we went to Vegas for four days and just got back.
3) Working part time when there are holes.
I have over 100 new plates to add to the database and I kept thinking I would have time this week and I haven't. Next week I only have school one day, and no work, so I should be able to add some plates as well as update the front page of Faceplate Addict.
I have three signed plates in the mail, making their way to me. I hope to get pics of them up upon their return, and may even have more in the future.
I also have some killer news. I sold my first major faceplate order through ImageWare. Imageware is improving the quality of their plates (at my furious insistence) and is purchasing new plates. If you have a plate order that you haven't received, that's most likely why. As soon as they're in, they have to take care of that big order first because there's a deadline... How big? I hear you ask. I've done a few orders of 20, 25 and 30. This one is in the thousands. THOUSANDS.
I will share the information about the biggie as soon as I have permission. Consider it a reason to keep checking back until that happens.
Also, in "only semi-related news" you might have heard about the shakedown over at IGN. Once Upon a Time, there were two Xbox fansites, Xbox Addict and TeamXbox. rather than close their doors, TXB sold to IGN for an ungodly amount of money, and the owner of the site stayed on as an Administrator. A week ago or so, he and two editors were let go. Forumites rebelled, and one resourceful member started some new forums. Two days ago, the former owner also revealed his own forums.
I have been mentally pulled like taffy over this. I've left TXB, so that part is decided, but it's the only part. I offered my assistance with the new site to the former owner, who seems to have no interest in my assistance, which I can live with. The resourceful member with the new forums has offered me the same thing he's offered everyone at his site: Post something of quality and interest and he will identify it as an article. I've also had other people PM me with words of encouragement to start my own site, people who want to provide content on my site should I start one, people who've told me "why bother?" and others who simply said if I was the one doing it, they wouldn't go.
Nice, huh?
So, hypothetically speaking, if I started my own site, what would that mean? On one hand, I know what I would like to do. On the other, I know that it takes time and money and assistance from other people that I don't have. Passion without capital is like faith without works, baby... it just ain't happenin'. /richmullins.
One idea I had was to have a central site, and rather than reinvent the wheel with certain things I'd like to have, I would build in banners with direct links so that communities would share people. For instance, I would set it up like this:
1) Multiplatform game information
2) Multiplatform game forums.
3) Faceplate Database link to XboxAddict.com
4) Faceplate collectors and customizer forums.
5) Japanese game information.
6) Japanese "other pop culture" area for movies, music, anime, manga.
7) Japanese figure collectors link to myfigurecollection.net
8) Japanese content forums.
9) Hot Off The Presses newsfeed from XboxPulse.
10) Gamer Relationships with Empress Cortana
Anyway, you can see there's a lot going on in my head. I hope to get some of it worked out soon. Honestly, I think a SpaceGhost2K site is biting off more than I can chew, but I'm not done thinking about it. Maybe if I sell a few thousand more faceplates first...
