Media Mayhem Signs Exclusive Deal with AboveTopsecret.com - Building the Company

Does anyone remember the massive outburst of traffic we had a little while back - should we be expecting another sudden boost ? Has any precortions been taken in this event so that it doesnt drag the sever into the ground for us regulars...

Fox

I see the great potential here but at the same time a possible deterioration of the make up if you will of this site.Meaning the type of members.This could open up new avenues for the site but at what cost? Could we see a less than desirable membership increase with threads like "Are Klingon's real?" or" My hand is possessed".I see pros and cons to this....hard really to say.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

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you have misaken what i said . i was not brow beating you about the income of ats i was only pointing out the fact that everyone has to put food on the table . just the same as i do and i expect you also . so dont take it the wrong way skepticoverlord it was not a shot at you in any way whatsoever.
as for more people showing up here and trolling ,,,, well it's in my opinion that everyone will have to weed through that much more B.S. when the flood gates open . kind of like when the anonymous post's were allowed here . but i guess thats progress now isn't it.

ATS is now about quantity, not quality. I remember being here in mid 2005 and reading the Aliens and UFO's forum. The topics were extremely researched and there was top notch material.


Now its just single line "look at this youtube video" or "OMG ALIEN SLEEPS WITH ME" crap that I could care less for.

Expansion is not always good. It is usually only good for the owner who rapes in a few more bucks while the employees suffer behind the scenes. The employees at ATS being staff and regular members.

Who cares if you bring in more members if they post garbage and end up in mass bans.

I hope internet advertising bites the dust. I am sick of ads jammed in my face constantly. Its flashback time again... Remember the internet back in the day... before Google ads, flash ads and all that crap? Open up a random page today and just count the ads. It is pathetic.

To hell with ads. Word of mouth is where its at.


ATS needs a way to get quality members and guests appearing here. So far the only thing that I believe does it is ATS mix.

I'm really sorry you feel that way. Often time nostalgic memories can be tainted with more of an emotional component than we think. Those "good old days" were indeed good, but much of the "good part" of being on ATS in one's first few months are greatly influenced by the huge discovery of all these great people and interesting topics. As time wears on... time wears on.

Thankfully, we have a method to easily make substantive comparisons... let's have a look:

2005
ATS, Hottest Topics: July 16, 2005
ATS, Hottest Topics: July 23, 2005
ATS, Hottest Topics: July 30, 2005

2008
ATS, Hottest Topics: June 28, 2008
ATS, Hottest Topics: July 5, 2008
ATS, Hottest Topics: July 12, 2008



(more coming soon)

Some of the best threads do not have monstrous amounts of replies, they have smaller more detailed posts.

A fun trip down memory lane (seen an old thread on mine as well)

What is "quality?" In what context should we pass judgement on whether any given topic is of "quality" or not?

Your quality will be different than mine, mine is different from Springers, and his is different from the new member just about to join... and so on, and so on.

The ONLY collective standard we have as a social content community are the topics that inspire large numbers of members to participate in a collaborative discussion. Piss-poor opening posts can (and sometimes do) result in phenomenal threads with inspired participation... but for those unwilling (or unable) to read past a unsatisfying subject line or inadequate opening post will never discover the treasures on pages two and beyond.


To toss out a generalization such as "ATS is now about quantity, not quality" is an off-handed slap to all the members who are finding daily enjoyment from contributing to topics they find interesting here on ATS. Certainly, by the only substantive measure we have, member participation, something "good" is happening here. People tend to be fickle, and those who would proactively provide socially aware opinions in an online forum are among the most fickle -- we seem to be providing some degree of satisfaction.




Here's the Aliens & UFO's Forum Summary page, I only see one thread as you describe. While the opening post is certainly lacking in the standard we'd like to experience, the follow-up discussion is interesting and involving several members. Is the entire thread "crap" because of the opening post?



It's most often bad, especially when not managed. But managed and careful expansion can be amazing... which is what we're trying very hard to do.



Your use of the word rape is alarming. This is hard work... ask my wife. Even though I work from home, most days I see her less than when I worked in an office.

And if anyone can point to a time in our history when successful expansion has not resulted in improved services and/or exposure for our members? Whenever we've been fortunate enough to experience improved revenue, we've reinvested back into the community. Everything we do, all day, every day, is about improving the global exposure of what our members contribute to ATS.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

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Quality is based on the perspective of the individual. Some users believe that ATS was of a higher quality back then, and other users believe that ATS is at its highest quality point ever. Older users and younger (both in age and time on ATS) will all have different viewpoints. Some users will believe this site has turned into quantity over quality, and it will be hard to change their perspectives, but just like people who believe ATS is now quality-based instead of quantity-based, both viewpoints should be respected since they can both be backed up with valid points.

When I look at it from my perspective, I see an ATS filled with more users creating more zany topics that destroy the credibility of ATS; on the other hand, I see more users creating more well-thought-out and detailed topics, which makes one want to be grateful to have this site on-hand. No doubt, proven with ATS's own statistics, the traffic, and thus quantity, of the site has risen, but it seems like the quality - at least, to me - has both fallen and risen at the same time, if that makes any sense.

In my opinion, ATS has recently gained some fairly, and really, quality members.

I won't name names, for the reason that it is unfair to the persons I have in mind...but for all the 'youtube' crowd we get, there are some that have shown up that are incredibly worth listening to.

If anyone is concerned about the 'quality' of ATS...they need only put the time and effort into finding it.

It's the same difference as choosing your social circle, as ATS is a microcosm of real life.

Conspiracy master material is top notch. This is the kind of stuff that in my mind ATS used to have more of from regular every day members.

I remember a time in the alien and ufo forum when you would really have to check your facts when making a thread because it would be eaten alive and exposed... but now, everyone seems to nod along to any crazy idea and only the most obvious of hoaxes is questioned (it seems).

Perhaps this is the reason behind the "new forum" that is in the works. I dunno.

All I will say in the end is that word of mouth is the best form of expansion.

By the way, the use of the word rape is just fine.

Well…. As Producer of the ATS MIX, BTS MIX and Above Politics shows…… may I say that our combined Internet Radio team of Johnny, Spencer, Doc, Justin and Martin have all dedicated ourselves to bringing the world, through our shows, a taste of the intelligent community that each of us is a part of. Over the past year, we have established a world wide fan base of 23 Million and that figure has grown over the past several months. We have developed three different shows in order to have something of interest for all potential new members and guests that give one or all a listen.

I am extremely proud of the achievements of all of the shows and their Co-Hosts. Media Mayhem gives all the shows an even wider base for VIP guest potentials that we can bring to our members and guests.

And as a matter of record, and this kind of relates to Bill’s answer about re-investing back into the site with upgrades, improvements, etc., our entire media team spends numerous hours of pre-show, show, post production, etc. to make the shows be as informative and entertaining as possible. And just to set the record straight, we ALL do this on our own time and WITHOUT A PAYCHECK. We invest our time with the belief that we are spearheading something magnificent that is far ahead of its time and will somewhere down the line be something that we all can look to with pride that we were part of the REVOLUTION.

Again, thanks to my partners Johnny, Spencer, Doc, Justin and Martin for always giving 200% on each and every show.

Dave

reply to post by Dulcimer

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I disagree somewhat with what you said about people going crazy. Usually when a topic has no evidence, it is moved to Skunkworks. However, if somebody says that they are providing evidence later, people sometimes go crazy up until that point. I will admit though, the crazy topics often overshadow the good topics, and that can get annoying.

This is what I was hoping to see out of ATS which is why I joined. I knew right off hand before I joined that exposure to these topics is the most important thing. Sometimes you gotta play the game. And this is a good way for us to do it. Don't companies also want to generate traffic to their advertisers? I don't care if they slap Mountain Dew logos all over the place, as long as people can still easily find the information they are looking for for free!

This has been a profoundly perception altering experience for me, I would hate it if this couldn't be made available on a mass scale. The key to selling ANYTHING even the truth, is marketing.

Your use of the word rape is alarming. This is hard work... ask my wife. Even though I work from home, most days I see her less than when I worked in an office.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

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One thing about the Amigos, is they come right on and explain these things openly and candidly and we see that what they are doing is resourceful and even ground-breaking in terms of business sense.

Thanks, Bill. Nice job on the set up and I like the idea of having less ads, but higher quality.

This kind of thing has got to be good for ATS and it's all pretty much above board and quickly explained, even if the 'conspiracy' hawks get a tad tiresome.

Bill's picture is next to Patience in my dictionary.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

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I can see both sides and I understand how Dulcimer might initially feel that way, but Bill has explained that also.

ATS is what you make of it.
Those fly-by-night youtubers come and go in waves.

We have to let them blow over, or not patronize their threads, which will quickly die, or even (gasp) as Springer has tried to do...

Set up a special "I was abducted by" forum for them. Then none of the other forums would have them and users could completely avoid those types all at once.

IMO, that is a brilliant proposal and is something like what I proposed a long time ago, but better conceived.

I thought about having a 'new members' forum, like a kiddiegarten where all the new members could post whatever they wanted and we could avoid them all that way.

But this is a bit more elegant solution and doesn't penalize the new members which are quality posters almost from the beginning.

Wish I'd have thought of that.

So let's have patience and let things evolve here on ATS, OK?

Peace!