• 1) My friend Laura decided to freak out when John Cena came out on the RAW show the night before, and spilled Coca Cola over everything I owned…including the printed Edge messages.
• 2) We couldn’t find Edge! We found Christian though, but by that the time, my friend had already done the damage.

However, this year, I plan on doing the project again, only this time, I’m going to do it in Miami at Wrestlemania 28! What’s even better is that it will be done at Edge’s VIP Axxess because yours truly managed to get tickets before they sold out! So the project this year is definitely a go! I am beyond excited for this, so I want you guys to send in as many things as possible- I plan on going all out for this, so the deal is this:

1) Send your messages/pics to either edgeproject@shirlshockedstudios.com or edgeuniversity@gmail.com
2) Spread the word!

It’s that simple. You got until March 15th to submit your messages, so make them good! ALL messages will be going to Edge at the VIP Axxess, and I will keep you up-to-date on how it goes!

I know there is a LOT of talk today about the US government legislation, SOPA, and some people don’t understand what it is about and how it affects fansite owners. Here’s a basic definition of the legislation (from BBC):

The proposed legislation is designed to tackle online piracy, with particular emphasis on illegal copies of films and other forms of media hosted on foreign servers.

The bills propose that anyone found guilty of streaming copyrighted content without permission 10 or more times within six months should face up to five years in jail.

The US government and rights holders would have the right to seek court orders against any site accused of “enabling or facilitating” piracy. This could theoretically involve an entire website being shut down because it contains a link to a suspect site.

Whether we like to admit it or not, we use photos from WWE and media from WWE without their permission. Whilst in some cases, they’ve said it’s OK to use, there is always to worry in the head of fansite owners that WWE will contact them with a “cease & desist” letter. At Wrestlemania time, this fear hits all-time highs, as it is well known that WWE attempts to shut down fansites. If SOPA and/or PIPA is put in place, this would give WWE permission to potentially put us fansite owners IN JAIL for using their stuff without permission. Let’s look at it from a logical perspective- you could be IN JAIL for having a FANSITE. Does that seem fair to you?

Don’t think that because this is a US law, it will not affect people outside of the US. All the rest of us, whether your British, German, or whatever, WILL be affected by this law. They could potentially block your site from the biggest demographic we reach- America. We could be sued by WWE for MILLIONS of dollars if this law is put in place. Your site that you’ve worked your ass on would be gone without a trace. This is why I have put MelinaPerezWeb.Com & April-Jeanette.Org on strike today, and I suggest you do too. Install the SOPA Strike WP Plugin- it will put your site on strike for 12 hours. If you put it on your site, you can show your audience what COULD happen if the law is put in place.

I’ve been wanting to write something like this for a long time. Fansites these days just seem to pop up out of nowhere and then fade into obscurity just as quickly. Why? There seems to be no fundamentals in regards to how to run a GOOD fansite. This is why I’ve decided to write an article about what makes a good fansite, and what you should and shouldn’t do in order to make it succeed. Some of the things I say may be controversial, but they’re based on both my views, the views of others who run websites and those who visit fansites.

Let’s start with the most basic of questions.

1) WHY ARE YOU OPENING THE SITE?
You need to have a reason to open the site. You’re going to be investing a lot of time in creating it. If your reason is either:

a) The subject you want to make a site on has JUST joined Twitter and you want a follow from them
b) You want to be “the first”
c) You want to be the “official fansite”

I suggest you stop right now. These three types of “site” are the worst. This is why:

- If you’re Fansite A, your site will never exist. Why? Because by the time you’ve created the fansite Twitter, you would have most likely got what you wanted which is a follow from your subject. Let’s give you an example in the form of TheaTrinidad.Org. On May 19th, they created their Twitter for their fansite, and their first tweet is asking their subject (Rosita) for a follow. She does just that and then boom. Nothing else happens after just TWO DAYS. No site was ever going to happen here. Try visiting TheaTrinidad.Org.

- If you’re Fansite B, you’re an example of a bandwagoner aka someone who simply makes a site to make themselves look like they’re on trend. The site comes out in poor quality and you won’t update much at all. Case & point is JamieKeyes.Com, which falls into Fansite B & C. They hastily open to show they’re the first Jamie Keyes fansite, and once she’s released from WWE, no more updates. There has been none since October LAST YEAR.

If you’re Fansite C, you’re opening for all the wrong reasons, as you will end up in the same direction as Fansite B. See previous example.

The banner above is just a preview. If you choose to order this layout, the navigation will be at the top of the layout and then the layout can be used for both Coppermine & WordPress designs. Interested in ordering? Email me via shirlz@shirlshockedstudios.com with the subject Rosita The Gamer Premade and then we’ll go from there.

Coppermine layouts are £7
Fansite style WordPress layouts are £10
Professional style WordPress layouts are £12