Update on Suite101
Four months have passed already since my last company update, and this has been a very busy period for us. At the same time, our marketplace has continued to change – with the end result being an emphatic restatement: Suite101 will be changing. Today I would like to give a fresh update, and an outlook on Suite101's upcoming developments.
Lab report
Over the last few months we have been deceptively active on Suite101 (think: new layout, information architecture, mobile site), while elsewhere we have been hard at work on a number of interesting experiments.
In the process we gained a better understanding of content authority, the role of audience in the inspiration process, and of social interaction with authoritative content. We were reaffirmed that the basis of Suite101's model is a sound foundation for our future: audiences are after the work of knowledgeable, talented, enthusiastic creators.
At the same time, we find that Suite101's focus on articles that self-sufficiently stand for themselves makes it hard for their readers to connect with our site - beyond the immediate help our articles lend. Suite101 has structurally depended on search engines to value the informational and written quality, and to then deliver us people searching for advice. In the past, this meant that limited on-site engagement was not an actual barrier between our writers and their audience. Google has moved to change this.
"2.5.2"??
Obviously, one has to read "Google" for "search engines." Google dominates search even far beyond its measured market share. Google gained this dominance because of the historic quality of its search results and its intuitive usability. Over the past several years, Suite101 enjoyed an ever growing amount of traffic from Google, which we took as confirmation that indeed their algorithm *can* measure the great quality our writers create.
The effects of the first Google "Panda" update on Suite101 and other article publishing sites in February are well known. As site- (and not only article-) specific factors such as "engaging", "trustworthy", and "focused" gained prominence in their algorithm, standalone articles lost visibility in Google's search results regardless of their individual qualities, and suffered significant drops in traffic. Cue several months of experimentation to more completely understand, and to ideally improve our situation.
In August then, it seemed as if we had found a solution: migrating our articles to writer-specific subdomains as a strategy appeared to align with statements by Google implying that their search specialists increasingly wanted to base "trustworthiness" on individual authorship (rather than the publishing site). The approach seemed to work well for other websites, and immediately showed promise in our own tests.
We rolled out the change, and over the next six weeks enjoyed refreshing, continuous growth that amounted to a doubling of our summer traffic. How encouraging! Then, on 14 October, Google again stopped the traffic flow with another algorithm update classified as "Panda 2.5.2". We are now back at a traffic level we last were three years ago.
Currently being outranked by "engaging" but sketchy and incomplete forum threads, or "focused" domain farm homepages, we have lost trust in Google as a truly superior algorithm and thus reliable distribution channel.
Suite101's future must lie in building more search-independent audiences.
Ouch
So only a little over a month ago, this post would have read quite upbeat and optimistic about our near-term anticipations for traffic growth. But this graph describing our traffic development unfortunately also correlates with our revenue development. The roller-coaster development was to be felt most pronounced on Suite101.com, but the underlying dynamics affected all four of our sites similarly. Suite101 is now incurring losses. And so the time has come to adjust.
Necessity dictates
Some hard but hopefully rewarding work lies ahead in a period of regrouping and refocusing. Whatever we do, we want to ensure and enable:
To avoid any confusion, these changes do not pertain to Suite101.com, our English site. More on this to come; details will follow over the coming days.
The changes mean that we will close our European office in Berlin, and have to part ways with our local editorial teams that include some of our very best and most respected team members. I regret this a lot. We hope to physically be back in Europe in the future with a refined model.
The 101
We will regroup around a revised vision, and also a new lead personality. We want Suite101's leadership to be firmly and continuously anchored in a passion for ambitious content, and to lead Suite101 through the decade and beyond.
I will over the coming weeks hand over leadership to my colleague Michael Kedda, the new General Manager of Suite101. Well known on our English site as its present Editor-in-Chief, Michael has in his still young tenure brought a rare mix of journalistic background, international experience, understanding of current web trends - and even website development finesse to Suite101. Spice this up with his high energy and leadership qualities, as well as his fun, self-deprecating attitude and you have the right person to lead Suite101 into the future.
Michael is already working with our development team, and will share details as we go on. As a teaser - we'll take the "101" in Suite101 much more seriously going forward...
I am excited about Suite101's future. I am proud of the writing community we have built together with our writers and editors over the years. Our knowledge, talents, skills deserve large audiences. Suite101 is capable of providing the platform to succeed in a world that is going from search to much more reader- and usage-centric experiences. Suite101 will adapt, and stay the innovator it has been since 1996.
Peter Berger
President & CEO, Suite101.com Media Inc.
Lab report
Over the last few months we have been deceptively active on Suite101 (think: new layout, information architecture, mobile site), while elsewhere we have been hard at work on a number of interesting experiments.
In the process we gained a better understanding of content authority, the role of audience in the inspiration process, and of social interaction with authoritative content. We were reaffirmed that the basis of Suite101's model is a sound foundation for our future: audiences are after the work of knowledgeable, talented, enthusiastic creators.
At the same time, we find that Suite101's focus on articles that self-sufficiently stand for themselves makes it hard for their readers to connect with our site - beyond the immediate help our articles lend. Suite101 has structurally depended on search engines to value the informational and written quality, and to then deliver us people searching for advice. In the past, this meant that limited on-site engagement was not an actual barrier between our writers and their audience. Google has moved to change this.
"2.5.2"??
Obviously, one has to read "Google" for "search engines." Google dominates search even far beyond its measured market share. Google gained this dominance because of the historic quality of its search results and its intuitive usability. Over the past several years, Suite101 enjoyed an ever growing amount of traffic from Google, which we took as confirmation that indeed their algorithm *can* measure the great quality our writers create.
The effects of the first Google "Panda" update on Suite101 and other article publishing sites in February are well known. As site- (and not only article-) specific factors such as "engaging", "trustworthy", and "focused" gained prominence in their algorithm, standalone articles lost visibility in Google's search results regardless of their individual qualities, and suffered significant drops in traffic. Cue several months of experimentation to more completely understand, and to ideally improve our situation.
In August then, it seemed as if we had found a solution: migrating our articles to writer-specific subdomains as a strategy appeared to align with statements by Google implying that their search specialists increasingly wanted to base "trustworthiness" on individual authorship (rather than the publishing site). The approach seemed to work well for other websites, and immediately showed promise in our own tests.
We rolled out the change, and over the next six weeks enjoyed refreshing, continuous growth that amounted to a doubling of our summer traffic. How encouraging! Then, on 14 October, Google again stopped the traffic flow with another algorithm update classified as "Panda 2.5.2". We are now back at a traffic level we last were three years ago.
Currently being outranked by "engaging" but sketchy and incomplete forum threads, or "focused" domain farm homepages, we have lost trust in Google as a truly superior algorithm and thus reliable distribution channel.
Suite101's future must lie in building more search-independent audiences.
Ouch
So only a little over a month ago, this post would have read quite upbeat and optimistic about our near-term anticipations for traffic growth. But this graph describing our traffic development unfortunately also correlates with our revenue development. The roller-coaster development was to be felt most pronounced on Suite101.com, but the underlying dynamics affected all four of our sites similarly. Suite101 is now incurring losses. And so the time has come to adjust.
Necessity dictates
Some hard but hopefully rewarding work lies ahead in a period of regrouping and refocusing. Whatever we do, we want to ensure and enable:
- Minimal impact on our writers and their usage of our platform
- Growing investment in our core product
- Developmental focus on our English-language audience
- We will continue to ensure a high level of quality through a process of feedback-triggered review
- We will continue to be selective and only admit writers we can rely on to our sites
- Our team will stay available and responsive through professional Vancouver-based native speakers
- Of course, writers' royalties will continue to accrue and be paid monthly as usual
To avoid any confusion, these changes do not pertain to Suite101.com, our English site. More on this to come; details will follow over the coming days.
The changes mean that we will close our European office in Berlin, and have to part ways with our local editorial teams that include some of our very best and most respected team members. I regret this a lot. We hope to physically be back in Europe in the future with a refined model.
The 101
We will regroup around a revised vision, and also a new lead personality. We want Suite101's leadership to be firmly and continuously anchored in a passion for ambitious content, and to lead Suite101 through the decade and beyond.
I will over the coming weeks hand over leadership to my colleague Michael Kedda, the new General Manager of Suite101. Well known on our English site as its present Editor-in-Chief, Michael has in his still young tenure brought a rare mix of journalistic background, international experience, understanding of current web trends - and even website development finesse to Suite101. Spice this up with his high energy and leadership qualities, as well as his fun, self-deprecating attitude and you have the right person to lead Suite101 into the future.
Michael is already working with our development team, and will share details as we go on. As a teaser - we'll take the "101" in Suite101 much more seriously going forward...
I am excited about Suite101's future. I am proud of the writing community we have built together with our writers and editors over the years. Our knowledge, talents, skills deserve large audiences. Suite101 is capable of providing the platform to succeed in a world that is going from search to much more reader- and usage-centric experiences. Suite101 will adapt, and stay the innovator it has been since 1996.
Peter Berger
President & CEO, Suite101.com Media Inc.
Comments
Jo Harrington (not verified)
Thank you for the information and the assurance that Suite101 is going forward.
I do feel desperately sorry for the European editors, as I know what the employment situation is like over here. I wish them all the best in the future.
My main question is about the '101'. Is there a connotation to that number in Canada, which hasn't made it to Britain? If I think of anything, it's the Room 101 link, but that doesn't feel applicable here. I just want to ensure that I'm ready, when the changes come.
Donald Reinhardt
Peter:
Nicely and clearly said and done. Congratulations to Michael and yes, "we shall overcome."
Cheers,
Donald
Amy Wingfield
Hang in there. We know eventually, it will all get worked out and we'll be climbing up again
Topic Editor-Feature Writer in Christian Music
Amy Wingfield
Mary King
That said, I will congratulate Michael on his new position, and get back to work on my current article.
Mary King
Topic Editor for Caregiver Support
Suzanne Pitner
Thank you for keeping us in the loop, Peter. It's encouraging to know TPTB have a plan and are working toward it, even though some parts of the plan may be painful.
Congratulations Michael!
Jean-Luc Mercier (not verified)
Quelle imprévoyance ! Donner des consignes d'écriture, imposer des règles, assurer un contrôle sévère et parler d'"expertise... tout cela pour nous laisser tomber comme de vieilles chaussettes sales !!! Moi je ne vous remercie vraiment pas ! Je crois avoir fait mon travail d'auteur, un travail de qualité. Par contre vous n'avez pas tenu vos engagements et la publicité était fort mensongère. Heureusement que suite 101 m'a permi de rencontrer des personnes sympas.
Amy Lynn Hess (not verified)
Jean-Luc,
I do not think they are tossing you like "old, dirty socks." I think it is only a matter of finances. If you are a writer, they do say that writers can continue to write, yes?
Darla Sue Dollman
Thank you for this detailed update, Mr. Berger.
I am sorry for those who have lost their positions with Suite and my heart goes out to them.
However, knowing there will be additional transformation is exciting and invigorating. I'm looking forward to watching the caterpillar develop wings.
Congratulations, Michael! The promotion is well-deserved!
Christina (not verified)
Mr Berger,
Thank you so much for the update. I know it is hard to know how to adapt to any changes in environment, but Suite101 has the best format for writers that I've ever seen. The core model of the site is good. No, it's not good; it's fabulous. We, writers, love this place. We can choose our own direction and we don't feel burdened by arcane rules.
I have gotten to know Michael Kedda over the years. He is young and energetic. I know you have picked the right man to promote.
Christina
Frank Parker (not verified)
Thanks for the update Mr Berger. My congratulations to Michael Kedda on hi promotion. Like you and everyone else connected with Suite101 I have seen how well he has responded to the unexpected and devastating situation created by the recent series of Google algorithm changes and this bodes well for the platofrm's future direction. My deepest comiserations to full-time staff in Europe who are to lose their jobs in these difficult times.
Frank
Patricio (not verified)
Señor Berger
En el caso de los que escribimos en español (suite.net) ¿quien verificará la calidad de los artículos que sean editados?.
Saludos cordiales
Patricio Barrientos
http://patricio-barrientos.suite101.net
http://divagacionesdelpato.blogspot.com
Sally Piper (not verified)
Thanks for the update and the obvious thought and energy that's going into finding a solution for the site's future.
Like Jo (comment 1) the "101" of the site's name has always caused me some confusion. In Australia the reference 101 after anything indicates that it is the beginning or base level of (usually) a unit of education, i.e. Maths 101, Creative Writing 101. Consequently, it can, and is, also applied derogatorily to anything or anyone starting out in something new.
I just wanted to draw people's attention to the non-universality of this phrase as being something positive, especially if this element of the site's name is to be a focus of us moving forward.
Sally Piper
Xavier Gámez (not verified)
Peter is a very good idea even these need serious changes. Changes are neccesary. And the project must to live.
Coral Andrews
Mr. Berger
I am sorry to hear about the European offices. Must be a huge blow to them. This sort of tightening the belt is happening
in every business I can think of. But to survive sometimes these sorts of measures have to be taken. Suite has come a long way since I first began writing for them. I am sure we will find a way to push forward.
I wish you all the best in your new position Micheal.
Cheers
Coral Andrews
Eva Bonastre (not verified)
Aloha Mr. Beger,
As Patricio Barrientos said, who will copy edit our spanish articles to guarantee the current and increasing perception of quality of Suite.net inside the iberoamerican culture?
And what is going to happen with the contests to encourage the increase of the production of articles?
And who is going to choose what articles must be in the cover page (Home page) as feature articles and choose the editorial favorites ones?
How is going to give Suite now promotion on social networks to our articles?
We will be also promoted inside Suite101 as now?
Un saludo,
Eva Bonastre
Brenda Gargus
Thanks Peter for the information. I look forward to a new and improved Suite. I do feel for those who have lost positions, hopefully they will be able to stay with us in a different capacity. Onward and upward. Brenda
Eva Bonastre (not verified)
Aloha again,
As Suite.net writer, I can tell you that inside our community we are concerned about some of the questions I did before, among others (as per example what kind of profile of "native speakers" is going to "will stay available and responsive" to iberoamerican writers, cause isn't the same Spanish the one from Spain than from latioamerican countries -with all the respect-)
Can you explain us a little bit better your points and these questions?
Thanks in advance.
Un saludo,
Eva Bonastre
Scientist an culture communicator
http://eva-bonastre.suite101.net/
Eva Bonastre (not verified)
If a copy editor had seen my last post here before publishing, he or she probably advice me to correct my signature:
Eva Bonastre
Science and culture communicator (better now ;))
http://eva-bonastre.suite101.net/
Peter Berger
Thank you everyone for all your support, as well as the warm words for our European colleagues!
@Eva Bonastre & @Patricio Barrientos:
Rest assured that like today, the Spanish language support we're bringing on board will be native speakers and able to support European as well as (Latin) American authors.
While Suite101.net will no longer have an editorial structure in place to support the copy editing of articles, articles will still be reviewed by our support and other authors against our submission criteria; articles that do not meet these criteria will be taken offline. The administrator will also select articles for display on the homepage.
There will be no contests on our international sites; similarly there will be no active promotion of Suite101.net articles through localized social media.
Those writers who already have "Colaborador Experto" status will stay at that status, but for the time being, no further authors will be promoted.
I hope that helps a little - please do also refer to the writer announcements and forum discussions on Suite101.net itself,
Peter
Eva Bonastre (not verified)
Aloha Peter and thanks for your fast reply,
I've just communicated your words and translate them the better I know to my companions on the forum of Suite101.net. Although I must say that I don't understand quite ok when you say "articles will still be reviewed by our support and other authors against our submission criteria" cause translated into Spanish means "los artículos serán revisados por nuestro soporte y otros autores contra nuestro criterio de sumisión", but I assume you would like to say that the actual criteria will be respected.
Maybe it will be a good idea that Suite101.com post this communicate in French, German and, of course, Spanish, cause not all of we have the same english knowledge. It's a suggestion.
By other side, it's a pity what is happening, about loosing the oportunity of being promoted inside Suite, or win the contests, among others. And of course, it's a pity to think that the Suite's Spanish community is loosing today a professional and marvellous editor's team, specially because their human approach with us. If you can only read the Spanish comments into our forum in .net and how the major part of us expressed the affection towards them! Really emotive.
There still many questions on the air, per example about the "how to" or about why Suite don't choose to promote on the social networks if the SEO is loosing againts them, but it's awfully late here in Spain, so excuse me for today.
Un saludo,
Eva Bonastre
Scientist an culture communicator
http://eva-bonastre.suite101.net/
Janienne Jennrich
Thank you for the solid update. I am a firm believer in the earning power of Suite101.
Having worked with Michael for a few years now, I cannot think of a better choice for General Manager.
I look forward to the future!
Juan Antonio Ca... (not verified)
Hello from Spain! I'm Juan A. Cantos, the Topic Curator Editor of History (Middle Ages) in Suite101.net
I would like to communicate to all our colleagues of our "Mother suite101.com", but specially to our president and director Mr. Peter Berger, that now, in the European Suite101 sites, people has a lot of questions and doubts about the future. A future that is going to be, surely, very difficult, chaotic and strange for us.
I don´t know if U really understand the real damage of this choice (an unexpected surprise!!!: cancelling so fast the European sites of Suite101, German, French and Spanish-Latinoamericans!), specially because all this disaster has happened in only 2-3 days. Suddenly, a lot of friends had no possibilities to know the last changes in this sites. A lot (probably hundreds) of articles, news and interviews that we were just going to start writing, enthusiastically, now are going directly to the garbage... or forgotten. Anyway, destroyed. A lot of people abandon the European sites. This seems like a battlefield, or something like that!
I want to be polite, but always telling the truth. At least, this truth that I see. And over all, the truth of my feelings about this serious problem: probably U, Mr. Berger, and the unknown businessmen behind this ambitious project, don´t realise the incredible professional and human resources that Suite101 is losing with this "political" decissions.
I have my own ideas and opinions, of course, but in that sense I want to share this opinions with the rest of the members of this huge community of fabulous writers. Losing this European sites, maybe Suite101 is also losing the reputation and the credibility for its future as company. I don´t want to be more pessimistic, or pathetic. I don´t want to say stupid or sad things, that are not constructive. I hope that the future is gonna be better for all, with a better project, and recovering the European sites (and -why not?- creating Japanese site, a Chinese,...). But just now I cannot believe it. Now I feel alone. And probably a lot of Spanish and French and German writers of Suite101 share this feeling with me.
What kind of human help or technical support are U going to give us, Mr. Berger @ Cía., when, this Saturday morning, we've just discovered that a lot of Google Ads and other commercials and pubblicity are disappearing from our Spanish articles? Please, tell us something... Thank U very much.
Juan Antonio Cantos Bautista
http://juan-antonio-cantos-bautista.suite101.net/
Jonny Michel (not verified)
Lieber Herr Berger,
im deutschen Forum erscheint Unverständnis darüber, dass seit gestern nur noch zwei Google-Anzeigen auf den Seiten stehen. Ist das ein technisches Problem, oder gehört dies auch zu den Änderungen bei Suite101.de? Bitte posten Sie eine Antwort auf die deutsche Seite, damit alle informiert sind.
Vielen Dank
Jonny Michel
Rick Stelnick (not verified)
Here's hoping for a happy and healthy Holiday Season at the Suite!
Eva Bonastre (not verified)
Aloha Peter,
We've notice that the major part of in our articles of Google Adsense has disappeared and this is happening in just the 3 european sites (.net, .fr, .de), but not in .com. We hope this is just a technical issue and soon it will be repaired, but can you tell us if is it really a tech issue or is due other things? It is sure that you will be able to understand our general worry on this matter.
Un saludo,
Eva Bonastre
Science and culture communicator
http://eva-bonastre.suite101.net/
Victoria Cherquis (not verified)
Dear Mr. Peter Berger:
I have just arrived to suite101.net and I found this chaos. I write (and speak and feel and everything) in Spanish, so I would have been part of the Spanish speaking collaborators.
I had applied for writing in this page many months ago, but when I was preparing my first article I received an interesting offer I could not reject (like in The Godfather, but professional and legal in my case). The thing is that I left suite101.net standby and I have just re-applied to begin writing here and I was accepted again a couple of days ago.
So, before working on a summary of issues, I browse the page to see what was going on in Suite 101 and I found this scenario.
Question: Should I stay and begin writing for suite 101, or should I go? I mean, with the lack of editorial structure and the doubts about the google Adsense., what are the real expectations with Spanish collaborators?.
Expecting your sincere answer, receive my best regards as well as people from Suite 101 in France, Deutschland and Spain (and my
Victoria Cherquis. Buenos Aires
Estimado Sr. Peter Berger:
Acabo de llegar a suite101.net y me encontré con este caos. Yo escribo (y hablo y siento, y todo) en español, por lo que habría sido uno de los colaboradores en castellano de .net.
Yo había aplicado para escribir en esta página hace varios meses, pero cuando estaba preparando mi primer artículo, recibí una interesante propuesta que no podía rechazar (como en El Padrino, pero profesional y legal en mi caso). La cosa es que dejé stand by suite101.net y ahora, con más tiempo y retomando las ganas de volver a escribir, volví a aplicar (en realidad a reenviar la aplicación) y fui aceptada de nuevo un par de días atrás
Por lo tanto y antes de trabajar en un sumario de temas, me puse a navegar por la página para ver lo que estaba pasando en Suite 101 y me encontré con este escenario.
Pregunta: ¿Debo quedarme y comenzar o debería irme? Quiero decir, con la falta de estructura editorial y las dudas sobre la Adsense, que expectativas reales hay con los colaboradores en castellano?
Esperando su respuesta sincera, reciba mi cordial saludo al igual que los compañeros de la Suite 101 en Francia, España y Alemania. (y mi enorme pena por aquellos que han perdido sus puestos de trabajo).
Victoria Cherquis. Buenos Aires
Judy Haar
Congrats to Michael. And thank you for the explanation of what is happening and what is to come. I enjoy the community on Suite101.
Hildra Tague (not verified)
On thought would be to let the comment section function more smoothly for the readers. Now they post with no possibility of feedback, yet they don't know that.
Perhaps writers could be allowed to answer posts, welcoming other comments, since this is what many sites on the web do. People who post with 101 feel it's a dead end. It would be effective if posters felt included in the interactive readership experience by being responded to.
The other item may be technically impossible. However, if feasible, it would be nice for writers to be able to do minor editing of posts in order to eliminate any sneaky advertisements or links. I understand we just have to not approve those now, yet those and all comments tend to bring the readers back into identifying with Suite101.com.
Thank you for all the efforts toward panda recovery; many of us do believe in the site and will continue to promote it on our social networking sites. I'm coming out of a hard year when I couldn't write much, but in 2012 I'm set to get at the task of writing and promotion.
All the best:-)
Hildra Tague
Feature Writer
Jeffrey R Gudzune
Thank you very much for the update. Since becoming a Topic Editor, I have looked at the stats more closely. I maintain communication with the writers in my topic and we have developed a plan to increase readers. As we are primarily academic, our core audience is smaller and falls off in the summer and between semesters. I have started a public outreach to academic institutions, museums, and other publications to advertise and extol the virtues of our topic. I would like to know if there is any more we can do?
Regards,
Jeffrey R Gudzune
Topic Editor
Native American/First Nations History
Leslie C. Halpern
Thanks for the update. I look forward to the new innovations for 2012 that will keep our site competitive.
Add a new comment