The FreeRideVoice

[steve shearer]

The business I've been working on is this: a subscription based surf site. I'll spam this once here, because it's surf related and I want to outline a couple of things that may be pertinent.

The goal of the subscription is to pay for journalism and a pool of writers. Hynd is already on board. He's written a brilliant New World Order Rankings that includes all surfers, not just touring Pros. Other wordsmiths on this here site are either committed or being head hunted. Writers from around the globe are on the radar. I hope to engage some Indonesian writers in very short course. The brown man will have his voice heard (and I don't mean LuckyAl in facepaint). It will surprise you.

No-one who has ever invested in this, and that means all the times the hat has gone around, will have to pay for this. That will take a bit of work at the back end for me to manually subscribe you . I need an Email address for that. PM and I'll get that process underway, if you want.

The goal is to have direct subscriber funded journalism/writing with zero outside influence from advertisers.

Here's the link: http://www.thefreeridevoice.com

I know there's some kooky/clunky aspects to the subscriber pop-ups ........they are things I just couldn't oversee and will be nuanced as soon as I can get to them. Feedback, suggestions etc etc will be gratefully accepted.

Tin Whistles is up there, it'll be followed by another Doco about Dane Reynolds as soon as the Pro as finished. In the mean-time I'll be covering the comp as the Outsider.

It's been a shit ton of work, alot of fun. Carroll's advice/wisdom has been invaluable. I hope it works, not just for me, but as a viable business model to fund journalism in the future.
Res Ipsa loquitur.

[aaronn]

It's like rain, on your wedding day. It's a free ride, when you've already paid. It's the good advice, that you just didn't take. And who would've thought? It figures ...

[godsavetheking]

^^ That's pretty much what I was going to say. Good on ya steve, looks ace. I'll be subscribing in due course

[Yuke Hunt]

Good luck with the venture. I'll toss my nickel in.

[steve shearer]

thanks Gents.

GSTQ, I want your skills.

[Donweather]

Steve, good luck with your new venture.

Just wondering why the subscription rather than website advertising?

[el rancho]

I am happy you went WordPress
very nice.

[Larry]

free beer, do we get free beer?

[steve shearer]

The hens are laying Larry, so I can offer free eggs.

Hopefully a soft launch party/BBQ in the offing.

And Don, mix of philosophical preference to have a site for readers and not advertisers and also to construct a viable business model so writers can get paid.

[alakaboo]

Good luck with the venture.

The pics in your story don't fit on smartphone screens.

[steve shearer]

Thanks Boo, it's supposed to be responsive to screen size.
I'll add that to the list of things to correct.

[crabmeat thompson]

Good luck with the venture.

The pics in your story don't fit on smartphone screens.

If you have iPhone, and flip it into landscape mode, not portrait, the page fits perfectly into my phone.

But I do have the much superior and vastly more handsome iPhone 5.

Way to go Steve. I dig.

[rmb]

Congratulations Steve on the new venture and best wishes on its continuing success. Will definately subscribe once a few things are in order.

Truly independant media is a fantastic concept not only for sport but other world issues that are not relevant to this topic to have journalists being able to write without the boundaries of bias and the agendas of the editor is refreshing in an industry where the focus is on promoting a brands / advertisers product rather than elevating the sport. Its continuing success relies on the support of the reader having grown tired of surf magazines this is new and exciting.

In time will there be a platform for amateur writers to publish their works?
Or articles from all states and surf zones? Shapers corners where professional shapers can contribute information on board designs etc.

Once again Steve good luck.

[steve shearer]

Thanks Braithy, send me your rate card, resume and a short covering letter and photo of yourself naked from the waist down and I'll put you on the roster.

RMB....yes, yes and yes.

[crabmeat thompson]

Just happens, I have a photo here of my anus region.

[alakaboo]

The lack of surprise is as palpable as an enlarged prostate.

Pic is twice as wide as landscape mode on a Google phone.

[crabmeat thompson]

on a Google phone.

Not even the genius bar can help you.

[Yuke Hunt]

Dear Steven

I had a quick squiz at the site ... viewing it on a Nexus 7 ... normally I can expand the page view by dragging of the fingers ... not so with your baby ... well actually about half a millimeter variation. Its a necessary function for tablet users ... increases the font size for people like Coops with dodgy vision. Get on to it son.

Secondly ... I applaud you for giving this a shot. If white horses is an example of how surfing should be documented ... then this puppy just might grow wings and fly ... and what could be cooler than a flying dog.

Lastly ... and please don't take this the wrong way ... I'm a big fan of your writing style. But I felt that that piece on Parko was a bit lazy and well below your usually high standard. There really wasn't a lot to garner from the article ... it took me nowhere and left me feeling a bit robbed. It was pub food ... I can burn words ... you're a much better cook than that.
Looking forward to digesting some high quality fare in the near future.