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First of all, a Very Happy New Year to all of you! Hoping that 2011 brings to life all your most precious dreams… and that you’re blessed with good health, prosperity, happiness and loving relationships throughout the year and beyond!
And now for the bad news… this January 2011 issue is the LAST issue of Kadzilla’s Lounge. Yes. The magazine will not be continued after this issue, though the archives will remain here for anybody who drops in. I know some of you will be genuinely disappointed with this news, but, it is not possible for me to continue the magazine single-handedly anymore with all the last-minute submissions month after month!
I started the magazine with the intention of creating an online community – a group of friends – who would interact with each other, encourage each other and attempt to share their creative skills and knowledge with each other. Obviously, this vision was not shared by the others. At least, that’s how it looks if I have to send repeated reminders to people for sending in their contributions! And also when people say they’re too busy!
Just like the rest of you, I also have professional obligations, that don’t miraculously disappear at the end of every month, so as to allow me to work full-time on the magazine instead during those last 4-5 days! Neither do I have a full-time maidservant at my disposal, to take care of all the domestic responsibilities! So I’m in the same boat as any of you guys. And it feels a little illogical when I hear the “too busy” excuse.
Nobody is ever “too busy” for something s/he really wants to do. Where there is a will, there is always a way.
I realize this was my magazine, my idea (an impractical one apparently). So there is no obligation on anyone. And I thank you all for putting up with it for so long. But, I can also see that it’s time to move on now.
I have no wish to convert this into a direct commercial venture. Neither do I wish to create another “blogging community” that gets its traffic solely on the basis of promises of personal interviews, or vote-based contests in which entries are voted for without even being read!
The USP of Kadzilla’s Lounge is its high standard of writing and presentation – the quality of content, combined with an equally powerful visual appeal. If there are not enough takers for this, then there’s no reason to continue it. Nevertheless, it was good fun while it lasted. So wish you all success in all your ventures.
Cheers! :D
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10 comments:
Hey Kaddu... don't do this. Don't discontinue 'Kadzilla's Lounge'. Please. I've just started...
January 3, 2011 11:02 AMWhy don't you decide on a cut-off date... for folks to send in their entries/posts? The cut-off date based on your convenience... and strictly enforced. Whatever submissions come in... within that date that is... go forward. No posts to be accepted... beyond that date. And no reminders to be sent...
So what if very few come in. Quality is better than quantity any day, anytime! What??
I would be very sad... if 'Kadzilla's Lounge' were to discontinue. Please don't let it. I'll be a regular contributor... I promise. And no last minute submission from moi... henceforth.
Something I never dreamt off in 2011. Its sad and disheartening. It was the best thing which could ever happen to me. I wish you take back your decision. I have a suggestion for you, why not have more people on your editor and administrator forum? That will certainly take off some load from you.
January 3, 2011 12:15 PMHi Roshmi,
January 3, 2011 2:01 PMThe deadline is already known to everybody - it is mentioned in the "Contribute" page. Besides, the monthly format of this magazine would be completely defeated if I just go ahead with whatever posts have come in till the deadline.
For example, take a look at this Jan issue: we have only 1 post in the Review Bench (because I did not send repeated reminders to the regular writers in this category), and the Travel section has no posts at all this time! The Library and Studio also have very few posts this time for the same reason.
Moreover, the "community" building is just not happening. Hardly anyone is reading/commenting on other people's posts here. In fact, forget about other people's posts, most are not even interested about their own posts here!
That's the reason I had to take this project off.
Hi Rachit,
January 3, 2011 2:19 PMI did try to implement your suggestion - of having more editors/admins on board. In fact, a "Twarketing Head" was officially appointed 2-3 issues ago, to take care of the Twitter account associated with the magazine. But the arrangement didn't work.
A community is dead if its members are not active. One person alone cannot do everything... searching for new contributors in specific niches, shortlisting articles for publication, editing/formatting the content, finding suitable images/editing them in Photoshop, cross-linking posts, linking to external sources, updating the Author Bios as and when required, maintaining the Facebook page & Twitter account... a lot of work goes in to maintain a quality publication.
I still have a lot of ideas for this place that could not be implemented yet due to lack of a team. And without a team (one that assumes ownership and responsibility of the project) it is not possible to continue a project of this scale for a long time.
See you around on FB... take care...
Kaddu
I know it may be difficult but, still not impossible. Please think once again before taking any final decision.
January 4, 2011 12:24 AMI came across the magazine only few days back, so haven't been able to study much about it. But I wish to tell you that you shouldn't get disheartened enough to stop writing here. You can alter the frequency of the magazine. I also feel that this post might be a wake up call for your authors, who could be embarrassed emotionally by this and may request you to change the decision.
January 5, 2011 10:27 AMGood content always gets noticed. I've read enough here to appreciate the quality of editing and content. Give it a second thought. Lows are always there occasionally, and they don't remove the highs from destiny.
Hey Rachit, like I said, it's not possible unless people take ownership of various sub-sections of the magazine. If that ever happens, then I promise, I will revive the magazine.
January 5, 2011 11:31 AMTanay,
January 5, 2011 11:58 AMThanks buddy! That was very encouraging. :) I know you have just got acquainted with Kadzilla's Lounge (even with me, for that matter!)...
This mag was published fortnightly earlier. It was converted to a monthly magazine from the 5th issue onwards, because apparently 15 days was not giving enough time to everybody to get their posts ready.
The thing is... I am not a "master of all" here. Like everyone else in the world, I have personal interest in a small niche, which is obvious from my personal blog. I can take ownership of that niche for every issue. But others have to come forward and take ownership of their respective areas. For example, The Perfume Review section was inserted because Akshay took ownership of it. Home Decor was handled similarly by my sister. But others also have to assume full responsibility of their respective sections. One post in 30 days for each section... it's not asking for much, is it. And the best thing is, it's not even necessary to submit a new post here! People are free to share previously published content too, if it is relevant in the current times!
Secondly, I'm not the boss here, this isn't a commercial organization, I'm not paying anybody. This was proposed as a team effort, and in a team, everybody has equal responsibility and authority. Up until now, I have never taken any important decisions regarding this magazine without consulting all the regular members. This was the first, because, frankly, I see very few people who really consider themselves as a part of this venture. Very few people who actually mail me sharing ideas and suggestions about what they'd like to do here, how we can make this a more exciting place. I'm only a central coordinator... I'm not a boss. And I don't like to be treated as a boss.
Well, as I told Rachit above, if people do come forward and take ownership of sections, then I have no issues in continuing this mag. IF that ever happens...
Thanks for dropping in btw...
Cheers! :D
Its dis-heartening and sad to hear that you are shutting down KadZilla. I request you along with others to reconsider this decision.
January 5, 2011 5:05 PMAs one of the contributors of KadZilla, I take responsibility for not submitting enough material. I don't want to go and hide behind 'I am too busy' routine. However, I was genuinely out of station for the past several days and I came back on Monday. I actually started writing an article for KadZilla Review Bench. Ironically enough, I took a resolution of writing at least two blogs post a week - one for my blog and other for KadZilla.
IMO, these kind of situations arise in every community-based start up (I don't mean this as a franchise - just an expression). It takes time and effort. I think you should do it no matter what.
Maybe instead of publishing it like a magazine, you can allow users to post articles without restricting them to deadlines. As far as reading and commenting on other blog posts are concerned it depends as not everyone will like what I write or interested in what I have to say. They might not know about something I write and feel it might not be the right place to place a comment. It takes months of effort to get recognition and comments. (Just my opinion).
I liked this forum, because as you said, it had something for everyone. I liked the niche area it was focusing on. I also liked it when my article got picked and published in your forum. I am thankful for that.
Anyways, if you reconsider and decide to start, I shall send my article by Friday. Hope you change your mind.
-- Karthi
Hey Karthi,
January 5, 2011 7:14 PMThanks for your comment yaar!
Well, this magazine has some critical sections without which it won't be the same. So if nobody comes forward to assume the role of SPOC (Single Point Of Contact) for those sections, then I will have no choice but to shut it down.
As for the other suggestion, a "without deadlines" magazine, well I do have a rough plan abt it. But it won't go with this layout, the way I have it here right now... the summary posts for each main category on the main page. It won't be possible to have that kind of summary/mini-index post without a fixed date of publishing. So in that case, I will start a new forum then, with a different template design etc. It makes no sense disturbing the design of this place. All these individual logos etc for different sections, they're all custom-made by me exclusively for this magazine. I might as well leave this place as it is for my portfolio purpose.
Of course, if people DO come forward and take responsibility of different sections, agreeing to divide the workload and go forward as a team instead of a 1-person show, then I have no problem in continuing this place. Like I said, I haven't implemented even 25% of the ideas I had for this place! But the TEAM is important.
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