Rj Evans Leaving Triond: The Beginning of The End?

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Rj Evans Leaving Triond: The Beginning of The End?

Posted on March 12th, 2010 in Writing by Mnofdichotomy

Are we doomed?

He’s the guy I wanted to be when I first started publishing on Triond. Hell, he’s the guy we all want to be. Not a day goes by that you don’t see his name on the hot content list. Many days more than one. One day a few weeks back he was at number 1, 2, 3, and 4. I can tell you first hand that’s amazing. The first time I had an article reach the top spot, I was excited. The first time I knocked RJ from the top spot, I really felt like I had accomplished something.

And he does it without publishing crap. He genuinely puts a lot of work into his articles, and publishes a crisp, professional product. No sensationalist garbage here. The man published an article on mountain goats and put it on the H.C. list for a week. He is virtually without peer here. And he’s leaving.

On both a personal and professional level, I will miss him being here. From a professional level, his presence has improved the site. And he has been, at least for me, an almost adversarial motivator. He is the measuring stick by which I have measured my success, and the one whom I chased. And through a bit of correspondence, I know him to be an all around decent guy.

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But the question arises; what, if anything, does this mean for Triond? Is this the beginning of the end? Are Triond’s days numbered? The answer, quite simply, is nothing and no.

Much reference has been made to the decline of quality Triond is producing, and the insinuation that the standards have been lowered. This simply isn’t the case. what no one seems to realize here is that Triond is, in fact, growing. And evolving at an exponential rate. Most of us really have no grasp of what Triond is, much less how it really works.

There may have been higher quality work in the early days of the site, but it had nothing to do with Triond’s standards. It was simply because the first wave of members were those who saw themselves as ‘genuine’ writers. Most of them weren’t very good, but they tried. There were some who were exceptional, but only a small number. As the site grew in membership, those less literary inclined began to come, as well as who knows how many of those with delusions of grandeur. And so the quality dropped.

The truth of the matter is this: Most of the people publishing on Triond aren’t very good. This isn’t, as myself and a few others have tried to get across, a writing site. This is a publishing site. This is like baseball’s minor leagues. This is where someone like me… a fairly good writer who communicates fairly well and isn’t afraid to put some time into this… can learn and improve.

Triond isn’t dying. In reality, it’s flourishing. What you’re witnessing now is the natural evolution of the site. The idiots will come and go, and garbage will be produced. Natural selection, and the idiots always leave. Why? Because there’s no real money in idiocy. I know some jack*ss will say that I publish idiocy. But my idiocy is calculated and intentional, and I put alot of work into it. Sure, some moron will occasionally publish a crude article about his genitals and pull in a few hundred random views, but they never stay.

And on the other end of the spectrum, people outgrow Triond; they move up to the next level of the food chain. Triond isn’t going anywhere. Rj Evans has just outgrown Triond. It’s the end goal here, isn’t it? Some of us won’t leave. I know that this is top of the line for me; I’m simply not a good enough a writer to take that next step. Maybe if I worked at it, but this is a hobby for me, not a profession. And I understand where I fit, and how to work the machine from that seat.

That’s the secret to success here. Meantime, farewell to RJ. Guess I’ll have to find another ‘big dog’ to chase.

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Tags: hot content, money, publishing, RJ Evans, triond, views, Writing

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25 Responses to “Rj Evans Leaving Triond: The Beginning of The End?”

Pablina
March 12th, 2010 at 4:38 pm

Good luck rj. Mnof you’re an insperation to many including me.
R J Evans
March 12th, 2010 at 4:54 pm

Thanks, Mnof – this is a really cool swansong from Triond and I am flattered by your comments.

I guess both Triond and I moved on but in different directions. I could have just left my articles on here to accrue but that just didn’t sit right so they all had to go.

Let me wish you luck with Triond. Sure there will be other big dogs around for you to compete with – and thanks for the competition too…! In some ways our different styles and articles did complement the other!

Best of luck for the future – both on Triond and beyond….
Mark Gordon Brown
March 12th, 2010 at 5:19 pm

Hat’s off to you Mn, I was really expecting something else when I opened this article. It is very good, sure it won’t get you the revenue that the Depp Article did but I suspect that you had other motives in writing it than mere busloads of hits.
Theresa Johnson
March 12th, 2010 at 6:20 pm

Mnof, I would have to say this is by far my favorite article of your’s that I have read. Other than maybe the anthologies, but this sounded honest. way to go.
BradONeill
March 12th, 2010 at 6:24 pm

you give him way too much credit mark. This guy is a charleton of the first order. He is exploiting the situation like he would if Brittney spears had been killed in a car wreck even if she hadn’t.

By the way it was a great article MN and a fitting farewell to one of the triond greats. Maybe some one will come along gunning for your glory now.
Abby Rose
March 12th, 2010 at 6:26 pm

Very good article. I do agree that RJ is an amazing author and that he will be missed.
Mike1229
March 12th, 2010 at 7:31 pm

RJ is elite. he will be missed
B Nelson
March 12th, 2010 at 8:06 pm

RJ did some unique links. He must have spent ages looking for some of the great photos he used. His links might not have been to everyones liking, but nobody forced anyone to look at the links. I found them to be entertaining, and remeber the educational info about how sunflower seeds were in geometric patterns.
Anyhow this is a great tribute to a great guy.. who hopefully will go on to great things… or come back and hang around with the rest of us.
Joe Dorish
March 12th, 2010 at 8:29 pm

Not surprised the way the pay rate has tanked lately around here. Wouldn’t even call Triond a publishing site but a content site. I’ve been here for over 3 years now and honestly the quality really hasn’t changed though 3 years ago an actual human did review stuff and it could take a week to get content live.

Unless Triond is really giving you big bonuses you could make a lot more $$$ elsewhere if you are getting tons of views. At least one guy on AC is pulling down $2,000 a month just on views alone and they must pay him upfront too. He averages 1 million views a month and they pay $2.00 per 1,000 for that many views.

Good luck to RJ actually learned a lot from reading his articles!
RS Wing
March 12th, 2010 at 9:18 pm

Well written and genuine, fine tribute.
Knarf Sewob
March 13th, 2010 at 3:51 am

Mnof, I\\\’ve been speaking to R J and he has been secretly training me in the ways of the Evans. Mark my words, Dichotomy, your days at the top are numbered!
Inna Tysoe
March 13th, 2010 at 4:21 am

Fine tribute.

Inna
David Crerand
March 13th, 2010 at 7:20 am

A well written tribute and an interesting insight into your own motivations. Recognition is the first element in the learning process. Well done.
Darla Smith
March 13th, 2010 at 8:39 am

An excellent tribute to a great writer.
martie
March 13th, 2010 at 9:12 am

I have always felt that Triond was a sight to learn and improve your writing. There are many sites that pay better and the reason for that is that keep the writing quality higher deliberately. It serves their purpose. However, without Triond some of us would be less successful on those other sites.
A W H
March 13th, 2010 at 3:43 pm

Great article. So sad that he’s leaving.. I really enjoyed his articles. Would be interesting to know for how long time he’s been here, and how much he’s earned. i agree with you when you say that everybody wants to be him. He’s a triond god!

Best regards,
Anders
Patrick Regoniel
March 13th, 2010 at 8:32 pm

I agree with your observations. I always find RJ in the hot content list and was a bit intrigued on how he does it; and Mnofdichotomy too. I suspect you’re doing a lot of promotions? Although I also find my articles once in a while in the Hot Content list and even three articles in the Popular Content at the same time, I could not write at par with RJ in the Hot Content list.You would never know how articles will be taken by the readers; but RJ seems to know what readers want.
Despite being a member of other writing sites and writing in my own website, I like being here in Triond because of “Friends” I’ve never met and because Triond caters to any topic I’d post which I like very much.
Well, if the Alpha male is out, a new Alpha male comes.
Anuradha Ramkumar
March 14th, 2010 at 9:14 am

RJ is indeed an inspiration to me too. I’ve seen lots of his articles in the hot content list and have envied his writing style. A fitting farewell to Evans.
MartineP
March 14th, 2010 at 1:40 pm

Great tribute. I might not always agree on all the ethics on all articles your wrote, but I have to say that this is one proofs you are capable of writing good stuff as well. Keep it up. Do not mind the critics and the threats of the jealous ones. All authors have the right to make their own ethics and others have to right to agree or not. Triond is a good learning site indeed, but it is not dying indeed. Those who write for the big bucks will not remain and those who like to publish as a hobby will remain, even if it is to work on better things behind the screens.
James DeVere
March 14th, 2010 at 9:56 pm

I think it’s all great – j
James DeVere
March 14th, 2010 at 9:57 pm

You might just be the new RJ . Go for it ! j
mr. nay
March 16th, 2010 at 10:00 am

I am one who does not agree with this tribute. I found RJ to be rude most of the time, and unwilling to accept any pointers. A writer who is not willing to polish his work, nor to accept helpful criticism about structure and/or the integrity of sentence logic, does not deserve to have such work regarded as professional. Originality and number of views, as you should know, has nothing to do with quality. Nor does the Hot Content list on triond have anything to do with real success.
I
chitragopi
March 17th, 2010 at 12:28 pm

I got carried away by the title. Triond flourishing is good news to me. Tks.
Uma Shankari
March 18th, 2010 at 6:43 pm

I just chanced upon this article. I agree with you when you say even if Triond had better standard in the good old days, it wasn’t the TRiond’s standards that did it. There were fewer people in the initial days and they had networked into a tight supportive community, so they had more views from within. But as the community grew in size they didn’t bother to befriend the newer entrants. I used to comment on RJ’s articles (and yours too) but never got anything in return. Too big for small fries? But then they also cribbed about dwindling views from Triond. You get just as much as you put in, isn’t it?
Verniel Cutar
April 19th, 2010 at 8:57 pm

Just talked to RJ today, and I can’t believe I’m late with the updates. I just found out he left the site. lol

I ‘blamed’ him for leaving, but I respect the decision.

Good luck RJ!

Triond newbies will never know about the “pioneering days” of Triond, but at least we can recreate it for them, right? We are privileged to work alongside the best home based writers in the world. And I’m sure more RJ’s will emerge.

Some of the originals are still here. Some have moved on.

We who continue to make Triond come alive should get ready to take this thing to the next level.

Cheers for the next 100,000,000 views!