Dead End Society was an online community forum that I created for adults, which allowed people to talk about anything and everything they wanted to. From sports, to video games, food, cars, body piercings, tattoos, and more. Members had an arcade, blogs, a picture gallery, and radio to play around with. We had between 45 and 50 Clique members ($50 donation/yearly subscription).
Outsider at the '07 Auto Show
We featured many exclusive articles, such at interviews with Oakley sunglasses and Fox Racing. We featured six topless models and covered events such at the motorcycle and auto shows. We also had an article promoting Mozilla's Firefox and had photo exclusives on Miami and Ohio's historic Chippewa Lake Park. We even did our own Jackass style video stunts.
tempty69 destroyed her old computer.
We had an artistic, brash, edgy, and sometimes close community. Members would meet for parties and hang out every once and a while. People would come and go, usually never sticking around too long. With the forum being as personal as it was, you really saw the restrictions people would put on themselves with their drama in their lives. Many would end up going back to their MySpace's for a while, because it was their space and they would tell people what they wanted, attempting to hide their insecurites, which is not hard with all the fluff that goes on there, everyone just wants attention
Wells at the first D.E.S. Party (08.29.06)
So things just never took off, we always ended up back at square one. Sometimes there would be some great potential, but when the faces don't stick it's just impossible to grow. I have seen many successful forums close down over the last year or so, and I think a lot of it has to do with the new web 2.0 era of MySpace, Facebook, fubar, and so on. People just don't have the attention span anymore, they are all about their next hookup or strictly who they are involved with at that time. Asking people to think for themselves, use common sense, and to say something intelligently is just asking too much.
The first D.E.S. Model, Dana
It was a great experience for me, I learned so much over the last 3-4 years. When I started, I could not even make a single web page, nor was I any good at graphic design or photography. I was a quiet and shy individual, now I'm outspoken, blunt, and outrageous (meaning I do anything for a laugh). I'll have plenty of stories to share with people about this the rest of my life. I have no regrets.
From exclusive "Tribute to Jackass"
Coming to the realization that I had to shut it down was very stressful and emotional for me. I fought for years trying to make the site a success, in the face of doubters that told me that I would never "make it". I think me letting go IS the right move now, and that I must put my knowledge to something else. People and times change, you have to run with it.
