Merging with Windows Secrets!? ... Are you kidding me? ... I cannot believe this...
Thu, 07/10/2008 - 13:57 — cgullet
OK Gizmo... I have to say this.
This is an outrage!! I and many of my tech friends LOVE your newsletter. YOUR newsletter, not "Brian's and Your" newsletter... Yours alone. Just like Fred Langa, you are merging with a newsletter that is almost useless at best.
It is obtrusively ad supported (and yes I paid for the premium edition because I loved Freds column so much and still get ads) and there is absolutely no "personal touch" like you have and Fred had. The software tips and free stuff you find is the best and the recommendations you make are AWESOME!! The personal touch thing is what made you great and now you are going to become part of a large machine that pumps out standard garbage because of ad revenue and poor management? Everytime I have written an email to you... you have responded... That makes your newsletter great! Heck there was even once or twice you and I had a fun little banter that gave me a bit of a laugh. It was perfect! You make us feel as if we are actually a part of your newsletter. Some of us even ARE a part of it.
I write to Windows Secrets and they give me the standard "Thank you for your email... blah blah blah".
I (as I am sure many of your subscribers) have always looked forward to your newsletter coming out each month with extreme anticipation (as I did with Fred's) and now as it merges with Windows Secrets I fear it will not be near as great as it was. I saw it with Fred's column and never thought it would happen, but it did.
Isn't there a way you can hire some staff? Raise the price (ian)? Please?? ... I would happily pay double for the info you provide. I have found freebies from your newsletter that have saved me literally thousands of dollars in software!! It would easily be worth it to pay $20.00-$25.00 yearly.
It took me 3 years to finally purchase your premium edition newsletter and I wish I had done it sooner; so again I would now gladly pay double to keep you "running" the show. Is there anything any of us can do to help you stay on your own? Please let us all know. I am certain most (if not all of us) would help in any way we can.
Please let us know??
Charles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alea_iacta_est
Gizmo has made the right decision to go the wiki route.
A sad day. I followed Fred to Windows Secrets though not for long as I found it boring and too many ads. Good luck for the future Gizmo.
Phil
Times change, life goes on. The only thing that won't happen is things staying as they are. If you enjoy something, make the most of it while it lasts. Mostly, we don't know what we've got till it's gone.
Look at it this way: with Gizmo working 80 hours + a week, it couldn't stay that way. He had to go fully commercial to survive. He maybe didn't like that idea so took the other option, to cut loose totally.
Newsletters have to go full-commercial in the end if they work. If they don't work out then they are simply a hobby and have an unstable future in any case. They generally get into the hands of the Internet marketers because they are such a powerful commercial tool. Brian's email list is now immense and has a huge commercial value for marketing, JV's etc.
I don't think Gizmo was ever very happy with that idea so the writing was on the wall. I think it's the beginning of a new era and though you might feel at first it cannot compare with the old one, it's always like that. Help to make it better and you might be surprised.
The website route is more of a community thing these days, as against a Newsletter which has a slightly more personal touch -- when it stays small. But Gizmo was too successful so it couldn't last, at least in the same format. It's a choice between a full-commercial newsletter or a new website approach. I think the website has more potential now as the possibilities are much wider, you can go in any number of directions. There are a huge number of improvements to be made here and people can actually get involved and help.
Nothing good lasts for ever, so you have to try and make the next stage even better if you can.
chris.p
chris,
Buncha Hogwash.
Nothing lasts forever. You are pointing out the obvious.
Needless to say this is a moot point and Ian has already "tossed the dice".
Otherwise I would tear into that last post...
"Fully commercial to survive" ... ugh
At least we still get to see the RSS and blog.
Hang in there Gizmo! Lookin forward to it bro'
Charles
Why is it that nothing good lasts forever, but mediocre never goes away.
How sad to see another top quality newsletter like Tech Support Alert merge with Windows Secrets.
I always eagerly read every word of the Tech Support Alert newsletter. It was the best! More often than not, I delete Windows Secrets without even bothering to read it. Past experience has shown me that reading it is a waste of my time.
Maybe Langa and Gizmo should co-edit Windows Secrets!
Well guys I'm flattered that you hold the old Support Alert newsletter in such high regard. It makes me think that the effort I have poured into this over the last five years has not been entirely wasted. I thank you for that; it means a lot to me.
But all good things must come to and end and this is the case here.
The fact is I just couldn't carry on. Here's what I just wrote in the merger FAQ (http://www.techsupportalert.com/support-alert-windows-secrets-merger-faq...)
"Support Alert newsletter has always been a one man operation. That means I not only wrote it, I did all the research, all the pre-production, distribution and all the subscription administration.
In the end one man can only do so much. By the time the newsletter reached 100,000 subscribers I was already working 80 hour weeks. As the circulation climbed towards 150,000 it was clear I couldn't cope.
So why didn't I just hire some staff rather than merge the newsletter?
I thought about it. The problem is that once you have staff to pay the whole dynamics change. The newsletter would inevitably change from been a labor of love to being a business. Anyone who witnessed the change in LockerGnome newsletter when it made the transition from being a one-man newsletter will know exactly what I mean."
So this is the reality guys. No single person can on a sustained basis, write and operate a quality newsletter with more than 100,000 subscribers. It's what happened to Chris Pirillo. It's what happened to Fred Langa. Now it has happened to me.
So while I would have loved to continue the newsletter it was simply not possible to do so as a one-man operation. That's the reality.
But I'm not going away. I'm already active in pushing interesting items into the RSS feed for this site and I'll soon be starting a site blog. You will find that many of the items that would have ended up in my newsletter will now be published in these alternative media.
And the feed and blog will be free to all; there will be no premium edition or paid content.
So while I understand you concern about the newsletter merger, just be a little patient. Gizmo has not forgotten you; in the end you may find that between this wiki site, the RSS feeds and my site blog you may end up with even more interesting freebies, security tips and handy how-to guides than I was ever able to publish in the newsletter.
Gizmo
Darn... well I hope your addition to Windows Secrets is different than Fred's and it leaves a mark on that newsletter in a much bigger and bolder fashion. Honestly I believe Fred was ready to "retire" and it doesn't sound like that is the case with you.
By the way, personally I think you should have told Brian it was going to be called Support Alert / Windows Secrets newsletter; little more "catchy" don't you think?
All the best to you sir and I look forward to the first official article with the hope it will be as good as your newsletter was when you ran it.
Charles
P.S. anyone have a tissue? I think I am actually tearing up a little ;)
Realistically I don't think Windows Secrets will end up looking like Support Alert newsletter. It's Brian Livingston's baby and it is he who exercises the control over the newsletter content not me.
I'll do the best with my column in Windows Secrets to find you products that are useful and free, just as I always have.
But there is some good news here. This site's RSS feed and my upcoming blog ARE under my control. So if you liked what was in Support Alert newsletter then make sure you sign up for the feed.
I'll have to clear the decks before I start my blog but it will be announced in the RSS feed.
Gizmo
Gizmo, say it not so!! I read your special news alert today and was totally shocked! Yours is the only newsletter I looked forward to each month and now that will be gone. I understand it took a lot of time to do, but it was so well done. Look what happened to Fred. He lasted a few months and them bowed out. (He had some personal problems and he may have lost his desire to continue) I fear this my happen to you.
I agree with Charles. The personal touch was there. I only wrote you a couple of times, your response was quick and advise was appreciated.
I'm a paid subscriber to Windows Secrets and your newsletter, but it will not be the same. It was great while it lasted and I wish you the best.
V.R.
I have to say I'm gutted at this.
Windows secrets butchered Fred Langa's column. Once he joined I just couldn't read it anymore, and unsubscribed. I'm hoping the same doesn't happen here, but I really can't stand Windows Secrets, and Gizmo's newsletter was the one I most looked forward to.
Never mind. I'll have to subscribe to the RSS feed from Gizmo's site, but it won't be quite the same as looking forward in anticipation to his newsletter.
ALEA IACTA EST
For those lacking a classical education, normally translated as "The die is cast".
Totally agree with Charles
I agree very closely with what Charles has expressed above and am concerned that what i very much look forward to each month will deteriorate. With Fred Langa gone, Gizmos newsletter was the only one I really looked forward to --for the quality and personal touch.
Frankly, I was at first hopeful that this merger might not be as bad as I feared --but lately Windows Secrets has done some really dumb stuff that is irrelevant and unnecessary to any of the quality Tech things I want to participate in. Now I have a dilemma, if I stop reading Windows Secrets for the bits it sometimes offers, I lose Gizmo's Tech Support Alert as well...
TA
I share your disappointment, but I'm afraid nothing can be done.
This site is now Gizmo's principal platform, and he'll continue to respond personally to emails, just as before.
His "software tips and free stuff you find and the recommendations" will continue, but they'll mainly appear here, in his own blog. The advantage is that it will be more-or-less instant; as soon as he writes it ... it'll be published.
You'll be able to subscribe to our RSS feed (for free) so you'll be alerted as the blog is updated
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