More Financial and Leadership Turmoil at The Arena Group

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   PaulGoodman67posted 3 months ago

   This news was originally posted by chef-de-jour as a comment on another thread but I thought it worthy of its own thread.
   
   Essentially, as far as I can make out:
   
   TAG has missed an interest payment on their loan, a big financial no-no.
   The stock price has dived.
   The interim CEO has resigned.
   TAG looks like it's headed for restructuring.
   
   Links:
   
   Arena Group plunges for a second day after failing to make payments
   
   US Securities and Exchange Commission Form 8-K

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      chef-de-jourposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      I fear reading TAG's pages, I squirm and hate the playbook nonsense, sloganeering and corporatespeak but hell TAG owns HP and that directly affects my reaction when it comes to writing and publishing and earning.
      
      TAG has fallen into the slime pit.
      
      By all accounts it has until March 29th to pay the debt off and gain the confidence of the loaning company. I guess that's a common theme in the business world - could be HP is about to be swallowed by an even bigger company if TAG can't raise the money?
      
      Any young crazy entrepeneurs out there want to grab HP and formulate a new writing site?

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         Miebakagh57posted 3 months agoin reply to this

         That we shall see. As it affect us writers.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

         There are so many possibilities that any speculation is idle.
         
         However, I suspect that the best outcome would be that they just renegotiate the terms of the loan.
         
         Of more concern, though, would be if there's pressure to cut losses and increase revenue. That could be bad for us, depending on where the axe falls. HP has not been doing at all well recently, even if Sports Illustrated appears to have been doing worse.
         
         It's difficult to know without more info and I won't pretend that I know much about the ins and outs of corporate debt.

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            Solarasposted 3 months agoin reply to this

            Absolutely there is pressure to increase revenue and cut losses. The consulting firm has been hired specifically to do just that.
            
            Our terms of service are open to change at any given time without notice. That makes HP a prime target for the first actions.
            
            Maybe they are happy to dump SI.com if it's not a money maker. James Heckman wants control of it from authentic brands.
            
            Also so if they file for bankruptcy protection we would be screwed. When Sears filed for protection i lost $3400. Staff kept saying there was a malfunction and we would be paid shortly. The malfunction was with incompetent management.
            
            This is very concerning.

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               PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

               Well, they're unlikely to say: the solution here is less adverts, that's for sure! Hehe!
               
               I guess the financial troubles might explain why nothing more than the bare essentials happen here nowadays. HP blog abandoned, little social media participation, no updating of the featured writers on the signout page, etc. Maybe the comments going too could be related.
               
               When things get broken, they don't get fixed unless they're deemed absolutely essential it seems. It's been going on for some time but seems to have intensified.

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                  Miebakagh57posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                  Obviously. We raised the issue of updating the blog, and others. And TAG ignored all our questions.

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                     Solarasposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                     They see no value in those things. Flooding the site with fake "news" that will melt your heart and make you scream hysterically is where they find value these days.

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                        Miebakagh57posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                        No wonder many creditable and worthy authors have left hubpages.                             Critically, even one of their own Samartha Cubbison, gone for good, or with the wind.

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                  Solarasposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                  Authentic Brands has been making good money off of licensing Sports Illustrated goodies such as online casinos, vitamins, clothing etc...
                  
                  I doubt that TAG has made much of a profit from their licensing agreement though.  The swim wear they hawk might make $100K a year (per anonymous source/employee).  The licensing agreement cost them $45 million up front, plus $15 million a year for licensing the name. This does not include the cost of tech staff, writers and their travel expenses, photographers/photography (they no longer have staff photographers), models and editors.
                  
                  SI only has revenue of $80million. The average SI employee earns $118K, after paying interest on the $45 million loan and licensing (annually $8M and $15M respectively), it looks like a bad investment to me.
                  
                  TAG would do well to sell their contract to license SI to another company, if they have that right and can find a buyer. Heckman is attempt a shareholder takeover of SI, I would assume from Authentic Brands.
                  
                  Vanity Fair has an interesting article that leans into Maven/TAG management style, respect for writers or lack there of, and the 5 Hour Energy guy, short lived CEO.
                  
                  https://www.vanityfair.com/news/sports- … ted-future
                  
                  LA Times wrote this:
                  
                  "As a result of this arrangement, Sports Illustrated branding is now showing up both on dietary supplements and on thousands of hastily produced blog posts. After all, on the publication side of the business, “Arena’s options for generating revenue are somewhat limited, encouraging a daily churn of articles,” as the New York Times reports. “Hundreds of sites dedicated to individual teams — helmed by non-staff writers paid small sums — were created with little oversight and diluted what it meant for ‘Sports Illustrated’ to write something.” Arena has continued to fire editors and staffers, while enforcing weekly quotas of article production. (On the licensing side, business is booming — ABG says it has doubled Sports Illustrated’s earnings. That’s a lot of Sports Illustrated-brand diet pills. It also launched an online SI-branded casino in 2021.)
                  
                  In other words, Sports Illustrated is run by not one but two vampiric entities with markedly little interest in the magazine’s erstwhile core mission — you know, the thing that made it so beloved in the first place, doing good sports journalism — and every interest in maximizing profits at every opportunity. And they have squeezed the lemon until it was dry."
                  
                  It all sounds very familiar.  Vampiric overlords, with no respect for what made the products they acquired valuable.  I doubt the consulting firm that is functioning as CEO has any interest in quality or integrity.  They were hired to improve the bottom line.

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      Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Boy, oh boy! This is not good news and a bad example of corporate America.

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      jansharesposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Dang! Not good tea. What will happen next. Lord.

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   FatFreddysCatposted 3 months ago

   Hoo-boy. That doesn't sound good.
   
   Titanic, meet iceberg.

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   eugbugposted 3 months ago

   I guess they could stoke the boiler with deck planks?

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      PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

      We'll need you and Paola Bassanese to organize the Irish dancing before the ship goes down!

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   Miebakagh57posted 3 months ago

   The first link did not open. But the second tells me it's very bad for  TAG.

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   Rupert Taylorposted 3 months ago

   I'll display my tenuous grasp on modern capitalism by asking if TAG's products are so bad why would anybody lend it money? The only thing I know for certain about capitalism is that it enables a miniscule number of people to make vast gobs of money while everybody else gets screwed.

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      PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

      I believe that venture capitalism works through money being lent to multiple companies with the knowledge that most will fail but a few will eventually become super-profitable.
      
      HP got a lot of investment loans in its early days but struggled later on, which is why it ultimately ended up part of TAG. That's what I gleaned from interviews with Paul E back in the day.
      
      At an individual level, though, I agree that we're increasingly getting screwed by the big tech companies. We're headed for some kind of neo-feudalism if things continue like this.

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   Dean Traylorposted 3 months ago

   So, as Hubbers, where do we go from here? Time to save our articles for the eventual fall?

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      Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Dean, I would back up my articles. HP is not transparent, and we can only assume that the information from the financial news is accurate.

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   Thomas Swanposted 3 months ago

   " and every interest in maximizing profits at every opportunity. And they have squeezed the lemon until it was dry" .... sounds familiar.

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   Daughter Of Maatposted 3 months ago

   Dumb it down for me Paul... give it to me straight... is it time to jump ship?

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      Miebakagh57posted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Likely. But should she  arrived at port first?

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      PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

      I can't tell anyone what to do. I've always previously had confidence that the site could bounce back but events of the past few years leave me concerned.
      
      Three thoughts about jumping ship:
      
      1. It's difficult, if not impossible for us to know what the latest happenings at a corporate level will have on us. There's likely a lot going on behind the scenes that isn't apparent. It's certainly not good news but not easy to know what will manifest.
      2.Where are we to jump to? I don't think it's too hard for poets and those who don't care about making money to find alternative venues. However, for those wanting to earn passive(ish) income from practical articles, I'm not sure of an equivalent site. The publishing world is also a bit spooked by the developments with AI.
      3. I won't leave as long as I'm still earning here, even if the earnings are measly nowadays. I still get paid and I haven't written much new in recent times (though I have down some updating).
      
      It's all a bit depressing to be honest. I don't even check my earnings as regularly as I used to, as it feels like a downer.

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      Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      The Internet has changed for writers. It's no longer a free-for-all. HP has changed with it, making bad decisions. Hindsight is lovely, isn't it?
      
      With that, there are HP writers making good money currently, taking a proactive approach to the situation. I have changed my strategy here, and I am seeing positive results.

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         Solarasposted 3 months agoin reply to this

         What is your new stratagem?

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   FatFreddysCatposted 3 months ago

   I don't know about anyone else, but I've been on a self-imposed hiatus from posting new articles since late last year.
   
   I've always said that I treat this site as a hobby. I try not to obsess about my daily views and constantly updating articles to stay "evergreen" and other minutiae, but as 2023 came to a close, it became impossible to ignore that things around here were trending downward, and starting to turn into a frustrating grind with little, if any, reward.
   
   I've never been one to get thousands of views. I've always been small potatoes, and I've always been fine with that.  Whenever I posted a new article, I would usually get a few hundred views on it before its freshness wore off, and by then I was already publishing the next one. (Yeah, I know, it may not be the most profitable way to do things around here, but it's always worked for me...until recently.)
   
   Something definitely changed in mid-2023. No matter what I posted, or how much self promotion I did, my new articles started crashing into an invisible brick wall immediately after publishing.
   
   The last new article I wrote, which was published on Nov. 26, 2023, currently boasts a grand total of... 64 views as of this morning (and 10 of those views were probably from me while I was writing it!).
   
   When things reach that point, is it even worth the f**king trouble anymore?
   
   My earnings (which, of course, are in the toilet) aren't even my main concern. I just want my stuff to be read! It kills me to see a piece I put a lot of work into simply keel over and die.
   
   Soooo... when things stops being fun for me, it's time to put on the brakes for a while.
   
   Obviously the site's Powers That Be are having their own troubles, so it seems like a good time to sit back and see how things shake out, rather than continue to be frustrated by things I can not control.
   
   In the meantime, I'll keep making backup copies of my articles (a project that I've been neglecting for some time) and hope for some kind of turn-around in the near future.
   
   If that doesn't happen...well hey, it's been fun, everybody (tips hat).

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      PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Things must be bad if FF's Cat is making long somber assessments rather than pithy quips!
      
      I think you're right that the decline in fun is maybe the worst thing.

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      jansharesposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      I love your attitude, FatFreddysCat. You're an OG around here so your analysis and outlook are valuable. I feel the same way about taking an hiatus and wait and see. I recently published an article after a very long break and ask myself the same: was it worth it, especially when an editor is telling me what I need to do with it before it gets kicked off the niche site. Also, recently, Nell Rose posted something that really hit me: "know your worth." HP is really making us discern what that means.

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      WriterJanisposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Oh that has to be painful to have only received 64 views. Has it made it to a niche site yet?

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         FatFreddysCatposted 3 months agoin reply to this

         Yes it has, but that hasn't had any effect.

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            PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

            Apart from after the Panda update and a 15 month period in 2019-2020, HP was always pretty good for ranking. It was one of the main appeals of publishing here. Nowadays it's terrible and it just seems to get worse.
            
            I took a hiatus around the same time as you when I realized that the new stuff I was publishing would do okay for a while but then get put in its place by the next big Google update. This was on top of the older material suffering.
            
            How the dynamics of HP and TAG are interrelated is difficult to know, though. Both could be dragging down the other.
            
            It's difficult to see any major changes happening while there is such turmoil going on. AI has also created an environment of uncertainty, as no one's entirely sure exactly how it will affect publishing and search, only that it's likely to be radical.

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               Solarasposted 3 months agoin reply to this

               One prediction, shared by Paul Edmondson several months ago on X, (aka Twitter) was that once AI got into full swing, it would make obsolete Google Search Console, the most lucrative piece of Google's business.  So they have the tiger by the tail.  It remains to be seen what Google will do to monetize AI search.
               
               Maybe Google search will go the way of Netscape and Napster. Maybe we will all have to purchase and maintain our own AI personal assistant from Google.
               
               It seems to me that TAG management chose to try to do an end-run around Google, by ignoring the rules of Google SEO, ie high quality posts and low promotion in favor of bringing in their own users via tiktok and Instagram views through News articles and interlinking between sites. 
               
               Their pitch at Whistler was that they would have their own trusted information ecosystem, and when people wanted to know something they would bypass Google and come straight to Maven properties to get their financial info (The Street), Sports info, Sports Illustrated, People stuff, Parade the Niche sites etc.
               
               The problem with all that is that they made the properties look junkie with ads, disrespected the value of a well written article by firing respected writers and demoralizing and slave driving those who remained.  Disrespected the rules of Google best practices in favor of a half baked scheme to corner the market on information with lower and lower quality information, that will melt your heart. Employed AI at SI and likely here as well.
               
               Someone must have had a fever dream that Rojo would become its own Facebook or Twitter, where everyone would gather to comment on TAG  articles and whatever.
               
               You can't buy struggling or failed media properties and turn them around by cutting already slashed budgets, staff and quality, while adding promotions to pay your personal bloated salary while not investing in promoting your properties.  If you build it, they will come.  If you degrade it, they will click the back button.
               
               Sadly, the new majority shareholder and former interim CEO, by the accounts of those in the know at SI, will have no problem employing AI to make content for TAG properties. He is not a Medici, Jeff Bezos  or any other patron of the arts.

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    Miebakagh57posted 3 months ago

    The bottom line is HubPages wouldn't go out of business as feared by certain elements.                                           A good investor can acquire HP and turn things round.

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    Rupert Taylorposted 3 months ago

    Perhaps I'm stupid - I've heard it whispered - but I keep on writing and publishing here. My views have stayed up, I suspect because of new material. Can't say the same for earnings recently, but I put that down to the usual post-holiday doldrums.
    
    If the worst that is being predicted happens, I've still got a bunch of stuff in the hopper that can be reused somewhere else; if there is somewhere else.
    
    With the imminent demise of HubPages that has been regularly forecast over the last couple of years in mind I tried publishing on Medium. The results have been absolutely abysmal. Perhaps, it's the platform, or maybe the sort of stuff I write doesn't work there.
    
    A caveat - my knowledge and understanding of the dark arts of the internet can only be expressed as a negative value.

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       PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

       I experimented a lot when I started at Medium and came to believe that there are only maybe ten or a dozen topic areas that "work" there (e.g. politics, relationships, self-help, computer programming, etc).
       
       The current boss there seems particularly big on self-help.
       
       You can write great articles but if they fall outside those areas, the scope for success is limited.
       
       That said, Medium has generally been declining too, in my experience. I earn less than 25% of what I used to.
       
       Most of the best-performing writers who were there when I joined have since left.

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          Solarasposted 3 months agoin reply to this

          Where did they go?
          
          It seems the persecuted lady, whose name escapes me, made most of her money asking for Kofi and Patron funds, with a pitch about being an old lady who relied on patronage to survive.  I could write the same, if it weren't for the fact that poor people got no money but they got their pride. 
          
          It seems the most popular articles involved how to make money writing on Medium, the ultimate self help guide. I saw no point in writing for Medium once I understood how success was achieved there.

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    FatFreddysCatposted 3 months ago

    Well, this isn't exactly encouraging news:
    
    Sports Illustrated's entire staff was given pink slips today.
    
    https://deadline.com/2024/01/sports-ill … 235797884/

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       chef-de-jourposted 3 months agoin reply to this

       OOOOOoooh ecky thump.The plot thickens in the soup kitchen.
       
       Not sure how powerful the unions are in this fiasco but it looks like SI is doomed despite its iconic name, 70 years worth of top sports coverage going going gone. Transition time. Can TAG restructure before the vultures descend? March 29th seems to be the deadline for payment?
       
       Make sure you back up your articles pronto then pray for a foolish giant to step in with ready cash?

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          SerenityHaloposted 3 months agoin reply to this

          Backing up articles is a smart idea. I do think more than likely HP will be bought by a new owner. This is an easy asset to add to an already established portfolio. It kind of self manages itself.
          
          I could also see HP getting sold off piecemeal, say the best niches go forward and the ones that aren’t performing at all, say get a couple of thousand views a month… get the axe.
          
          No telling what will happen, but save your articles. Arena has a tough chance of bouncing back. I’m inclined to think things might improve with new ownership.

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             Madeleine Claysposted 3 months agoin reply to this

             I, too, think things could improve with new ownership. In fact, I think things could improve significantly with new ownership. This could be a blessing in disguise for many of us. Let's hope and pray for the best.
             
             In the meantime, as many have said, it's a good idea to make sure all our articles are backed up.
             
             Regardless of what happens, I'm grateful for all I've learned as a writer on this platform --from other writers as well as HP staff. That in and of itself has made my time on this platform worthwhile. It's something I treasure and hope to never take for granted.

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                SerenityHaloposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                Well said, Madeleine. This has been an amazing and wild ride.

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          2. STAFF

             Matt Wellsposted 3 months agoin reply to this

             HubPages is here to stay.

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                ControlledChaos1posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                I hope so. There's definitely a place for sites like HP on the internet.

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                Miebakagh57posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                Thanks, Matt Wells, for banishing the fears of many here.                                      Nevertheless, backing up one's created contents, on any external media, is a most.

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                EricDockettposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                I appreciate the attempt at rallying the troops, but can you please elaborate a little? Traffic and earnings are down the tubes, and the current news cycle is packed with some pretty alarming stories.
                
                Going forward, what is going to change? Because, right now, things seem pretty dismal.

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                Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                Matt, I agree with Eric. A quick post that says HP is here to stay doesn't have much weight with the recent news reports. The troops need more than a few words. It appears pretty alarming and depressing. Can you fill the vacuum with details? Tell us how HP plans to turn this dire situation around.

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       theraggededgeposted 3 months agoin reply to this

       Blimey. Need to catch up with my back-ups.
       
       I suppose I'd better go back to Medium.

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          PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

          I've kept things ticking over at Medium, although it's pretty dismal there too. Perhaps not quite as depressing as HP but still not good.
          
          I still like it that you can earn some passive income here but the payouts just keep dwindling.
          
          I'm hoping that AI provides some opportunities because the future of online publishing seems very uncertain nowadays.

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    Rupert Taylorposted 3 months ago

    Bev - Good luck with Medium. What do your Tarot cards say about that? Over the last two months, I have posted 15 articles there and I've earned three (3) cents.

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       theraggededgeposted 3 months agoin reply to this

       I had one article earn over $760 and many over $100. I just lost interest in writing  for the Medium audience. HP suits my lazy schedule.
       
       Edit: I used to earn around $30 per day here, sometimes a lot more with Amazon sales. Even as views fell, I still managed a few hundred per month. The day before yesterday, with the majority of my articles on network sites, I earned under $4. Who wants to stay on the page with all those stupid adverts?

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    viryaboposted 3 months ago

    This is just so sad.
    
    For a long while, I knew something wasn’t going right and I had to brace myself, incase of any eventuality, and seek other alternatives. This basket is riddled with holes!
    
    I started getting wary about incessant advices to updates. Update? How many times? They led nowhere! I became disinterested and started to seek other avenues.
    
    For the first time in years, I didn’t reach payout and that is so disheartening, but then, it is what it is.
    
    I just wish they’d let us know what’s really happening.

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       Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

       It is sad; if the headlines are correct, we know what's happening. Wes Anderson says it well in "Fantastic Mr. Fox": "If what I think is happening is happening, it better not be." https://youtu.be/DqS0MaoozCM?si=zbCcih4XuRRp3d9I

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          viryaboposted 3 months agoin reply to this

          Good one
          So apt.

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    jansharesposted 3 months ago

    Oh boy. Just came out of session and saw the news trending on X. (Sigh). We are peanuts compared to SI. I hope we hear something soon. How do we back up articles? The easy version, please.

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       Madeleine Claysposted 3 months agoin reply to this

       Here's how I do it:
       
       -open article
       -insert flashdrive
       -select "Save as"
       -select flashdrive (as location), ensure File name is title of article, and save as Webpage, HTML only
       -click Save
       -repeat for each article

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          jansharesposted 3 months agoin reply to this

          Perfectly simple. Thanks, Madeleine.

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       eugbugposted 3 months agoin reply to this

       I save the Hubpages "author view" version using "save as" in Firefox. (probably a similar option in other browsers). However I discovered that when I opened the saved files, although photos could be viewed in articles, clicking "source" under images didn't bring up the link to where the images were sourced one (if a link was included at design time). That would be a problem if you needed to included those links to comply with licencing if you publish elsewhere or source a higher resolution version of an image. So a couple of months ago I started saving the published version which does show the links (but turn on an adblocker  beforehand to remove clutter). Articles can be saved as PDF files by printing to PDF, but images aren't always saved, depending on browser and save options, and if they are, they're frequently split over two pages because there aren't page breaks in HTML AFAIK.

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          Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

          What about using DropBox, though it does cost?

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             eugbugposted 3 months agoin reply to this

             I backup articles to the hard drive on my laptop. I backup to an external hard drive too and I also have Google Drive setup so that it behaves like DropBox, iCloud or any of the other cloud services. So I when I save locally all my documents are uploaded and synced automatically. I also save all my documents to an old laptop occasionally, so that's four locations where everything is stored. I'm not sure about the cost of DropBox, I presume they give so many GB of free space? Google Drive give 15 GB free and you can get an additional 15 GB every time you use a different Google account (I have my main account setup to sync photos from my phone and another account for documents from the laptop. Microsoft Onedrive is another option. They give you 5 GB free. The problem isn't so much finding a place to store articles, it's going to be the weeks of time it would take recreating them by copying and pasting text and images onto another website. I've tried publishing a home and garden article on my blog which Hubpages demoted from Dengarden due to low traffic and Google didn't even bother indexing it.
             My 133 saved articles take up about 2 GB of space. That's on average 15 MB per article which seems like a lot considering I compress photos before adding them to articles. Must be a lot of auxiliary HTML crap and JavaScript in there.

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                Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                Eugene, Okay. This is helpful. I am going to check out Google, though I do have an external drive as well.

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                jansharesposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                Helpful.

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             theraggededgeposted 3 months agoin reply to this

             I have everything on Dropbox. My photos upload automatically from my phone, my articles, saved images, scanned artwork, documents (house, cars, dogs), everything. I also have a family account so six of us use it, so my kid in Australia uploads pics and videos of the grandchildren. My other kid down the road does the same. My third kid upstairs can save all her uni work and streaming stuff, and my partner keeps a vast collection of old Formula 1 photos.
             
             I couldn't live without it. So if anything happened to my laptop, tablet, or phone at least I won't lose my data, and neither will any other family member if they are sensible enough to save to a DropBox folder. At £20 per month, it's absolutely worth it to me.

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                Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                Thanks, Bev.

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                   Gregory DeVictorposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                   Kenna, BusinessInsider.com does a comprehensive review of DropBox. You might want to check out the review to get more info. I'm considering using DropBox myself.

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                      Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                      Thanks, Gregory! I'll check it out.

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                         Gregory DeVictorposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                         You don't need a subscription to Business Insider either because it is free. I read it almost every day. Great articles too.

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                            Miebakagh57posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                            Give me a link. Thanks.

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                            Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                            Gregory, It looks like an excellent site. I use the free version of DropBox. I plan to upgrade soon.

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                jansharesposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                I've had Dropbox on my phone for years but used it only twice, years ago, to save tai chi videos. I had no idea it costs anything.

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                   PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                   I've used Dropbox a lot. It's great for transferring files to other people or devices but I wouldn't generally recommend it for storage.
                   
                   I use the free version and it's easy to run out of space, then you can't use it for its main purpose, which is transferring data.

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                      jansharesposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                      Thanks, Paul.

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                      eugbugposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                      Dropbox only give 2 GB free though. Google Drive or Drive I think it's called now gives 15 GB free per Google account. I don't know whether there are any features of Dropbox that are better than those of Dropbox. Cloud versions of Google Drive files can't be opened in the Cloud because no applications are provided to allow this. However the local versions can, if applications are installed locally to allow that.

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                         theraggededgeposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                         I pay and have two terrabytes split between six family accounts. I've used it for storage for 17 years. It's saved me so many times, especially when setting up new laptops. I can access everything from anywhere, even someone else's computer.

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                            eugbugposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                            It depends really on the nature of what one wants to store. So for text, GBs are ok, but when you start wanting to store images or videos, the required storage space increases dramatically. I've used all the 15 GB up on the photos that get uploaded to Google Photos from my Android phone and I'm going to have to pay a subscription at some stage. For people with iPhones, iCloud is an option with the first 5 GB free.

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          jansharesposted 3 months agoin reply to this

          Thanks, Eugene.

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    Solarasposted 3 months ago

    It looks like 100 editors etc were also laid off from the other brands, in addition to the SI layoffs.

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    Solarasposted 3 months ago

    From Axios:
    
    What to watch: Simplify Inventions' deal to buy a majority stake in the Arena Group — which was expected to be finalized late last year — has yet to close.
    
    A source familiar with the deal told Axios that Simplify could explore ways to back away from the deal, if the ABG deal isn't resolved.
    
    If the deal between Simplify Inventions and the Arena Group were to fall through, it would leave the Arena Group in a perilous position.
    
    Its stock has plummeted from around $10 a share a year ago to under a dollar this week, and it currently has a market cap of $26 million.
    
    
    And This:
    
    The Arena Group executives were hoping to gain leverage over Authentic Brands Group (ABG) — the company that controls the Sports Illustrated brand license — by withholding the payment, sources told Axios. ABG called that bluff and now, dozens of people are out of jobs.
    
    So Bhargava sits on the board, but has not completed the purchase, and he can still back out, after having played chicken with Authentic Brands and lost the leverage and staff of SI.  WTF

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       PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

       This is a link to the Axios article: https://www.axios.com/2024/01/20/sports … al-layoffs
       
       There's definitely a lot of maneuvering going on at the corporate level with the outcome still unknown.
       
       For writers, I see it as a more complicated situation than just death or survival.
       
       If the site survives and views and earnings are virtually zero, it's not fit for purpose.
       
       If the site ends up bearing no resemblance to the one we joined, it may just be HP in name only.

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          Jan Stepanposted 3 months agoin reply to this

          I'd be utterly devastated if HubPages didn't make it through. It would be very tough to have done so much work for "nothing"...
          
          But my mindset is: where there's a will, there's a way. I hope AG and the people working with HubPages feel the same.

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             PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

             The way I see it: if there's a way, then willpower can often be an important factor. If there isn't a way, as happens sometimes, then willpower doesn't matter.
             
             That's why I see being able to accurately analyze something as important.
             
             It's a complicated situation, though, and we don't have enough information to make any accurate assessment of what's going to happen, in my opinion. Corporate politics, market shifts in publishing, and broader technological changes are all happening at once.
             
             Perhaps it sounds cautious but my approach is therefore to hedge my bets in this situation. I'm wary of putting lots of work in right now but happy to do a little just to keep things ticking over. I do still earn something even if it's dwindling.
             
             We're also just individuals here. If the current situation continues, I think most writers will continue to drift away if they haven't already, regardless of whatever you or I do.
             
             The main drama appears to be happening with Sports Illustrated, not HP, so I guess there is some hope.

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                Miebakagh57posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                Yes, to your last paragraphe.                                       I think that's the reason Matt Wells assured us that HubPages is here to stay.

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                   PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                   Any "hope" I feel is relative. At least HP is dying slowly and therefore there's (at least in theory) a chance of a cure being found. With Sports Illustrated, it seems to be imploding.
                   
                   What this all means for TAG, I don't know, but it can't be good.

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                      Solarasposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                      I don't know either, but if I understand what Bhargava was suggesting then this is how I think his plan works. 
                      
                      He likened his idea to buy into media as being the same as when old soap companies subsidized TV shows.  Hence the name soap opera.  In that era, every ad would be about the soap subsidizing the show, and it might begin with "Snowy Detergent presents The Guiding Light."
                      
                      In a modern era, he would have one of his inventions/companies subsidizing an online publication.  All the ads would promote his products.
                      
                      I don't see where we could get paid ad revenues from that.  Maybe I am mistaking what he was describing in that interview.  If someone gets something else from it, I'd love to know what they think.

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    Glenn Stokposted 3 months ago

    Matt, Some transparency from HubPages’ point of view would be appreciated since TAG recently lost rights to Sports Illustrated, their stock price (AREN) dropped from $16.50 to 80¢ in the past year, and they just announced a reduction of its workforce, firing over 100 employees.
    
    Source:
    
    Jan 18, 2024: The Arena Group Announces Workforce Reductions in Strategic Move to Transform the Business Model
    
    https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/ … ness-Model
    
    Jan 19, 2024: Arena Group's stock plummets over 30% after losing rights to Sports Illustrated, laying off staff
    
    https://www.morningstar.com/news/market … -off-staff

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    Rock_njposted 6 weeks ago

    Maybe HubPages will survive under TAG?
    
    Manoj Bhargava Invests $12 Million More in The Arena Group
    
    "The news of our demise is a little early. We’re not going anywhere." – Bhargava
    
    NEW YORK, February 14, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, The Arena Group (NYSE American: AREN) announced that its largest shareholder, Simplify Inventions, LLC, is increasing its investment in the company by providing an additional $12 million in equity at an 85% premium over yesterday’s closing stock price. This is intended to help sustain the company during its transformation. https://arenagroup.gcs-web.com/node/11216/html
    
    "This infusion of cash is needed to help The Arena Group transition to a profitable, multi-media business," said Bhargava. "The news of our demise is a little early. We’re not going anywhere."
    
    This new $12 million investment will raise Simplify’s equity stake to 54.5% of The Arena Group. This equity investment demonstrates Mr. Bhargava’s full faith in the continuing operations of The Arena Group and helps restore confidence of its shareholders and customers.
    
    The Arena Group continues to work with Authentic Brands Group ("Authentic"), the licensor of Sports Illustrated, to negotiate a new publishing license. There is an unresolved claim of $45 million against The Arena Group by Authentic. The Arena Group will continue to publish the print and digital editions of Sports Illustrated until this issue is resolved.
    
    The proposed merger between Bridge Media Networks and The Arena Group would form a new company, The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. The merger will accelerate the company’s planned expansion to a highly differentiated digital media portfolio that can create, distribute and monetize premium video content across television, digital and streaming. This unlocks significant revenue opportunities and will appeal to advertising partners as The Arena Group will be able to offer bespoke and integrated marketing opportunities.

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       PaulGoodman67posted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

       This is info from some weeks ago that you're copying and pasting. There was a discussion at the time about the related TAG press release, which chef-de-jour posted in a previous thread.
       
       You can interpret it how you wish.
       
       However, it's important to note that press releases inevitably tend to paint a rosier picture than news reports, as they're written by the company themselves.
       
       For sure, money has being pumped in to keep the company afloat while the various legal and other issues continue. Bhargava's longer term goal appears to be to move into video content. It's unclear what the future holds for HP.

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          Rock_njposted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

          Thanks for the info. Does anyone know if HubPages is a profitable unit within TAG. If it is, it will likely survive either under TAG or another owner that they sell it to.

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             PaulGoodman67posted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

             Most tech companies aren't profitable and depend on investment. I believe that HP falls into that category.
             
             It certainly struggled in the past even before the current turmoil. The only payout to investors that I'm aware of is when Maven took over and that wasn't big.
             
             Investment is much more important than profitability for its immediate survival, as I understand it. Online publishing is generally in a bad way for numerous reasons, including speculation on the imminent effects of AI.
             
             The future of the site essentially depends upon what investors see as the potential for future profitability. If it were already making a profit, there wouldn't be much of an issue, as you imply.
             
             My own suspicion is that TAG will survive but go in a different direction. I suspect that means the prospects aren't good for HP.

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    Miebakagh57posted 6 weeks ago

    Yes, the Arena Group, is in shamble. But Hubpages' Matt has assured us that hubpage will survived the storm.

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