[CaptKevMan]

[Note: this is a repost of a thread posted at both MacAddict Forums (my "home" forums) and MacMinute Forums.]


Macopolis Network is looking for some help.

The Macopolis Network is a network of interest-based communities and other related sites. Currently, the two most popular sites in The Macopolis Network are MacJukebox and MacMovieMaker, but here is the current lineup of active and yet-to-be-launched sites we're working on:

MacJukebox
One of the first GarageBand communities, MacJukebox started off strong after its launch in January 2004, but has since been struggling to stay online, mainly because I'm having trouble keeping people interested in working on it or updating it. This could really be a great community if I could get the Jukebox working like I want it to, but I lack the technical prowess to do so myself, and those who are helping out have limited time available to do so.
STATUS: On life support

MacMovieMaker
MacMovieMaker launched rather succesfully in mid-March 2004, and has remained somewhat popular. We've got a great staff led by avkills, Papa Romeo, D2Pinc, and GreenAlge, (3 out of 4 of whom are MAF'ers) and we're constantly striving to improve the site. It's still growing, but it's in good hands.
STATUS: Growing in good health

The Pok�Mac Project
This is a fun little diversion that just launched a few weeks ago. The project is intended to create "trading cards" for every Mac model ever manufactured. It's just getting started, and it promises to be a fun community project.
STATUS: Wait and see

...that's iLife
This is intended to be a resource site and community for iLife users. This is still in planning stages, and will need a staff of two or three to implement properly.
STATUS: Planning

MacGamingZone
MGZ was originally intended to be a community for Mac-based gamers, and Twisted Guy was the original choice for running it. Like me, however, Twisty is tied up with real-life obligations, and can no longer helm this project. This community will need at least 2 or 3 folks to get it going.
STATUS: Back to Square 1

FreeMacStuff
This is the latest addition to The Macopolis Network, and was just registered this past weekend. Its goal is to list all available freebies for Mac users: freeware, information, templates, training resources, free publications, free after rebate items...you name it.
STATUS: Early planning stages

Macopolis
The "mothership" for the rest of the communities, I keep wrestling with myself over what this should be. A portal? A news site? A broad-interest Mac community? Whatever it ends up being, I don't want it to overlap the other communities; I'd rather link to their resources where appropriate. My first instinct is to make this another Mac news & portal site, but MacMinute, MacNN, and MacInTouch do a great job with that sorta thing already. I dunno...but whatever I/we figure out for it, it's there.
STATUS: Back & forth


I have another site or two planned that I'm keeping under my hat for now, but they may or may not be under the Macopolis banner.

Anyhow, I'm looking for some team members, if anyone is interested in helping out. MacMovieMaker is pretty much set (although we won't turn away any volunteers). The other sites all need help one way or another.

I'm still looking for a job (have been for a few months), and therefore I'm unable to spend as much time and energy on these sites as I would like (which would be ALL my available "work" time). Truth be told, I'd love to find a way to make a living doing these sites...that would solve at least one problem I'm having (not enough time to dedicate to them), but until that happens, I'm still just a guy with ideas for great Mac communities, but without the resources to make them happen. I'd love to launch this into a successful business and be able to maintain a paid staff...that's my ultimate goal.

So, if anyone is interested, please email me at captkevman-at-yahoo-dot-com or captkevman-at-mac-dot-com and let me know. I wanted to post here on MacNN because I know there's a large, active Mac community here, and I figured there might be some folks interested in helping one or more of these sites out.

Thanks very much for your time!

[CaptKevMan]

(just wanted to bump this for the Friday mid-day crowd)

[Tulkas]

I would gladly help.. but I'm really busy.

If you ever do a game review site I'd be willing to help. I used to be a writer for a few magazines back in the day.

[email protected]

[CaptKevMan]

Originally posted by Tulkas:
I would gladly help.. but I'm really busy.

If you ever do a game review site I'd be willing to help. I used to be a writer for a few magazines back in the day.

[email protected]

Right now, I'm looking for someone who is interested in taking the project from concept to implementation. I used to be quite a voracious Mac gamer, but since starting this endeavor, I've been busy trying to play Mr. Organizer and Mr. Overall Vision Guy. I'd like MGZ to have a different, fresh approach to Mac gaming. IMG does a great job of what it does, so obviously, we'd need to approach MGZ from a different perspective. Since most of the Macopolis sites so far are community-based and community-driven, that's what I'm hoping for with MGZ, but that is entirely up to the Editor-in-Chief of the site (with a bit of approval/feedback from the publisher ).

So, if you (or anyone you know) would be interested in tossing out some ideas for MacGamingZone (or any of the other sites, for that matter), please feel free to email me: captkevman -at- mac -dot- com. Thanks!

[Tulkas]

IMG covers reviews, forums, previews, etc. You'll be hard pressed to out-do them.

Best of luck with it.

[OB1]

That all sounds really cool.

Despite the fact that Macs have never seemed like more appealing machines, the Mac side of the web seems a little, well, unenthusiastic. Mac websites seem obsessed with speed comparisons and market share.

I hope your sites will encourage people to push their machines and show all the cool stuff that's being done.

Is it possible to create a website that can't be accessed by an OS other than Mac? You should try, because it would be funny.

All I can offer you is clicks and words of encouragement.

[CaptKevMan]

Thanks for the encouraging words, folks.

Tulkas: I know that IMG is a great site, and I'm not trying to compete with them as far as MacGamingZone goes. My goal is to try to approach it from a different angle...maybe more community-based (or maybe even an "umbrella" site for Mac gaming groups). The only way MGZ *could* work is to approach it from a different angle...trying to compete with IMG would be foolish.

I'm simply hoping to build another site that people can "spread their wings to" a bit that possibly offers a different atmosphere. It is my hope that people will like to explore a little bit outside their normal circle (much as I'm doing here now ). While I hope that some of the Macopolis sites will become very popular (like MacMovieMaker, for instance), others will only be marginally successful (like MacJukebox and MGZ). Others still are just meant to be novelties (Pok�Mac). My immediate goal is to get just enough interest and traffic to have the server become self-sustaining; my long-term goal is to actually be able to sustain a paid staff. (High hopes, I know. But I can always dream, right? )

[CaptKevMan]

*bump* for the September crowd.

I may have to abandon these projects, but I'd like to see them continue on if I do. Again, still looking for some people to take charge of some of the projects, as well as some back-end code folks.

Thanks again!

[wdlove]

I'm sorry, but I don't have any expertise in website creation. What are your needs?