It only took me a year to finally ditch Softlayer and sign up with a new ISP (Liquid Web) and then transfer over to WordPress. The WordPress conversion is done and will be evident by next weekend if not sooner. When this happens I’ll also be using Disqus for comments. (Which may require everyone to re-register.) And then I’ll finally move ahead with a re-design, which will manifest sometime in April.
The brutal truth is that Hollywood Elsewhere earned less ad revenue over the 2012-2013 Oscar season than it did last year. This is actually true for many sites. Everyone in my realm suffered. The reason is that the bigger sites (like Deadline, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Hitfix) got more aggressive and bellowed and threw their weight around, and with a finite ad budget the buyers gave them more and sites like mine a bit less. Plus I lost potential ad bucks because of my dissing of Lincoln. My not being a friend of Life of Pi also resulted in reduced revenues. Let it never be said that I don’t suffer for my opinions.
The re-design will be a way of saying Hollywood Elsewhere is just as vital as the others, and that we’re re-doubling efforts and standing taller and yaddah-yaddah. I’m thinking of putting in a permanent, year-round “rising and sinking fortunes” box on the front page. I’m thinking of trying again to post guest editorials from anyone who can write with some authority about new upcoming films and/or films in the pipeline. Or anything, really. I’m thinking about a MCN-styled Twitter box on the front page. And a weekly newsletter sent out. And maybe a new focus on TV/cable as well as Bluray, which will require finding new contributors. I don’t know what else. I’m open to any and all suggestions. One way or another Hollywood Elsewhere will be a new thing by April 30th if not before.
