Gamers With Jobs: Press Pass Launches!

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Today, we are very excited to reveal our next big project: The Gamers With Jobs: Press Pass. The Press Pass (www.passthepress.com) is the result of the same basic desires that inspired us to create GWJ in the first place, a realization that we were looking for a gaming news site with a particular style and community that we simply couldn't find anywhere else. So, instead of settling for the wasteland that has become the current model of news delivery, we decided to try and create our own realm, our own quiet and hopefully better shelter in this corner of the internet. The mission of the Press Pass is simple: deliver gaming related news at a higher standard. That means offer something in every article that isn't available anywhere else; inspire intelligent conversation; look for the deeper story, and be a news and information source instead of a copy and paste instrument of gaming PR. There are deeper stories to be told, more to the news than press releases, and a better method than dealing in quantity before quality. So we invite you all to visit the newest addition to the GWJ family: The Press Pass.

IMAGE(http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/files/images/GWJPressPass.jpg)

Now! Many of you probably have questions, concerns, comments, derisions, jubilations, asides, quips and hyperbole that you'd like addressed. Let's see if I can't tackle some of the biggest issues right off the bat. In short, what does the Press Pass mean for the GWJ you've come to know and be mildly attracted to in a manly platonic way?

I want to stress this, so pardon my bold: The Press Pass will in no way affect GWJ as we know it.

We were deliberate and conscious in creating the Press Pass as a completely separate and independent site. We feel as I suspect many of you do that anything that could threaten the existence and integrity of Gamers With Jobs is not a risk worth taking, which is why regardless of how the Press Pass fares, the end result will not change what you've come to expect from GWJ. This site, Gamers With Jobs, is our primary concern, and always comes first. That was rule #1 in creating a second site.

The site is on its own server, and no donation money given to GWJ will ever be used for the Press Pass. No features or articles that have been featured on GWJ will be moved to the new site. No writers for GWJ will be required or expected to contribute, though we have offered all our writers the opportunity to do so if they wish so long as it doesn't interfere with their ability to perform for this site. The Press Pass does not share a user database with GWJ. To be simple, if not brief, the Press Pass is nearly as separate from GWJ as any other site on the net. Concretely, the two share only some trademarks and an RSS feed.

To that end we've brought a few people you might know on as our initial staff. I'd like to start by thanking Baggachipz who did some outstanding work in making technologies vast and inscrutable do the little tap-dance that has become The Press Pass. He is to the new site as Pyro is to this one, the high wizard with his magical incantations and, I assume, silk, billowing robe. I'd also like to thank Morrolan, Illum, Swat, Coldforged, and Prederick for agreeing to be abused and berated for content by Certis as the launch staff for the Press Pass. They, along with Certis and myself, when I can manage anything like brevity or succinctness, will be providing the lion's share of content for the new site. Again, while we invite our current crop of GWJ writers to contribute when inclined, they are and will remain dedicated first to this site.

Independence also means that the rules and philosophies aren't shared between the two sites. Where GWJ is a community driven site in which the forums act as the foundation, the Press Pass is specifically content driven. There are no forums, and though we think it's absolutely critical to our success to develop thoughtful and, fickle deities willing, copious comments to the articles, we expect threads to stay on topic and comments to be salient. Some sites pride themselves on their loose hand with moderation and standards. The Press Pass is not that site. Be funny, be topical, be witty, clever, or informative; we welcome all of that, but save the wiener bomb and DDTs for their proper forums.

Additionally, most of the content will be shorter and far more succinct than the often epic missives you do or don't enjoy here. However, our goal is not simply to regurgitate what everyone else is already talking about, but instead to take a deeper look, offer a new perspective, and put it into context. We are going to strive to do something it seems few other independent sites are doing: research. Imagine, if you will, a world where your gaming news doesn't make assumptions, doesn't take things at face value, doesn't simply let the word of a press release become the gold standard for unbiased truth. It's not a matter of using more words, but of finding the ones that matter.

There is one final significant element which I should address. The Press Pass will be ad supported. That's not to say it'll be crass about it, or indiscriminate, however we will need to pay the bills. I bring this up primarily to reassure you that the inclusion of ads on the Press Pass should not be interpreted as a change for Gamers With Jobs, which is a community based site supported by the generous donations of its members.

This new site excites me. I've been dying for a gaming news site that I trusted to be discerning, critical, clever, and informative all at once. I am sure many of you will be suspicious of yet another gaming news site, and I also think that's an entirely appropriate response. The internet is rife with would-be game-news sites, most of them poorly executed. We aren't trying to replace sites like Shacknews, Joystiq, or Evil Avatar, but we are trying to provide a level of depth and insight that those sites don't seek to supply. We want to create the Press Pass as a critical and unique voice, one that people enjoy reading and come to trust. We are putting ourselves to high standards, and the difficulty and challenge of the project are as enticing as they are terrifying.

We invite you to join us and help build a new kind of gaming-news community. Kick the tires. Tell us what you think. There's a lot of work to be done in the coming days and weeks as we find our voice, fine tune the site itself, and get up to speed. We hope you enjoy it.

Today is Tuesday, January 17th 2006 – Welcome to the launch of the Gamers With Jobs Press Pass.

Be sure and check out Certis' launch day comments for more specific thoughts on the new site.

- Elysium

Comments

TheGameguru wrote:

First thing... never ever ever quote Tom's Hardware.. ok that is all.

2nd'ed

Also: You are ad supporting the new site.. will these ads somehow pertain to the products you will be covering (for example Nvidia or EA adds), or are you going to look into completely different sources for you ads (for example Axe deoderant or Monarch computers)?

I just don't want you to fall into the trap that every other gaming site that is ad supported falls into.. which is relying on the same companies you have to praise/criticise for funding, and creating a conflict of interests.

Looks great, best of luck with it.

Also: You are ad supporting the new site.. will these ads somehow pertain to the products you will be covering (for example Nvidia or EA adds), or are you going to look into completely different sources for you ads (for example Axe deoderant or Monarch computers)?

I just don't want you to fall into the trap that every other gaming site that is ad supported falls into.. which is relying on the same companies you have to praise/criticise for funding, and creating a conflict of interests.

A concern worthy of some comment, as it's an important one. You can see there is a Google text ad banner there right now. Get used to it, we won't be running image ads or ads for specific companies unless it's a specific product we can actually get behind and believe in. So the odds are, Google ads (or maybe Yahoo text ads) will be it. Ads are a necessary evil, we're looking to cover costs, not make a living

Certis wrote:

That would have been one of the pluses of keeping it in-house, for sure. We will be adding an RSS feed to the left-hand panel (where the image link is) so that will probably help.

Well cool then. If the RSS link shows the titles it should be pretty much the same.

Certis wrote:
Also: You are ad supporting the new site.. will these ads somehow pertain to the products you will be covering (for example Nvidia or EA adds), or are you going to look into completely different sources for you ads (for example Axe deoderant or Monarch computers)?

I just don't want you to fall into the trap that every other gaming site that is ad supported falls into.. which is relying on the same companies you have to praise/criticise for funding, and creating a conflict of interests.

A concern worthy of some comment, as it's an important one. You can see there is a Google text ad banner there right now. Get used to it, we won't be running image ads or ads for specific companies unless it's a specific product we can actually get behind and believe in. So the odds are, Google ads (or maybe Yahoo text ads) will be it. Ads are a necessary evil, we're looking to cover costs, not make a living :)

The nice thing about Google-generated ads is that there's no direct relationship between the Press Pass and the actual advertisers who pay Google for screen space. Press Pass writers can report as they see fit without worrying about affecting any sort of agreement or relationship.

And sometimes Google ads are hilarious.

You may consider using the Yahoo Publisher Network instead of Google Adsense. I've personally had better luck, with "luck" being defined as "more money," with Yahoo.

Certis wrote:
Also: You are ad supporting the new site.. will these ads somehow pertain to the products you will be covering (for example Nvidia or EA adds), or are you going to look into completely different sources for you ads (for example Axe deoderant or Monarch computers)?

I just don't want you to fall into the trap that every other gaming site that is ad supported falls into.. which is relying on the same companies you have to praise/criticise for funding, and creating a conflict of interests.

A concern worthy of some comment, as it's an important one. You can see there is a Google text ad banner there right now. Get used to it, we won't be running image ads or ads for specific companies unless it's a specific product we can actually get behind and believe in. So the odds are, Google ads (or maybe Yahoo text ads) will be it. Ads are a necessary evil, we're looking to cover costs, not make a living :)

Excellent! You smarty pants you..

pressthepass.com seems like an odd choice for a domain name, especially if you're going to refer to the site as Gamers With Jobs: Press Pass. What was the thinking there?

pressthepass.com seems like an odd choice for a domain name, especially if you're going to refer to the site as Gamers With Jobs: Press Pass. What was the thinking there?

PassThePress.com is catchy, it's also shorter than gameswithjobspresspass.com would be. You'll also find we just call it "The Press Pass" in usual conversation with other sites and the like. I do have GWJPressPass.com registered as well, I'll be forwarding that one soon too if it's easier to remember for those more familiar with what "GWJ" means

Question number 1:

Would it be possible for the writers at GWJPP to put the GWJ forum names in quotes as nicknames, as is done on the GWJ front page? I suppose that this might take away somewhat from the professional image that GWJPP is shooting for, but at the same time I think it would go a long way towards fostering a meaningful connection between the sites.

For example, if I wanted to refer to Adam LaMosca's article about coke and gaming that in a forum post, to which forum dweller do I attribute the piece? Well, our good friend The Fly has been kind enough to put his GWJ forum profile as his personal link at GWJPP, so I can click Adam's name and find that out. However, the same is not the case for Chris Storey or Jacob Fianagan, so I have no idea who to berate or praise (as appropriate) for articles written by those authors.

I guess what I am saying is that I want to have context when reading news at GWJPP and to be able to provide context when bringing news stories over there into discussions here. By at least having people put their forum names in their byline (Shawn 'Certis' Andrich, Adam 'The Fly" LaMosca), and perhaps having every writer do as The Fly has and link their GWJ profile to their byline, stronger connections to the GWJ community could be formed/maintained.

Question number 2:

What is the preferred term for a writer at GWJPP? Authors? Bloggers? Goodjer peepees?

Great idea!

And what's wrong with Tom's Hardware?

I like having it all under one umbrella myself, but it sounds awesome. A good gaming news site - one that just doesn't rehash the same press release everyone else is posting - is sorely needed and I'm sure you guys will do an excellent job. I guess I need to go check it out now.

Hey, I juust thought I'd mention that if you go to one of the news articles from this site (via the links in the Press Pass section) you don't see who wrote the article. You have to follow the back to the main site link to find out who wrote it. It'd be cool if you included the author's name in the actual post for those who came to read it from this site. Just a thought.

Cool site!

Greetings and cheers for the new site!

Now, I hate to bug you guys, but I seem to have the same problem like Edwin. I tried to register with gmail address, but email with password stubbornly remains non-existent in my Inbox. Like, help?

Check your PM dino!

Propagandalf wrote:

Hey, I juust thought I'd mention that if you go to one of the news articles from this site (via the links in the Press Pass section) you don't see who wrote the article. You have to follow the back to the main site link to find out who wrote it. It'd be cool if you included the author's name in the actual post for those who came to read it from this site. Just a thought. ;)

I saw the same thing, thought it was weird. Not sure if it was intentional or not.

I saw the same thing, thought it was weird. Not sure if it was intentional or not.

If it doesn't make sense, it probably wasn't intentional

I've noted your suggestions so far and we'll be making some changes and such.

I'm impressed with the pace of news, guys. For being up only a week, the flow is pretty good.

I also cannot create a new account, as I too do not get an email as the site said. Can I get a little help as well? And, I might add, it seems that with several posts, this may not be working as planned...

FYI, it took a couple of hours before I received my email to activate my account - but, it did eventually come.

Bagga!

If somebody's having problems and they don't get their email, please PM me or Certis. I'd like to know what steps those with problems go through in hopes of duplicating and correcting the broked-ness.

What plugin did you guys use to read the GWJ RSS feed in the rightbar?

Mixolyde wrote:

What plugin did you guys use to read the GWJ RSS feed in the rightbar?

I wrote one myself; it writes a local cache file and refreshes each hour. Want the source?

That'd be brilliant! I'm only gonna link to the GWJ Feed anyway PM me!

Propagandalf wrote:

FYI, it took a couple of hours before I received my email to activate my account - but, it did eventually come.

Same here.

Excellent site! I've a feeling I'll be checking it all the time!

By the way, does anyone know if there's a setting on the site - or an external program or web site - that would email me new articles when they're posted? I'd love to read new articles at work, but I never have the time to browse the interweb. Email, however, I have to read...

There's gotta be something that can snag the rss feeds and email them to you... if not, I smell a new project!

Certis wrote:

we expect threads to stay on topic and comments to be salient.

Muhahahaha!

baggachipz wrote:

There's gotta be something that can snag the rss feeds and email them to you... if not, I smell a new project!

Ask and receive unto thy breast!