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What is SoylentNews?

posted by mattie_p on Tuesday February 25 2014, @11:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the choose-your-own-adventure dept.

So, what is SoylentNews? This is your chance to tell us!

I am announcing the first ever SoylentNews online video contest. The rules are pretty simple.

  1. Upload an original video (no more than about 60 seconds, please) to the site of your choice (but please tell us where it is up loaded and ensure it tracks views) that answers the question, "What is Soylent News?" Your video should ideally contain the phrase, "Soylent News is ..." but this is not strictly required. Let us know what site you upload to.
  2. Tag your video SoylentNews.
  3. Watch as the hits roll in.
  4. ????
  5. Profit!

Too easy, right? We will count the views on 31 March 2014, at 11:59 UTC. The winner is the individual video that has the most views.

You do not actually have to appear in the video! Make a cartoon, do CGI, do a voiceover of a movie, whatever. Be creative and explore your artistic vision! (Yes, you have one. It may be underutilized at times but it is there).

We have not yet determined the prize for the winner, but it will be jaw-droppingly awe-inspiring (it's a key-chain I found on the sidewalk somewhere). No, it'll be something good. At a minimum we'll feature your video on the site here and interview you for the "making of" your entry. But probably more (it's a keychain).

On behalf of the entire staff and volunteers, we continue to be amazed at the response we've gotten from the community so far. We will continue to provide ways that you can interact with us and help define us. I hope you enjoy this contest. If you have any other suggestions for how we can better meet your needs, feel free to let us know in IRC, the Forums, or the Wiki. Thanks for reading!

~Mattie_p

p.s. keychain!

p.p.s updated based on feedback

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by mth on Tuesday February 25 2014, @02:41PM

    by mth (2848) on Tuesday February 25 2014, @02:41PM (#6818) Homepage

    I think SoylentNews is for people who like to read high-density textual information. Video is not the right medium to attract those people.

    Besides, the old slashcode is really bad. For example, it took me quite a while before I found the Reply button to post a top-level reply; I'd expect it at the bottom of the page since that is where the post will show up, instead it is lumped in with the filters. If you want to attract visitors who are not Slashdot veterans, it would be better to launch a publicity offensive after the UI has been cleaned up.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +4  
       Insightful=2, Interesting=1, Informative=1, Total=4
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Total Score:   5  

  • (Score: 1) by umafuckitt on Tuesday February 25 2014, @03:31PM

    by umafuckitt (20) on Tuesday February 25 2014, @03:31PM (#6863)

    This. The UI needs to be fixed. There is even still boilerplate on the left below the links. The threaded discussion works rather poorly and is showing its age. I think the site should be kept simple and elegant; but "simple and elegant" doesn't equal clunky UI from 10 years ago. I really want this site to succeed, but it's not going to do so unless it offers a better product. In this regard, the packaging is as important as the content.

    • (Score: 1) by Daniel Dvorkin on Tuesday February 25 2014, @09:42PM

      by Daniel Dvorkin (1099) on Tuesday February 25 2014, @09:42PM (#7044)

      The threaded discussion works rather poorly and is showing its age. I think the site should be kept simple and elegant; but "simple and elegant" doesn't equal clunky UI from 10 years ago.

      Depends on what you mean by "UI". If you mean the code should be brought up to date so it works better, and the colors and element placement should be changed to make the site more attractive, I agree with you completely; Pipedot [pipedot.org] shows how good a Slashdot-style site with modern coding and design can be. But if you mean Soylent should get rid of the fundamental UI elements, such as the discussion system, that made Slashdot so great ... um, no, that's what drove us away from Slashdot, and why this site exists, in the first place.

      --
      Pipedot [pipedot.org]:Soylent [dev.soylentnews.org]::BSD:Linux

      • (Score: 1) by umafuckitt on Tuesday February 25 2014, @10:55PM

        by umafuckitt (20) on Tuesday February 25 2014, @10:55PM (#7082)

        Sure, yes, I mean something more like Pipedot. Of course the discussion system should stay.

  • (Score: 2) by Open4D on Thursday February 27 2014, @12:07PM

    by Open4D (371) on Thursday February 27 2014, @12:07PM (#8030) Journal

    I think SoylentNews is for people who like to read high-density textual information. Video is not the right medium to attract those people.

    Well, certainly video is not the right medium to attract me. Generally, I'm not going to watch videos (unless there's a good reason text won't suffice), or make them.

    But, I don't necessarily begrudge them doing this promotion. It may be that enough existing or potential SN users do want to get involved in something like this.

     

    If you want to attract visitors who are not Slashdot veterans, it would be better to launch a publicity offensive after the UI has been cleaned up.

    This may be the killer argument, and even applies (to a lesser extent) to people who are Slashdot veterans.