7:48 AM
Admin
A few words about his guide that I got a kick outta:
Our guide is currently on sale.....for 100% off!
This guide is SO free, you can't afford NOT to buy it!
We will never charge for our guide, not even if you double dog dare us!
Those that know Adam, he was on the podcast I was a part of for a short time (Addicted 2 Azeroth), he was a "guru" in the weekly WoW meetings at the "old" JMTC, and anytime you see him post a tweet (@dollada06), grab your popcorn as something is about to set sail.
As you might have guessed, I have been away from the blog and WoW in general for some time. My daughter is growing like a week (nearing three years old), and I am prepping for multiple back surgeries and it's tough to sit or stand too long, so any computer "work" is out of the question, unless it's short lived. I did however want to strike up the blog for those that are getting into Diablo III to show you about a site that has caught my attention.....
Sexy, huh? Although there aren't many posts currently, knowing Adam, there will be quite a big push during the coming weeks, so make sure and bookmark, follow through google, RSS feed for new posts to your inbox, well....you know the drill.
There are a few great things right off the bat. Look at the tabs available to click. First, you have the link for the FREE Diablo III guide:
You might notice that it's through fileswap, which, for some folks, an automatic red flag is waving in the air. I am trying to convince him to use standalone pages for his guide (similar to what I have used for my WoW Guide and 4.3 Update), we will see if he goes for it.....until then, you have to fileswap.
Next tab, you will see the forums link. A ton of great information as well as an amazing group of folks there at The Sancuary (which is a great info site all in itself- In fact, it'll be one of my main resources for the scoop on Diablo Tres):
Going down the line, next tab you will see quick access to the Diablo III map:
See? Told you it was a great site! What is it missing? Nothing....but I am sure Adam will figure out a few more tabs as time goes, so keep posted.
Since I haven't been in the area much, do you have some favorite sites you are leaning towards? Do you have forums, podcasts, or other D3 info you would like to share? Do you have a blog you write about strategies in Diablo III? I wanna hear about them! Shout out in comments!
Thanks for reading as always,
Alto.
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6 comments:
Thanks for the nice words Alto! The site itself is in a state of usability right now, but the guide is in a very early stage right now. We are always working on it and adding new things that we find.
We have made a few enemies doing this so far because it really hurts the business of those people trying to charge for their guides. So the people whom have already purchased their guides feel a little bit screwed I would guess. I can understand that. So we will always have people who speak up and hate what we are doing. We will never win over their hearts and really we’re not trying to. The truth is we get emails everyday through our contact form of people suggesting things to add or more commonly saying they just are excited for what it will become.
We are pretty much doing the whole marketing of this guide that old “Grass-roots” way. We are letting the people talk about it and spread the word. If we’ve done a good job people will talk about it. If we haven’t then we will waste our time. Right now we are seeing a lot of unique visitors to our site every day and returning visitors has never dropped off a single day. So far so we are only growing as far as we can tell and we’re excited about it!
We are always looking for people that want to contribute! So if you are a Diablo 3 fan and want to help reply to me here or even better would be through our contact us tab on our website!
Thank everyone
~FreeDiablo3Guide
Hey Alto!
I was wondering where you had went. Hope all goes well with your surgeries and I wish you a speedy recovery.
I too will be posting at the free guide site along with Adam in addition to working on my site at Diablo3GoldTips.com , which will be free information as well.
If you are looking for Diablo 3 information in a podcast form, be sure to check out The Eviscerated Gaming Podcast at Eviscerated.net, on iTunes, & Stitcher Radio. Rez, Nic, & I cover multiple games and multiple gaming formats, but there is a heavy Diablo 3 discussion on each episode as that's what we are most excited about. We also cover WoW topics and other games as well. So be sure to come check it out. We record and post weekly so there is so much more good stuff to come.
Hope you come check us out brother!
Cold
Adam, if you had come to me and said "Hey Chris, I have a new website, can you link it and help me promote it?" I would have been like, sure, no problem.
Instead this is what I got on twitter out of the blue (in several different tweets):
"Ha we have markco's guide in screenshots from an unhappy buyer! This is hilarious! Markco we're going to copy your guide since your copyright means nothing. We're going to give it out for free because it should be free!"
It was only after I pressured you that hours later you decided not to copy the guide and instead "improve upon it" with a better, free version.
If you had approached me with the matter ANY OTHER WAY I would have backed your website and been excited for you and its success. You really shocked me with your lack of judgement in this regard.
Regardless, what you have on your website currently is nothing more than a 4 page FAQ for the RMAH. I believe you may have copied the wrong guide and shot yourself in the foot in the process.
I wish you hadn't assumed I was going to be "your enemy" or whatever you had built up in your head regarding how I was going to react to your website. I have already backed several free diablo 3 guides that will provide competition for me, far more than yours.
I know Alto is a really fair comment allower so I hope you get to see my point and realize that you wronged someone who actually did care about your websites and seeing you succeed.
Adam (freediabloIIIguide),
Thanks for the comment, I hope that more folks follow and add to the site. A free hub for all that is D3 is great to see!
Cold,
Thanks for the kind words, and I am hoping to get a chance to play during my recovery and look forward to reading your site and listening to the podcasts.
Markco,
I think the whole paid vs. free will go on forever. I started my guide as paid, and as the information was stolen and used elsewhere, I decided what the hell and went free with it (of course other factors were involved, but that's the gist of it).
There will always be paid guides out there, there will always be free websites/guides. It's the same as blogging. One person posts about an idea, and BAM! Common knowledge a week later.
(cont)
Paid guides, in my eyes, are great for folks that:
1.) Don't have the time to search 50 sites for information and are willing to pay someone else to do it (or to learn how to do something that is new or not common knowledge)
2.) For the uninformed (i.e people that are out of the "circle" or knowledgebase). In other words that happen upon the link through google that don't know about the huge community of free information
3.) Those that are scammed into purchasing through advertising gimmics/website/page promising something they can't deliver
4.) Falling for "a limited time only" scam when it always on sale or varying prices, similar to the "only 100 people will be let in" scam is the same pub stunt.
5.) The paid guides that are the exact copy of other guides, word for word, and in ca-hoots (sp) with another "owner" or even the same person.
Last but not least: Guide creators that make money off of others hard work and dedication, all the while reaping the benefits of others. And the main difference here is that IRL jobs, the workers get paid. On community forums, the majority of content comes from users (and/or paid subscribers) that define the content and build the communities, not 100% the owner of the site. They just made the park, the kids are the ones that decide to play there...
Markco, we have known each other (internet-not IRL) for a few years now, and you my friend, have the gift of salesmanship. I am not talking shit nor praising you for your methods, but I still have a burnt feeling in my WoWHeart about how JMTC turned out. Only you know for sure how things happened there, but the community you built was demolished in a month after you sold it (and really crumbled shortly before when word got out you were selling it).
You have said on multiple occasions you wish you would have done it differently, but I also have the feeling that it was all about the $$, not the friendships or acquaintances that you made. Bottom line seemed to be dollars.
I hope that it won't be how your new site for D3 plays out....but I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach it will be near the same. Full bore, Markco's great ideas, people make millions in internets gold, Markco gets sidetracked/bored/another project, community keeps rolling taking over content, Markco see's end is near, Markco sells D3 site.
Now obviously I am just venting now, but you know that in many folks eyes, it's knowing and living through the past that scares the community in putting too much trust in you again.
You have done alot for me, I have learned many things from you. You have hired me to update your guide. You have not scammed me (unless I do not know about it). For all that, you know I am appreciative.
I [sincerely] wish you the best in your D3 site, I hope that you remain with it and a major part of it, and I hope to only hear good things from/about it. You have been a friend, a mentor, and a solid businessman. Take notice of the order I wrote those (if you even read this far). Money is last. When someone puts money first, all of the rest drop rank. And that, my friend, is how bridges are burned. Please read and re-read that. You are smart. Please do not make this site become another JMTC.
Alto.
You got it Alto. To me, I've always valued having fun above everything else. Wow ceased to be fun, even when I got paid to play it and got to meet cool people like yourself.
By the end I just wanted something to challenge me and I found work irl that did just that. I couldn't have both, so I chose to sell the site. I was flat out lied to on what was going to happen to jmtc and wow crusher came out of nowhere. I believiterate blog was going to do better with the funds the new owner was saying he'd throw Into it.
My fiancé convinced me to start a d3 blog, the minute she saw my eyes light up about the rmah. She knows it's just fun to me.
Lesson learned... And I still answer wow emails, almost every day, apologizing to people using that site. Why? Because my contact address is still in the old site/guide. He didn't even remove that.
I'm sorry many of you never got the thanks and courtesy you deserved. I was hoping the new owner would take over and do better than I was just letting the site slide along. I never considered it would tank and leave everyone with nothing.
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