hinking a lot since Gather's ICE change — and reading comments about how people dislike the new format and hate to see gather "turn into a social networking site."I prefer to change that phrase to "add a social networking site." The writing core of Gather is still alive and well, thank you very much.
I posted a comment recently to an article elizabeth e. published (the writing core/corps will continue to use the old terms):
"I think it's not relevant to many of us because we have found a home, groups of writers and readers and we get along very well and learn and laugh together. No matter what words gather uses or how they change the navigation on the site, we can just bookmark our favorite places, go directly there and use whatever terms we want.
The downside to gather's change as they evolve into more of a social networking site is that they will attract fewer interesting writers. That's now our job. When we run across writers of interest, we should invite them to partake in our favorite groups.
That way we can keep the old gather alive within the metrosexual gather or whatever it's morphing itself into. The old gather isn't a specific template with software, it's a group of writers with hearts and minds."
I believe we have a critical mass of people here who can maintain the kind of gather we like. I'm not thinking of an organized campaign or a revolt or anything like that. I'm thinking of sharing ideas for how we can strengthen and grow the core we already have and reminding ourselves periodically to do some of those things, like invite others writers to join us.
Then we'll provide page views in exchange for Gather providing free software programming and everyone will be happy.
And, when we feel like it, we can also network around, watch a few videos or even spend 10 minutes thinking of words that begin with "K," if that's our mood.
What say ye writers?
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Comments: 305
For those who detest the social networking aspect, simply don't get involved with it. Read only what you chose to rad, but please, don't condemn others for what they post. The great thing about Gather is that there's something for everyone.
Again John, thank you for the great article. You never let me down.
It's not a question of my being right, but this is the way I prefer to look at it.
Think of it as not inviting people to gather but inviting people to "My favorite writing group" (which just happens to be at Gather.com.
Half-empty or half-full kind of thing.
The sad truth is Gather has had flat membership counts in the past 12 months.
Gather!
"For those who detest the social networking aspect, simply don't get involved with it."
That's my feeling. It's not like they're noisy or anything. Not even in my face if I don't want them to be.
I feel it is my choice whether to feel alienated. Personally, I don't want to spend the energy on it.
I don't care much if the outside of the house looks Victorian one day and Art Deco the next.
If I think it might bother my friends I'll give them the back door key to one of my group's rooms — or invite them over when it's dark outside.
And much as I loved gather, and wish it weren't so, unless there are some indications that we are being heard very soon, I too will be gone. I will be very sad about it. But there it is none the less.
Thanks for bringing some clarity into the situation. Who knew that would come from a cartoonist?
Sorry. That probably sounded like a whine. Okay, it's a whine. Anyway, at this point, I don't feel alienated. I'm not picking up my marbles and going home. I'm just feeling a bit aggravated when Gather reminds me more of Facebook than blogspot. I guess that's just me. Takes all kinds to make a world.
If you want quality feedback that you can use to learn as a writer, that seems to be a give and take. I'll comment on your, you comment on mine. Again it takes time.
For me, what gather does with the rest of the site has little effect. I still periodically ask it for articles by my "connections" in one of six categories I have them marked and I browse through their work when I have time.
Thanks for the label but I'm not a cartoonist. However, I did inspire Phil Frank, who was a real cartoonist, to draw the Thought~Bytes to accompany my words.
He would say I twisted his arm.
Not unlike when the power goes out during an electrical storm. A temporary inconvenience (though I have had power outages for up to a week.)
mine resets every night at 12:30 .... which means if I haven't caught up by then, I don't have the option. Everything is, of course, still there...but the PTB have decided that I have missed their arbitrary curfew and so I have to work 100x harder to find the articles I want to read.
I resent that.
I'm glad it works for some - but it no longer works for me
I have no plans to change the decor or spirit of John's Humor unless pressured to do so by a bunch of money hungry venture capitalists who want to wheel barrows of money into my house.
I believe a good day for me after four months here was 4 views (taking my children out of the equation because I make them do that).
Re: vegetables that begin with "B." Exactly my problem. I came here to play those games and was so bad I was forced to learn how to write. "Beans" was always taken by the time I got there.
For starters, I think on Gather we're fortunate enough to be relatively "shielded" from crappy bands and porn sites with chicks who want to "love me long time." While I have received SPAM from such individuals on Gather, the amount has been FAR smaller than what I receive on MySpace.
As for Gather vs. the other social network Facebook, well... when I'm on Gather people are free to read who I am. I login and may have a friend request, group request, or even responses to my posts. I don't have to hold someone's "virtual hand," give me a "virtual kiss," or whatever 13-year-old intellect-designed application on of my 30 friends have forwarded to me.
To end, I get a kick outta being on here. I've got friends who are more interested in my work than just signing up to know me (although that could apply on here as well...) and hey, there's no place I'd rather be.
Keep writing. I enjoy the articles,
-Chas
You're right about readership. There are a lot of things to read out there. People have to choose.
But once you get them, they tend to be loyal if they like your writing. Published novelist have the same problem. You have to work at it to build an audience.
This too shall pass - and the good writers who stick with it will still be worth reading when it does.
I don't think gather tries to hinder us. They are trying to help make the site usable for other needs than ours as writers and readers — which needs, in my case, are pretty simple.
(Reminds me of Word. I bet I use 5% of the bells and whistles on that programming behemoth. But like gather, it does what I want and I don't care about the rest of it).
" I would like to see some of the more community-oriented aspects - featured articles, easy access to the Gather Essentials- made more prominent again"
There's nothing that says we can't do that. A mega-article with some minor programming that provides a facsimile of the gather pages we lost, such as the homepage.
I bet programming that would be a walk in the park for people like Kevin.
The reason we both remember those days, jean, is that we were sometimes 25% of the others' readership :)
Just zip in read, post and zip out.
So do my friends and colleagues.
Anywho....John, another insightful and wonderful article. If you know what you like and who; if you know what you enjoy, then as you said, bookmark it and invite others to join in. There is power in the pen! Or keyboard!! :)
I enjoy writing and reading the articles of my fellow writers. Although I don't have as much time as I would like to read everyones. But I will make my way to there article eventually, to return the gesture in kind.
It takes time to adjust to changes. But, eventually we do....then we'll need to prepare for the next one!
Warmest Regards.
Thanks, Ruthe, there is power in the pen.
I am willing to give a chance, and some time. The idea of social networking is a good one, it is what a lot of people have been doing on Gather for years. That is not why I am here, but there's room for everyone.
I would like to see the old home page back again, though.
re: friend sets and the feed. On "My Gather" page there is a "Friend Feed" column. Under that there is a pull down menu that starts with "all friends" and then, for me, has six subcategories of friends. I set it for the group I want to view (like "writers" is a different set of names than "Byters" for me)
Then instead of "all activites" I usually select "posts", which really means articles except in this Bizarro world.
And, you are right, it only shows today's post.
I think that is because the full feed can only hold a certain number of posts and even though my friends set may have only posted 20 articles in the past 10 days, they have to be drawn from the full current feed of ALL my connections.
OK. We need a work around that one.
Time to dial, Kevin, the SiteWizard.
Ah, Synchronicity.
"what sorts of groups do you have?"
personally I have two groups:
John's Humor
and
Thought~Bytes
That's mostly to facilitate emailing my readers simply once a week.
For fiction ( and socializing) I hang out with The Writing Wombats group (ten from all over the country are meeting here tomorrow.)
I also likes several of Beth H.'s groups — on on Writers Toolbox and Writers Critique.
I've been remiss on the fiction sites because I moderated Humor Monday as Member Editor for six months and that ate into my budgeted Internet time.
As for the rest of your comment, I'm glad you have the attitude you have.
Me too, on the homepage. Maybe we'll have to do that ourselves — see above.
(A version of the homepage does appear in a less useful format at the bottom of the Explore page).
"It will be interesting to see how 2 different groups, writers vs. networkers co-exist."
I not sure all of them even know the others are there.
There have been a number of excellent articles in the past few days on this topic and I think that should continue. A number of the Hawthorne changes were reversed or old capabilities restored.
This discussion thread and those articles are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I feel they should be running simultaneously on parallel tracks,
I see those articles as getting gather to make some changes for us.
I see this discussion as deciding what we can do to maximize this venue for our benefit regardless of what gather does.
Both are important.
I write on here but have never added anyone as a friend/contact, honestly doubt if I ever will. I write/reply because I enjoy it and doesn't really matter to me if what I write gets read or not, but I do understand that most others WANT that, which is why they write in the first place.
I have a few problems with this place but after a while it's not a big deal and it just feels normal again.
and Bacon. In my world Bacon IS a veggie.
Tanya, we cross-posted comments. I'd say, "Try to wake up the sleeping dog to our needs and be OK if they decide to keep sleeping."
Bacon! Ooh, I wish I'd thought of that. (See why I was forced to learn writing?)
Like you, I set up my connections into categories, and then peruse whatever I'm in the mood for. You're right, it's up to us to seek out and support one another.
And I go along with those who really hate the new home page. At least the other one really tempted newcomers to delve deeper into the site, and gave them an idea of what Gather is about, before demanding you join. If I were new here, with only that home page, no way would I be handing out my email address like that without having some idea what I was getting into.
I don't take Gather's latest repositioning personal, I'm just doing a little repositioning of my own.
Now bacon as a veggie? I suspect my vegetarian son would disagree.
Tanya, we cross-posted comments. I'd say, "Try to wake up the sleeping dog to our needs and be OK if they decide to keep sleeping."
John, this comment belongs to Antoine, who commented just after me.