Elvis
Site Administrator
Staff
Location: Orange County, CA
Local time:
05-18-2008 12:56 AM
Registered: May 2000
Posts: 4551
View Journal
Buddy Listed by...
|
05-07-2008 04:46 AM -  A New Chapter for Interference.com
Everyone,
As many of you know, Interference has evolved over the years and our community could use an upgrade to the latest version of vBulletin (the software that runs the forums and is the back end for the main site), some new features, and a face lift. I have been in communications with Andy at Social Knowledge, a firm that manages online communities like ours. Andy and I have been chatting for over two years as he was interested in making an investment into Interference. We have chatted at length and see eye to eye on so many things. His management style is to let the admin/mod team run the site, much like I have enabled the current admin/mod team to do. He is very passionate about online forum communities and has extensive background with the software and the whole upgrade process. He also seems like a cool guy who loves music (but his exposure to U2 is more limited then ours ). After two and half years of chatting I have decided that it was time for Interference to join the Social Knowledge network of online communities.
So what does that mean for Interference?
Really not much will change other then Andy will be working with the staff to upgrade the software that runs the site and tweaking the new features to how we want them configured. I know he would like to modernize the look and feel and plans to work with us on that. He understands the amazing community we have here and is looking forward to fostering things to take us to the next level.
As the staff knows best, while my intentions have been good on making these upgrades myself, I simply do not have the time. I am now going to have the least time available for Interference since it's creation. I have moved back to southern California, and I am in the process of launching a startup business (which will be announced in the next month or two). A new, and extremely demanding, chapter of my life is beginning. A new chapter in Interference’s ‘life’ is now starting as well.
I am sure many of you are curious about the terms of the deal between me and Social Knowledge. Our agreement has some language that prevents me from disclosing all the details but I can say that Andy has made a commitment to make a significant investment in order to add the site to the Social Knowledge network. Interference is now owned by Social Knowledge and although I plan to stay on board my role will be less as Andy works with the staff to take things to the next level.
The decision to have someone take on this role, in my place, was not an easy one. It has been a lengthy process, and carefully thought out.
I was mostly interested in making sure that the integrity of the community would stay intact and that someone with financial and technical resources could take things to the next level. A qualification for me was that they would do so without coming in and trying to tell the current staff how to manage the community.
I want all of you to know that in the last couple of years I had also considered passing the site along to the staff. Honestly though I couldn't come up with a viable solution for that... in terms of who would back it financially, as well as technically, in order for it to grow and develop in the way that I envision.
Interference is my baby, my ‘Frankenstein’, my love, my headache, and my pride and joy, etc... and all of you have been a part of that. As well, there are many others in Interference’s history that have also moved on. Past, present, and future the staff and members of Interference are what make it what it is… a truly awesome community, the largest group of U2 fans in the world. I thank all of you for being a part of Interference.
I’ve had some absolutely amazing experiences, met some fabulous people, gotten jobs, met my girlfriend, and much more… all because of Interference. Truth is, everything that has happened positive in my life since I created Interference has been a cascading result of Interference itself. I want to emphasize, and hope that you all understand that this was not an easy decision for me.
I have nothing but good feelings about the future of Interference, Social Knowledge, and Andy at the helm working with the staff.
Please welcome Andy to the team and be kind enough to hear things through and give him some time to gain your trust. I am very confident that you all will enjoy what’s to come as a result of him being involved.
For those of you interested, you can keep apprised of what’s going on in my life and projects on Facebook:
(LINK HERE: To view this link you must Register. If you're already a member, Login Here!)
Joel
__________________
Edit Your Sig | Sig Edit (Staff) | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged | Link to this post
|
*wonders when we can start the Elvis has left the building jokes*
