My Introduction & The Future, Maybe?

[Cameron Taylor]

Hi guys,

My name is Cameron Taylor, and I am a 22 year old based in Nashville, TN. I currently work as a Field Assistant Manager for Walmart, which basically just means I work/plan remodels and live out of hotels for the vast majority of the year. I graduated from Trevecca Nazarene University with a Bachelor's in Business Administration with a concentration in Management. Forums has been a major hobby of mine for the last decade or so. I first joined a sports forum back in 2008 when I was 12 years old, and I've been all over various online message boards ever since then.

I came across this forum the other day, and I made a point to send a message to the individual who started this community, just to see if he had any interest in allowing me to take ownership of this forum and put a lot of work into upgrading and developing it further. He gave me a response that truly impressed me, directing me to just ask the community how they feel about that.

I know I'm just someone on the outside looking in and you guys really don't know me at all, but I guess you can say I'm a seasoned web manager. I've been involved with numerous websites, and I currently operate a webmaster forum (Forum Promotion) with a little bit over 1.5 million posts. I've got plenty of experience with SEO and basic marketing, especially in regards to social media marketing. I'm not the greatest programmer in the world, but I've become pretty knowledgable when it comes to CSS3, HTML5, jQuery, PHP, etc. I've also done plenty of work with the basic graphic design programs that everyone knows and loves, whether it's PhotoShop, Dreamweaver, etc. I know these things probably don't matter a whole lot when it comes to simply managing a community, but I just want to make it clear that I have the technical skills to really cater to the members of this community.

If the community is willing to have me here, there are a number of changes I'd like to have made, but I'd obviously look to poll the community and all that good stuff before we made any major decisions. For example, one change I'd like to see for Political Crossfire is an overall software change. Software changes require a lot of technical work, but I really feel that it would be beneficial to this community. This forum is currently operating on phpBB, which was my personal favorite software for many years. It's also an open source (free) software. There are a number of top notch paid forum software developers, including XenForo and IPB. XenForo (https://xenforo.com/) is what I think would be best for Political Crossfire. I'd encourage you guys to go through and see what it looks like. It's an incredible software.

Next, this forum is currently using the default phpBB style. Regardless as to what is done with the software situation, I think Political Crossfire would see a lot of benefit to just obtaining a gorgeous theme/style, and work on developing a more unique and modern look. If we chose to move to XenForo, we'd also then poll the community as far as what kind of style our community wants, and we'd try to have a light and a dark style. I don't know if this forum currently has a dark style available, but I do know plenty of individuals on other forums that always appreciate having both options. We'd probably mainly be looking at ThemeHouse (https://themehouse.com/) as the potential source for our new style.

Also, there is an excellent mobile app service that is called Forum Apps (https://forumapps.net/), and this is a great service that allows you to create mobile apps for your XenForo forum. So, if we made the change to XenForo, I'd set us up with this service, and we'd then also have Political Crossfire forum apps available on iOS and Google Play (Android). In general, it's very important that we get on board with the future, and mobile forum usage is the direction that online message boards are headed in. The apps will just be an optional feature that I'm sure plenty of people would appreciate, just because of the notifications, and the ease of use. Regardless, our new style would have to be very mobile friendly, as we want to still have an excellent browsing experience for those individuals that are accessing this forum through their web browser on their phone, tablet, or whatever.

As I'm sure everyone can assume, there is a little bit of a financial investment that would be involved with these types of changes, and that's where my role particularly comes into play. I would be the individual covering the costs for these things and hosting this community, and I will be very transparent in regards to the various costs that come into play. When it's all said and done, I'd like to place a 728x90 advertisement banner or a 468x60 advertisement banner at the top of the forum, so that I could hopefully generate enough revenue to eventually recoup the costs of these different features. Then we'd also look into making even more improvements to this forum, whether that means simply purchasing an advertisement spot on another website, or investing in different SEO keyword tools.

Basically, I would like to become the new leader of this community, and try to do whatever I can to see this forum's activity increase to what it looks like it used to be back in the day. I've lurked and gone through so many posts, and it's very clear that we have an awesome community here. I would love to be presented with the opportunity to help modernize this forum and promote growth/expansion in the future. Thanks guys, and I hope everyone is having a great week.

Regards,
Cameron Taylor
https://camerontaylor.net/

[exploited]

What sort of compensation will we receive as your prime content generators?

It isn't unusual for good copywriters to receive $1 per word, but I would be willing to work with you for the entry level rate of $0.10 per word.

[NAB]

Cameron,
You seem like a real go-getter/self-starter who is a breath of fresh air showing the potential of GenZ supplanting the useless Millenials who’s stench is overwhelming here at PCF.

I look forward to your banner ads and improved digital content here at the ruins of Web 2.0, and I’m excited to welcome this coming change. Long may you reign.


Signed
NAB

[Cameron Taylor]

[exploited]

I understand that a per-post payment model could become expensive quickly. While that is still my first preference, I would also consider a revenue-sharing agreement. This will provide an incentive for your content generators to grow with your new venture.

The NBA is ~50-50 between players and owners, and given the caliber of posters here, I think that arrangement would be beneficial for all involved. Please let me know if you'd like to proceed, and I'll have Saz or Dylan draw up the necessary documents.

[Saz]

Sounds like a great idea. We told Uber at the last shareholders meeting to consider a sale of the business - glad he finally listened. At what price are you offering to buy out our shares? I only hold about 18% of this business, but I think if we can secure the consent of more than 90% of the shareholders, we can squeeze-out the remaining 10% at the same price. Between NAB, EX and I, I think we already have close to 45% of the shares in favour (at the right price, obviously). I'm also open to a share for share deal, but would need to do some diligence on the business we would be receiving equity in (will sign an NDA if required).

Also keep in mind, our bonds have a provision requiring immediate payment if, for whatever reason, Uber is no longer the largest shareholder. I can speak to Citi and they will probably waive that requirement, but I suspect they will want a fee for it, i'd guess maybe 1% of the original issuance. Once we have a firm offer and a term sheet drafted I can talk to Mark at Citi to socialise the issue, but just wanted to flag this up front as I'm sure it will affect your model.

[JDHURF]

[exploited]

I apologize, Cameron, somebody must have left Hurf's cage unlatched. Please don't take his behaviour personally, it is an instinctual thing... he sees profit motive, he shits, there is no helping it. God knows we've tried.

We are eager to negotiate a mutually profitable venture, with you as our leader, but legal needs some more information before we can proceed. Please contact Saz to get that process started. If the stock buyout cost is a factor, I'm told he can also arrange financing.

Thank you.

[JDHURF]

Best current thread.

[Cameron Taylor]