SHINY MEDIA HAS GONE BUST
How does this affect UKR?
It doesn’t. Hooray! There now follows a dull but factually correct account of the UKR/Shiny Media period, for those of you who like paying attention to the press releases. Don’t worry, this isn’t today’s proper update. You do not have to read it.
THE SHINY MEDIA STORY
By Gary J. CutlackIn June of 2007, high on venture money, Shiny Media bought ukresistance.co.uk and IdiotToys.com off me for a large-ish, but not life-changing, sum of money. This made me go like this:
:)
Two-thirds of the cash was paid on completion of the deal – on the day I started working for them full time – with the final third payable after I’d been at the company for one year, just in case I went mad and run off as soon as they paid me.
Everything was good for a bit. I worked from home four days a week, went berserk on Xboxer to the delight of hardly anyone, and enjoyed pretending to know about gadgets on Tech Digest – while actually being paid to update Idiot Toys and UKR. Happy days were there.
After nearly a year, in April of 2008, it became clear that Shiny was having financial problems as it chopped freelance budgets for the second or third time since I’d started, closed sites and dumped many good people, so I offered them the olive branch of giving me UKR.co.uk back in return for me waiving the final third of the payment.
They agreed. Which again made me go like this:
:)
It was doubly great, as UKR was 48 hours away from being switched to the utterly horrendous Shiny Media template of terror with an “outsourced Romanian web developer” (YES, REALLY!) apparently in charge of putting the UKR content onto the Shiny content management system.
Thank Christ that never happened, eh?
And that was that. I got to work from home, called a cunt on YouTube 10,000 times, while Shiny got pretty much nothing and is now apparently dead in its current form.
The end.
Has anyone who is interested in this sort of thing got any questions?
filed in "NEWS", IN-STORE MESSAGEBOARD on Jul.22, 2009
July 22nd, 2009 on 11:49 am
Was the decline in quality a few months ago a mean to lessen the popularity of UK:R and thus make Shiny Media more willing to cede it back to you, or was it motivated by a drop in payment?
I mean I have nothing against Dreamcast spirals but you know
July 22nd, 2009 on 11:49 am
Wow – That’s an epic tale of intrigue and success. From your point of view, obviously, not Shiny’s.
I nearly asked them if they would pay me to make videos for them once, but I’m scared of speaking to people. This is not a good anecdote. Sorry.
July 22nd, 2009 on 11:52 am
What’s it like being called a cunt by people on the internet? I only have experience of it in real life.
July 22nd, 2009 on 11:56 am
Gene: You’re a cunt. I only say this to help your life experiences.
July 22nd, 2009 on 11:58 am
Nope, no questions really, think you’ve pretty much covered it all. Except maybe – Any plans to sell again to anyone else with more money than sense?
Gotta love that they’re looking for a “Personal Finance Writer” –
http://www.shinymedia.com/2009/07/wanted_personal_finance_writer.html
Is that so they can tell them where they went wrong?
July 22nd, 2009 on 12:12 pm
Poor Shiny Media. But honestly, did the world really need another ‘blog portal’? I don’t even think it needs one.
Question: what’s happening with the Idiot Toys ‘brand’? Are Shiny going to do anything with it? If not, it seems slightly unfair that you can no longer use it. Extra Last is fine, but IT is a better name.
July 22nd, 2009 on 12:22 pm
Can you give us an ‘idea’, some sort of feeling for the sum of money involved, Gary/Zorg?* Instead of an actual figure I suggest the following equivalent scale as I’ve been using it myself recently: Would the sum secure a; new car? Nice new car? Nice used car? Used car?
It’s not really your finances I’m interested in per se, more how much a couple of sites that attract a readership of a few hundred niche interest odd-bods are considered worth by a media enterprise that’s spending itself into oblivion?
* I’m not sure how to address you on this post as you used your real name. You’ve pitched me into an etiquette quandry :(
July 22nd, 2009 on 12:24 pm
What happens if Sony’s latest corporate mouthpiece blog shuts down and they knock on your door with a lorry full of money to make UK:R the replacement? And what if they want to brand the site after Resistance: Fall of Man because both names contain the word “resistance”?
July 22nd, 2009 on 12:27 pm
:D
July 22nd, 2009 on 12:30 pm
Hooray! Hateful shit of a company.
Surely this should have a tags of ‘enemies’ and ‘victory’
July 22nd, 2009 on 12:37 pm
Sounds like a lucky escape. Nice one.
July 22nd, 2009 on 1:06 pm
I’ll pay you $5 for UKR.
How does all this effect Idiot Toys/Extra-Last?
July 22nd, 2009 on 1:07 pm
I have a question:
Did you ever get to have sex with the slightly dumpy (but still a “would”) Kat, who presented some of those videos you were in?
Also, I am pleased to discover that your middle name begins with a J. My middle name also begins with a J. I feel so close to you, Gary.
July 22nd, 2009 on 1:26 pm
Hey!
(Coincidentally, my middle name also starts with a J. Maybe this is the beginning of something beautiful blossoming between you, me and Gary?)
July 22nd, 2009 on 2:16 pm
Thank god, no more video reviews starting “For Shiny Shiny” What was that about? Shiny Media not Shiny Shiny.
/rant
July 22nd, 2009 on 2:19 pm
I am thinking of starting up my own niche blog portal and would love to have these bastions of online journalism on board.
Before we get onto the obligatory T&Cs (corporate speak), tell me, how do you like the sound of ‘Racist Toys?’
P.S. My middle name also actually begins with a ‘J’. Finally! A correlation between UKR readers. What’s that? Sega you say? Nah.
July 22nd, 2009 on 2:29 pm
I think the drop in quality came from a general feeling that time spent on the internet was time WASTED, when Shiny owed me something ludicrous like four months worth of money and it was pretty depressing bravely working away under the distinct impression that someone was taking the piss.
The full original deal would’ve given me enough to buy a mid-level Audi TT, so the two-thirds I actually received would’ve maybe scraped an entry-level model with shit wheels and no CD autochanger.
Which means UKR is therefore worth about as much as a low-end Renault Clio.
They were paying me £32k a year, by the way, for the first year. To do about 10 blog updates a day. Fun while it lasted, just wish it had lasted an extra year or two.
As for Idiot Toys, they still own the domain name. It’s still pointing at my web space, though, seeing as they never bothered switching it to their servers, hence the redirects. There’s not really much point in them carrying on with it without me. Perhaps I’ll phone the administrators and offer them £50 for it.
And I did not have sexual relations with any Shiny Media personnel. Don’t think I even managed a wank on the premises. Being surrounded by that many confident women makes you feel a bit frightened.
July 22nd, 2009 on 2:53 pm
At about 9 quid an update* I can see how beguiling spiral updates became…nice work if you can get it! Obviously trickier now though, so what’s the plan next? Surely all those adverts none of us see here due to adblocker won’t pay for hosting/server costs?
*my maths is notoriously awful so this could be well out…
July 22nd, 2009 on 2:56 pm
Actually, already realised maths is out due to you not working 365 days of the year.
Divide 32k by 252 instead, and then divide the daily pay by 10 gives you a little over 12 quid per update…
July 22nd, 2009 on 3:16 pm
Whoops…. My, hasn’t UK:R been graced with Internet celebrity today? I’m sorry, Kat. I forgot people can actually read messages that you post on Internet sites.
That does sound nice but I’m much more comfortable pretending to be a creepy e-stalker from behind the safety of my computer screen.
July 22nd, 2009 on 3:23 pm
£32k a year? A paramedic gets about £24k I think, or less. Probably less. No wonder everyone wants to get into ‘media’, they are throwing money around like it was free tap water in a restaurant.
And going bust as a result, twats. Not that I blame you, when people offer you money, you say yes.
July 22nd, 2009 on 4:13 pm
Jesus, £32k a year? Heck of a lot more than the rest of us were getting paid at that “company”. Don’t begrudge you for that, as you were the best writer there…not that that says much though, really, if you look at some of their sites.
Marimo, no worries. I do read UKR daily (have done for years – was actually the person who suggested to Shiny they buy Gary’s sites, for my sins), and looking back at those early videos I scare myself even. Still, people move on – Gary’s expanded his brilliant BLOGGING EMPIRE, and I’ve been at T3 for a year now. You can see me doing the occasional awkward video there, now!
July 22nd, 2009 on 4:25 pm
£12 an update? I’m owed 36 quid!
July 22nd, 2009 on 10:14 pm
CAPTAIN JAX, YEAH!
Christ, I wonder if Shiny had to pay out a large sum of money over those dodgy racist comments on the post about the Sonic tshirt girl. Probably not, but it’s a bit of a coincidence, I think.
Anyway, my question is:
How does The Swill Man fit into all this? Was he a Shiny idea, to make UKR a bit more ‘global’?
And my other question is:
Could you do some new tshirts? Just make a few this time but charge a bit more for them. I was thinking of a red tshirt with a large, stark black and white picture of you with the words ‘HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?’. I might get one done myself. Although I’d have a hard time explaining it to my mum.
July 22nd, 2009 on 11:06 pm
Kat is one foxy lady… would. Having said that, I’m not overly comfortable with a foursome comprising myself, Kat, Gary and Marimo. So… fuck off Marimo.
Actually, no offence Gary but could you fuck off too so I can have Kat to myself? My middle initial isn’t J but I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem, right?
July 22nd, 2009 on 11:48 pm
People paid for UKR ? And you wonder they’re dead…
July 22nd, 2009 on 11:56 pm
I also have a middle name beginning with ‘J’, but it’d ruin my tediously obvious nom de keyboard if I used it.
July 23rd, 2009 on 2:59 am
Kat, marry me.
Zorg would vouch for me. As would GigerPunk to a lesser extent.
July 23rd, 2009 on 8:25 am
I also noticed the absence of posts on weekends so it was pretty clear that this blog was being updated for money. Still, 32,000 pounds just to post Dreamcast spirals every day is a bit ridiculous…
July 23rd, 2009 on 8:44 am
Posts on the weekends? That’s always been for extreme emergencies only. Have to pretend we’ve all got something better to do on Saturdays & Sundays.
July 23rd, 2009 on 10:43 am
You jammy get!
July 23rd, 2009 on 11:23 am
Is anyone else sort of interested in how UKR would’ve looked in Shiny Template of Terror mode? Would it have utilised one of the reader logos, I wonder?
July 23rd, 2009 on 4:27 pm
Nice one, Kat, as ever. Not taking anything away from Gary’s writing, but presumably if everyone else was so bad that’s why you hired two SM writers for T3?
Funny because in the past you’ve said how great a lot of SM writers are/were.
BTW nice wage, Gary ;) glad I wasn’t on that much as the owings would be even more horrendous!
July 23rd, 2009 on 6:38 pm
I hate to join in on the old “everyone was great” line, but everyone at Shiny was pretty damn good at writing. It was the templates that held everyone back. Simple stuff like not having a working comments system in the year 2009 and the adverts that obscured two-thirds of the content – literally physically repelling readers.
July 23rd, 2009 on 8:49 pm
Ah. Presumably this would explain why I can’t post pics on my (Shiny part-owned) Wii blog any more. As well as why I’ve not had any money for a little while.
Good to know.
Also: 32k a year? Crazy. Still, you were worth it for the occasional witty and erudite post on WiiWii, fella. Well done, that man.
July 24th, 2009 on 7:10 am
Ahh ChrisS if you own part of WiiWii then perhaps you’ll get access to it 3 days per week or something…
July 24th, 2009 on 11:46 am
Buy an audi TT ? Zorg is GAY ?! Man – I didnt see that coming…
July 24th, 2009 on 12:13 pm
da_cat – You mean all the Pet Shop Boys references weren’t enough of a clue?
And then there’s the quote:
“And I did not have sexual relations with any Shiny Media personnel….Being surrounded by that many confident women makes you feel a bit frightened.”
Is it just me that thinks the first part of that sounds very much like Bill Clinton? I say remove all the dresses of Shiny media employees (the female ones anyway) and test them for stains.
August 23rd, 2009 on 5:26 pm
[…] I missed this when it was posted, but reading Zorg’s take on his time working for the corporate dollar after selling out UK Resistance (and then getting …. […]
April 29th, 2010 on 4:25 am
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