Over the last few months we have been hard at work improving what we are doing here at dashPunk, and we hope you love the new site as much as we do.

Some of the new features are:

• Our Improved Forum: We were blown away by the popularity of the forum when we originally added it to dashPunk.  The new forum offers a better post editor, making it easier for you, and modularity, so we can have as many or as few Forums as the site needs.  Flexibility is the key.
• Our new galleries feature: I'm sure Brian will be playing with this a lot, and maybe some others of you.  Now, we can collect and share images with you all easier than ever!  You can see an example here.
• Power to the pages!  Now, we can offer and organize the resources you all have been asking for.
• New Home Page: the new home page will keep you up to date on all of the site updates, from new pages to posts and even new forum topics!
• Power to the people!!

Some of you received an email from me letting you know that you have been upgraded to Contributor status on the site!  Membership has its privileges, and we will be promoting those of you who share the most with the community to contributor status so you can post to the blog and share with our many RSS subscribers, and more opportunities may open to you all in the near future.

Now it's time to make dashPunk the home of fandom it was always meant to be!

I've talked for a while now on Fandom Today, about our dreams to build a community site for you all to talk to each other in the same way you talk to us via email, Twitter, and FaceBook.  For a long time we used Ning, but there new pricing model makes that impossible... (sigh)

For the last month we have been playing with BuddyPress with mixed results.  While it add most of the function you all have asked for, it does not allow us to set up a dedicated video upload section, and the Profile and Group Avatars are broken.  Over the last several days, BuddyPress has started causing random crashes on the site, so I disabled it until the next update.

We are thinking of adding VideoPress to the site for our vidders to continue adding videos to the site.

You all are what makes dashPunk worth the time, effort, and cost, so we want to make you as happy as we possibly can.

I am sorry for any inconvenience our recent issues have caused.  Let me know what features (or services) you would like us to have, and we will do our best to bring them to you as quickly as we can.

Passion = Life

We are moving into a new era here at dashPunk, or to say that with a bit less drama: It is almost spring.  As we prepare for the April issue, I have a couple questions for you all:

Is your fandom a little dusty?

Do you have any area of fandom that you would like us to shine a little light on, or dust off for spring?

I have been reconnecting to my fannish roots, and falling in love with old loves all over again.  Have you looked as something with new eyes lately?  If so share your story with us.

The Best in SF

We are also preparing our first look at the best SF out there.  If you want to make sure your favorites make the list, send them in.

New Music

We are also building our first look at musicians and bands that everyone needs to know about this spring.  Send in your nominations.

Jump in!

Leave your comments here or email them to me.  I can't wait to see what is heating up out there.

I just upgraded dashPunk.com to WordPress 2.8 and the new features are astounding!

The one this you should notice more than anything else is the speedier response time. Everything loads quicker, and the options for us to make navigation have increased. You should start seeing those improvements soon.

The most important change is that PressThis is now available to everyone!

Press This is a bookmarklet: a little app that runs in your browser and lets you grab bits of the web.

Use Press This to clip text, images and videos from any web page. Then edit and add more straight from Press This before you save it to dashPunk.

Just register, then Drag-and-drop the PressThis Link to your bookmarks bar or right click it and add it to your favorites for a posting shortcut from the sidebar on any page, and get started!

I cannot wait to see what you all find!

dashPunk Decabled | Morena Baccarin and V | Star Trek Poster | Ghostbusters 3 | Streamys | YouTube updates | Last.fm | Heather Alexander | Legend of the Seeker Music | Julia Ecklar | Until the Full Moon | Square Enix | Sims 3 | and Community Comments Today on the Project: Shadow Informant.

Culture

• dashPunk Decabled # 1 - “What is Decabling?” (dashPunk)

Movie

• Final Star Trek Poster Unveiled (via /Film)


• Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3 (via /Film)

TV / Series

• Morena Baccarin to conquer V Remake (dashPunk)


• Joss Whedon, Felicia Day and a Pile of Streamys (via NewTeeVee)


• Coming Soon: The Hulufication of YouTube? (via Mashable)
  
  
  
  • Is YouTube Sending User Videos To The Minor Leagues? (via Podcasting News)
  
  
  • YouTube Gets Twitterish (via Podcasting News)
  
  
  
  

Music

• Last.fm Temporarily Backs Down from International Subscription Fees (via Mashable)


• Heather Alexander - Wolfen One (dashPunk)


• Richard & Kahlan - Wicked Game (dashPunk)


• Julia Ecklar - The Eternal Flame (God wrote in LISP) (dashPunk)

Book

• Review: Until The Full Moon by Sanami Matoh (dashPunk)

Game

• Square Takes Over Eidos (via GayGamer)


• EA Says Sims 3 DRM-Free (via GayGamer)

Webcomic

• Looking For Group


• Girl Genius

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Netflix lets you rent, watch and return DVDs from home - Try free for 2 weeks

Don't wait. Guarantee your seat before you go and  avoid a sold out show. Skip the box office lines and buy movie tickets at Fandango.com.

GameFly delivers the best video games to your door! Start for only $8.95 or Try for free

Spring Cleaning at dashPunk | Hula Vader | Harp Playing | Freedom Formula | Transformers 2 & 3 | Leonard Nimoy | We Win | Kings | Legend of the Seeker | Dollhouse | Last.fm | Fate of the Jedi | and Community Comments Today on the Project: Shadow Informant.

Culture

• 31 Days to Build a Better Blog (via ProBlogger)


• DIY Crafts: Hula Darth Vader (dashPunk)


• Cantina Band Harp Cover (P:S HQ)

Movie

• Bryan Singer Developing Adaptation of the Sci-Fi Comic Book Freedom Formula (via /Film)


• Orci and Kurtzman Not Returning for Transformers 3? Will Leonard Nimoy Voice The Fallen? (via /Film)


• Vulcan Gets A ‘Yes’ (via TrekMovie)

TV / Series

• Review: Kings 102 Prosperity (dashPunk)


• Review: Legend of the Seeker 116 Bloodline (dashPunk)


• Review: Dollhouse 106 Man On the street (dashPunk)

Music

• Last.fm Radio Announcement (via Last.fm)

Book

• Fate of the Jedi website is live! (via Club Jade)

Subscribe

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Netflix lets you rent, watch and return DVDs from home - Try free for 2 weeks

Don't wait. Guarantee your seat before you go and  avoid a sold out show. Skip the box office lines and buy movie tickets at Fandango.com.

GameFly delivers the best video games to your door! Start for only $8.95 or Try for free

Group Tweet | Cleopatra Sister | Conventions | Kings | Dollhouse | Star Wars: Clone Wars | Legend of Seeker | Torchwood Friends | Stargate SG-1 | Voltron | Dark Shadows | Original Outer Limits | and Community Comments Today on the Project: Shadow Informant.

Culture

• Group Tweet (dashPunk)


• Found: Skeleton of sister who Cleopatra got killed (The Times of India)


• Conventions for March 18-22, 2009 (dashPunk)

TV / Series

• Review: Kings 101 Goliath, Parts 1 & 2 (dashPunk)


• Review: Dollhouse 105 True Believer (dashPunk)


• Review: Clone Wars 121 Liberty on Ryloth (dashPunk)


• Review Legend of Seeker 115 Conversion (dashPunk)


• Torchwood - Friends Style (dashPunk)


• Stargate SG-1 streaming on Hulu (dashPunk)


• Voltron: Defender of the Universe streaming on Hulu (dashPunk)


• Dark Shadows and The “Original” Outer Limits Streaming on Hulu (dashPunk)

Webcomic

• Girl Genius

Subscribe

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Netflix lets you rent, watch and return DVDs from home - Try free for 2 weeks

Don't wait. Guarantee your seat before you go and  avoid a sold out show. Skip the box office lines and buy movie tickets at Fandango.com.

GameFly delivers the best video games to your door! Start for only $8.95 or Try for free

Top Pages/Posts/Videos on our sites

 

1. Star Wars: Clone Wars Streaming Free Online | dashPunk


2. An ‘angel’ in hospital hallway? | dashPunk


3. Exploring: Hulk vs Wolverine 2009 Movie | dashPunk


4. Free Streaming Star Trek | dashPunk


5. How to: Stream Scifi TV Free and Legal | dashPunk


6. Randal Graves and the Empire Top 100 | dashPunk


7. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Streaming Free Online! | dashPunk


8. 
   
   
   

   Men’s Steampunk Corset | dashPunk


9. DVD Releases: December 16th, 2008 | dashPunk


10. Doctor who: Series Four Box Set Features | dashPunk

 

Top Artists at dashPunk

 

This Week, these 12 artists are all tied for number 1 at the dashPunk Last.fm group.

1. Black Eyed Peas


2. Megadeth


3. Disturbed


4. Dragonforce


5. Nightwish


6. Queen


7. Rage Against the Machine


8. Marilyn Manson


9. Beastie Boys


10. Enigma


11. The Smashing Pumpkins


12. Meat Loaf

(dashPunk’s Charts – Group at Last.fm)  If your favorite artists didn't make the cut, join our Last.fm group and scrobble away.

Top Referrers

 

1. images.google.com


2. Twine


3. 42 Blips


4. Watch the Guild.com


5. EMZBox


6. Google


7. You Bundle


8. The Cthulhu Mythos on the Internet


9. FeO News


10. Friend Feed

 

dashPunk | Boxee Beta | Holiday Windows | Periodic Table of Awesomeness | Cultural Prejudice | Green Hornet | Buck Rogers | Judge Dredd | and Smashing Pumpkins Today on the Project: Shadow Informant.

Culture

• Best of dashPunk (Week of 12/19/08) (dashPunk)


• opening up the alpha (via boxee blog)


• A Tour Of Holiday Windows In San Francisco (dashPunk)


• The periodic table of awesoments (via Club Jade)


• With Names like That… (Secret Dot)

Movies

• Chow Won't Helm Hornet (via Sci Fi Wire)


• Frank Miller To Direct Buck Rogers (via /Film)


• DNA Films Greenlights New Judge Dredd Movie (via /Film)

Music

• Smashing Pumpkins won't release another album (via Kerrang!)

Webcomic

• Looking For Group


• Girl Genius

Subscribe

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Netflix lets you rent, watch and return DVDs from home - Try free for 2 weeks

Don't wait. Guarantee your seat before you go and  avoid a sold out show. Skip the box office lines and buy movie tickets at Fandango.com.

GameFly delivers the best video games to your door! Start for only $8.95 or Try for free

On Friday, Gawker Media, which runs 12 blogs, announced it was laying off 19 staffers. The New York Times called the layoffs "an early indicator" of a Web advertising slowdown. In a memo to employees, Gawker founder Nick Denton (pictured in a photo montage at right) said that 2009 was going to be "exceptionally difficult" as advertising declines, and said "we have to prepare for the worst, now, rather than when the worst comes upon us (Los Angeles Times)."

This is no time for Shadenfreud.  Times are tough, and we need to be thinking about the future.  I wondered what would happen to the oversized blogs on the net who have forgotten how to be blogs and thought they were magazines with an infinite pool of advertisers.  The answer was inevitable.  They started firing people.

Now is the moment for mid- and small-sized blogs to shine.  We have managed on a low overhead tight budget workflow for quite some time.  Whie the big boys have noticed there access to advertisers dropping off, we have not so far.  This is probably because we have never relied on Sponcerships.

Readers will be the ones to layout the future of the web over the next few months.  We will have to decide which sites we want to support, and how we can support them best.  For example, Cali Lewis gets credit every time I register a domain... which is far too often, but that is not the point.

Many blogs like ours rely on Affiliate deals like this to survive.  Using the Fandango, Netflix, Gamefly, and Amazon links that you find on these sites is a way to give money directly to the site, while only spending the money you would have and no more.

I think it is also incumbunt on sites like ours to help you all stay entertained in a way that will not break the bank.  An the flow of money gets tighter, we have to work together to help each other out.