Has anybody else stopped to wonder, “Whatever happened to Themestream”?
If the name “Themestream” doesn’t mean anything to you, let me explain.
At the turn of the millennium, Themestream was a “new” style of website which invited people to share their hobbies and passions by writing about them. I think it was probably intended to be a communal fount of wisdom, much like Wikipedia or About.com but it soon developed a life of its own.
An Early Form of Blogging?
Not surprisingly, the site attracted thousands of writers from across the world, delighted to find a place where they could have the pleasure of publishing what they wanted, when they wanted. Unlike traditional print media, your work could be seen immediately, and you could receive feedback within seconds of making your content live. Before long, contributors found regular followers and it became a thriving community.
And not only was Themestream free to use … they actually PAID contributors, on a pay per click basis. In other words, each time somebody read your post, you made a few cents. The more clicks on your post, the more money you made.
Those cents quickly added up. It helped that we’re talking American cents, and at the time the Aussie dollar was worth only half as much as the American counterpart. So a payment of $50 US became $100 AUD – awesome!
At first I wrote for Themestream purely for the fun of it. It sounds just like blogging, doesn’t it?!
The Problems With Themestream
However I must confess … that all too soon, like most of the Themestream (and now blogging) community, I became devoted to the almighty click.
I began writing posts purely with the goal of making people WANT to click through and read, so that I could make money – rather than what *I* wanted to write about. I quickly discovered that sex sells (not that I wrote about it!) – oh, and posts about budget Christmas gift ideas, and how to make money on Themestream, were also veritable goldmines.
I obsessed over stats and comments, and got cranky when I discovered that my subscribers were not always advised when I posted new articles (just like we whinge about the poor reach on Facebook pages today …). It was a constant challenge, trying to figure out new and creative ways to lure readers!
We had to rely solely on our titles, our topics, and the quality of our content to attract readers, as there was no capacity for uploading images like bloggers do today.
Whatever Happened to Themestream?
Themestream made money from the ads which appeared on the site; but although it became popular with writers the world over, readers outside the Themestream writing community rarely stopped by.
I guess it’s not surprising then that when the dot com bubble burst in 2001, Themestream was one of the casualties. Luckily I managed to copy and save most of my posts before they disappeared into cyberspace forever.
Thinking back on my love of Themestream, it’s really not surprising that I wound up with my own blog!
Do you remember Themestream?!
Linking up with My Home Truths.