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Professional
wrestling. The Internet. “Pro
Wrestling and the Internet”... Perhaps one of
the best combinations to come down the road since - well
since “Free music and the Internet” (sorry RIAA), or
most importantly “Free Porn and the Internet”. Well,
actually nothing compares to the latter, but that’s
another column for another website. Maybe a
website in Japan. Yeah that’s it...a website
where girls are being groped by weird anime tentacle waving
monsters that have unrealistically huge - um... never mind. I really need to get back to the subject at hand,
before the Feds swoop down on the Wrestlingmark.com
Worldwide Headquarters.
So
where was I? Ah yes. Wrestling and
the Internet. Obviously you understand the
value of the Web to wrestling fans. Here you
are. But what are you looking for when you go
to a wrestling site? Information for one. Entertainment as well.
Not to mention a
chance to interact with other fans, maybe buy some cool
merchandise. All in a concise, neat, easy to
follow design. That’s not too much to ask
for. Or is it? Much like the Web in general,
wrestling websites run the gamut from awesome to frustrating
to downright embarrassing. Many of these sites
are run by fans that just want to be a part of “Wrestling
Media”. There’s really not much point
criticizing these sites, because the folks that run these
sites mean well, they just don’t have much to say, or know
how to say it.
The
real focus of The Webstalker will be on Indy groups and
their websites. One of the biggest challenges
in Indy wrestling is promotion. You could have
the best roster out there, but if no one knows you are
putting on shows, there’s going to be problems. There’s
the old reliable tactics like putting signs in the
barbershop window, handing out flyers at Stop and Shop, or
for some lucky promotions, a TV show. But the
single most important promotional tool is the website. A typical scenario:
Indy fans are always
looking for shows to go to. Many are willing to
travel out of their own area to see a show. So
they go to Wrestlingmark.com, check the calendar, and see
that your promotion, the QPWF, is running a show on Friday
night at the Wiccan Temple in North Quiswell. Since
they’ve never heard of you, they go to your website to
check out your roster and past results. Unfortunately
they find a site full of really lame animated gifs, slow
loading flash graphics and a results page where the most
recent update is 1997. And you know what
happens? Their big giant Hawaiian shirt ends up
staying in the closet and they stay home watching Green
Acres reruns and eating a medium sized herd of cattle. And you the Indy promoter end up with lots of empty
seats, not to mention really poor popcorn sales.
Now
please understand this. I am not a web
designer. Just a longtime web surfer and
wrestling fan. I know what folks like me are
looking for in a website. I want Indy wrestling
to prosper. So before we start putting Indy
websites under the microscope, here’s what I’ll be
looking for:
1.
Overall site design is organized and thought out. If I can’t figure out where something is on your
site, I’m not hunting for it. I’m just
leaving.
2.
Where’s your next show? Why should I
be there? How much are the tickets? And
how in the blue hell do I find the damn Moose Lodge anyway?
3.
What happened at your previous shows? Give
me results and maybe a few tidbits about the matches and
storylines.
4.
In the name of the Immortal Haystacks Calhoun, would
you please tell me who your current belt holders are? And
I’d like a list of your previous belt holders. The
quest for the coveted belt is the foundation of wrestling
itself. Stress the importance of your titles,
and your history.
5.
The current roster. Current as in right
now. While it is interesting to know that Tammy
Sytch staggered through your promotion in 2001, and that
Sabu lost 4 pints of blood at VFW post 637 in ‘99, I
really want to know who’s working for you right now.
Some
other things that will get you bonus points in my book:
Ÿ
Lots
of photos of your workers and shows are always interesting. Unless of course you never learned how to resize
image files and that picture of Doctor Heresy will take some
guy on dialup 2 hours to download. We love the
Doc, but you get the idea.
Ÿ
A
forum is sometimes a nice feature. We know that
idiots can ruin things, but it can be a great place for your
fans to congregate.
Ÿ
A
selection of merchandise gives some credibility, and if you
have videos available for sale, that’s even better.
So
there you go. Never say I am not fair. There
are the groundrules. So Indy webmasters, take a
careful look at those sites of yours, because the Webstalker
will be there soon.
Coming
up in the next Webstalker report card, we look at 2
Massachusetts based promotions, including one that insists
on resizing my damn browser window. You know
who you are, and you might want to rethink that. So
until next time, consider me,
404’ed
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