Alexei Shulgin on Fri, 20 Jun 1997 08:43:05 +0200 (MET DST)


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<nettime> The worst news


10/25/96

Hi. I'm writing to let everyone know that I've decided to make The Worst
as bad as
possible and close it down. The last page will be published on Friday,
November 1st. I
apologize for the abruptness of this announcement, but I've been
contemplating the
decision for a long time.

When I started the site, almost two years ago, I'd hoped it would
eventually provide me
with financial independence and greater creative opportunities. Neither
happened. 

The site continues to require a lot of time and I'm still living off my
parents and my savings.
Attempts to find production companies willing to collaborate with me on
the site were
unsuccessful. I talked to a number of Hollywood multimedia agents who
liked my work, but
in the end, they didn't help me. Trying to finance the site on my own
through ads or
subscriptions is not something I want to do.

Most important is my growing lack of interest in the work itself.
Publishing The Worst
was new and fun in early 1995, but twenty-two months and over
fifteen-hundred
selections later, I'm no longer excited by it. I'm feeling creatively
stifled and I'm generally
tired of writing about the net.

Recently, I've kept the site going because I was planning to write The
Worst Book.
However, to make the book commercially viable I'd have to continue my
site and I've
realized I don't have the energy to do it. 

I'm going to look into writing jobs in other media and pitch some
treatments for other
Web projects. I'm also interested in consulting with companies to make
their sites more
(intentionally) funny and effective. If you are interested, drop me a
line. 

I want to thank everyone who's visited and supported my site in the past
two years.
Without the positive letters I've received, I would have quit a long
time ago. I know that
people still enjoy my work. I do have some regrets about stopping.
However, I need to
move on.

Thanks.

Mirsky


---------

 

Added, Nov 4th:

WotW will remain online until February 1, 1997. After that, I will
replace it with a page of
contact information, information on my current projects and whatever
else I choose to
fling online. The address will remain www.mirsky.com, even after WotW is
taken down. 

--------------

Worst of the Web
http://www.mirsky.com
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