DESKMOD RE-LAUNCH PRESS RELEASE - 10/26/2001
ST. LOUIS, MO -- After over a year and a half of operations, on May 28th, 2001, Mod Networks, Inc. announced the closure of their popular desktop customization site DeskMod. After encountering major data loss which resulted in the loss of the site’s entire file archive and struggling to withstand downturn in the advertising market, the site was forced to close. The decision to close the site instead of just re-launching fresh was made after a close examining the site’s dismal financial future. Although plans had been made to launch new revenue producing features and content, the company simply could not be assured that a continued investment in the site would prove to be worthwhile. While the site had enough resources to last until the end of summer, when the business plans would have been activated, the lack of full confidence in these plans made re-launching the site fresh an unwise move. Even though everyone involved with the site would have loved nothing more than to see the site return, everyone agreed it simply was not feasible. And after determining that re-launching the site simply was not possible with the current financial climate surrounding content-based websites, the decision to close DeskMod was made.
The closure announcement was initially made via a town-hall style meeting which had over 200 people in attendance. After the meeting was held, a press release was sent to sites around the Internet. Over the following week, hundreds of e-mails poured in with amazing support from many members of the community. Many of these people offered suggestions on how the site could be brought back, however the lack in confidence that the site could at least break even kept us from accepting any of these offers.
During the next several weeks the team started coming up with new ideas for their future projects. On June 15th an announcement was made in regards to the team’s new project called Kulao. The DeskMod team, and new people who were added to the team, began working very hard on the project over the next several months. Unfortunately, the occurrence of many delays postponed the project several times. In the current harsh economic climate, finding investment is a difficult task, and takes extensive amounts of time. Between the financial delays and the development delays, Kulao’s launch date is still uncertain. The team has enormous faith in the idea, and looks forward to launching in the very near future.
In August 2001, not long after the closure of the site, DeskMod head administrator Michael Pacific and site co-owner David Gorman discussed how much they missed the site. This conversation was not unusual; the two would often reflect on the past and talk about how much they missed the site. However, what set this conversation apart from others was, for the first time, that the two began thinking if a re-launch could in fact be possible. After realizing how much everyone missed the site and needed it to return, it became clear that every effort should be made to get the site back up. The main challenge would be finding the resources required to succeed. Sites such as DeskMod are the most bandwidth and server intensive operations that exist, and finding the necessary resources is a difficult task. After figuring out what had to be done to get the site back up, the two dedicated themselves to doing whatever it took to make the re-launch of DeskMod a reality.
Once the initial roadblocks were overcome, and the re-launch of DeskMod was in fact possible, the entire team discussed how the new start should come to pass. Some of the initial questions included if the same code should be used, if management of the site should change, how the team should go about rebuilding the archive, and many other various questions. Over the next week the plans were solidified and work began to bring the site back to life.
As October came to an end, the team decided to begin the process of making the world aware that the site was in fact coming back. On Saturday, October 20th, the first word of the site’s return was sent through an encrypted message on the popular community news site Teknidermy. This press release was written to confirm the "rumors" and growing suspense as more and more people decoded the message. DeskMod will in fact be re-launching run by the original site's team. The team is extremely excited that the site will once again be able to host the community which they are so happy to be part of. While no official launch date has been set, the current goal is to re-launch in early November of this year. Be prepared for more information in regards to DeskMod, what is new, as well as launch dates, over the next several weeks. Within the next 2 days an informational page will launch. The page will include this press release, answers to frequently asked questions, what you can do to help, contact details, and other information. The site will be located at http://www.deskmod.com. Additionally, stay tuned to http://www.teknidermy.com for the latest news.
The team is very proud of DeskMod, and is thrilled at the opportunity to run the site again. If you have any immediate questions or comments, please contact us directly at information@deskmod.com. If you would like to chat with the team, please join them on irc.deskmod.com in #deskmod.