You're right; this isn't the Internet of a decade ago, and thank goodness for that! Furs today don't need Flayrah to find the latest fursuit videos, or ask a question, or promote their conventions, or artwork; sites like Reddit, WikiFur and furry-specific social galleries handle that, far better than we can.
But there is still a need for news, and a hunger for original content – so, upon our relaunch, I refocussed Flayrah on original in-depth news and features. Most of what we do wouldn't qualify as "long form" elsewhere, but it's longer than much of Flayrah's output at the turn of the decade, and perhaps more considered than you'll see in most furry journals.
Getting the word out there is always hard. We're not the most social news site on the planet, but I've ensured that Flayrah's stories have a first-class presence on Twitter, with feeds on Facebook, Tumblr and LiveJournal, and I've developed relationships with Google News and othersites. More could be done here – e.g. a Fur Affinity/Inkbunny/SoFurry cross-poster – but it requires my attention, which is in short supply.
On that note, I'm not keen to spend time (mine, or that of our contributors) on stories of little impact. Some news is just a link, and while in the past that would rate a whole post, today that is what a Newsbyte is for. This means we are able to give time to stories which deserve it. I'd hesitate to promote the posting of "fluff"; but we're not turning away legitimate stories about fursuiters (or any other furs). We simply do not get many, and my own hands are overfull with the words of others. Perhaps Kijani Lion would care to move his column over to Flayrah?
We could do more with promotion – and yet, there's a tension between this goal and our mission, especially when working with events. Review our convention coverage; you'll find contributors are as likely to take a critical position as a congratulatory one, and have a habit of pointing out awkward facts. While furry boosting may once have been the goal (and such pieces are still permitted, within reason), we're here to write the first rough draft of furry history: the good and the bad. This is to our contributors' credit – if we don't hold those in power accountable, who will? – but it makes me hesitant to request favours of event organizers. Indeed, we have already been denied permission to buy a dealer's table at one convention, based on our coverage. (It may be interesting if we pick up Best Magazine there later this year.)
Then there's the question of integrity. If a convention gives us free or reduced-rate placement, do we owe them? Of course, we could provide material for others to use, if they choose. It's just a matter of time to make it. Unfortunately (or not, depending on your point of view), my editing queue is never empty – and that tends to get priority, because traffic is increasing as we put out good content:
Podcasts haven't promoted themselves here for a while, but that may be because we already feature each of their episodes in our sidebar. As it happens, we have good relations with at least one: FurCast, who regularly read our stories on air – including yours about Misora Rae – and link back to us (providing about 0.25% of visits, or 1% of referrals). Others are welcome to do so as well, if they find our content relevant.
And about that content; it's up to everyone. We have a regular movie column because crossaffliction took it upon himself to make one. We have copious reviews because Fred and others write them. We have regular summaries of ARP findings because I create them. Every story exists because someone found it important enough to write about. There's no quota – no pressure beyond that sense of duty each journalist knows – and we'll publish almost anything with furry relevance. If you see some higher hand in our output, it's an illusion. :-)
One last thought: Flayrah isn't for everyone. Many are satisfied browsing new submissions, and catching up with their friends, or fursuiting, or roleplaying, and have no interest in what we cover; and that's OK. For those who want more, we'll be there – now, and in years to come.
You're right; this isn't the Internet of a decade ago, and thank goodness for that! Furs today don't need Flayrah to find the latest fursuit videos, or ask a question, or promote their conventions, or artwork; sites like Reddit, WikiFur and furry-specific social galleries handle that, far better than we can.
But there is still a need for news, and a hunger for original content – so, upon our relaunch, I refocussed Flayrah on original in-depth news and features. Most of what we do wouldn't qualify as "long form" elsewhere, but it's longer than much of Flayrah's output at the turn of the decade, and perhaps more considered than you'll see in most furry journals.
Getting the word out there is always hard. We're not the most social news site on the planet, but I've ensured that Flayrah's stories have a first-class presence on Twitter, with feeds on Facebook, Tumblr and LiveJournal, and I've developed relationships with Google News and other sites. More could be done here – e.g. a Fur Affinity/Inkbunny/SoFurry cross-poster – but it requires my attention, which is in short supply.
On that note, I'm not keen to spend time (mine, or that of our contributors) on stories of little impact. Some news is just a link, and while in the past that would rate a whole post, today that is what a Newsbyte is for. This means we are able to give time to stories which deserve it. I'd hesitate to promote the posting of "fluff"; but we're not turning away legitimate stories about fursuiters (or any other furs). We simply do not get many, and my own hands are overfull with the words of others. Perhaps Kijani Lion would care to move his column over to Flayrah?
We could do more with promotion – and yet, there's a tension between this goal and our mission, especially when working with events. Review our convention coverage; you'll find contributors are as likely to take a critical position as a congratulatory one, and have a habit of pointing out awkward facts. While furry boosting may once have been the goal (and such pieces are still permitted, within reason), we're here to write the first rough draft of furry history: the good and the bad. This is to our contributors' credit – if we don't hold those in power accountable, who will? – but it makes me hesitant to request favours of event organizers. Indeed, we have already been denied permission to buy a dealer's table at one convention, based on our coverage. (It may be interesting if we pick up Best Magazine there later this year.)
Then there's the question of integrity. If a convention gives us free or reduced-rate placement, do we owe them? Of course, we could provide material for others to use, if they choose. It's just a matter of time to make it. Unfortunately (or not, depending on your point of view), my editing queue is never empty – and that tends to get priority, because traffic is increasing as we put out good content:
Podcasts haven't promoted themselves here for a while, but that may be because we already feature each of their episodes in our sidebar. As it happens, we have good relations with at least one: FurCast, who regularly read our stories on air – including yours about Misora Rae – and link back to us (providing about 0.25% of visits, or 1% of referrals). Others are welcome to do so as well, if they find our content relevant.
And about that content; it's up to everyone. We have a regular movie column because crossaffliction took it upon himself to make one. We have copious reviews because Fred and others write them. We have regular summaries of ARP findings because I create them. Every story exists because someone found it important enough to write about. There's no quota – no pressure beyond that sense of duty each journalist knows – and we'll publish almost anything with furry relevance. If you see some higher hand in our output, it's an illusion. :-)
One last thought: Flayrah isn't for everyone. Many are satisfied browsing new submissions, and catching up with their friends, or fursuiting, or roleplaying, and have no interest in what we cover; and that's OK. For those who want more, we'll be there – now, and in years to come.