WHY IS THE OFFICIAL MEAT LOAF WEBSITE SO TERRIBLE?

[CarylB]

Originally Posted by Breeze

I vividly recall Vee's death. It was so sad. We made a huge online card for her - which is still up I imagine. I think when I came to this site that is how you or someone found my pic I had taken with Meat b/c I posted it on her card.

The Tribute Book on Republic of Loafdom? That's still there .. I may not be able to update the site but I still keep it intact on the internet Everyone who wanted to be part of it had a page, sometimes two, and recounted some fond memory they had of Vee. We used a photo of the writer whenever possible, even had a contribution from Meat's daughter Pearl. The whole book was printed off and sent for her daughter, hence the Flower Fairies theme to all the pages
http://www.republic-of-loafdom.com/m...ainTribute.htm

And yes, you're right. She showed so many kindnesses to so many people, and for her the site was a labour of love; a warm and happy place where so many fans met and made so many friends, and spent many happy hours :)

Then what site am I thinking of?? , I believe it was called The Room at the Top ]( reference to one of Meat's songs of course). Wezzie ran it ( I thought) .

Room at The Top WAS Vee's site and the OIFC, and Wez managed the chatroom there. She inherited the site from Vee, but like me was I think unable to handle the technical side of updating it. It moved to a main holding page after a while, and of course Wez has since died.

[Breeze]

Room at The Top WAS Vee's site and the OIFC, and Wez managed the chatroom there. She inherited the site from Vee, but like me was I think unable to handle the technical side of updating it. It moved to a main holding page after a while, and of course Wez has since died.

__________________

Caryl,
I spoke to Wezzie a few years ago, not sure but it's been a while, maybe between 07/10. not sure my memory is not good at all. I really do have issues with my memory so 20 yrs ago seem like yesterday to me. She did remember me but did not sound good. I did not know she had died. Wezzie helped make sure I got to meet Meat In St. Louis in late 99 ( where the pic on Vee's page is from).Where it not for her I'd never gotten to see him at that Meet and Greet. She made me feel welcome and got to meet the whole group of Loafers at the show( well the ones who came to dinner) .
This is so sad.

Thanks for putting up the online message card for Vee . I just went through it all and it seems like yesterday.

[JennaG]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

I signed up for updates long ago- I've never gotten a thing from the official site. I'm on Facebook, though as I mentioned above, I know many people who aren't.

That's strange because I've nearly always had notifications of tours to my email address. They might be a little slow but I always get them.

I once read an article which suggested that social media was 'killing' the more conventional website as more and more people are preferring to set up Facebook pages for their business. Whilst I think that standard websites still have their uses in eCommerce, I can see exactly why people are preferring Facebook pages for other kind of sites. For starters, they're a lot cheaper than having to pay for a website which is why I think so many people are preferring to go down that route. Whilst money might not be an issue for an artist of Meat's calibre, there are other advantages of this format that may make this the desirable way to go for him. I'd imagine that the main one would be the ease of how he can interact with his fans himself and I think we're in a fortunate position that he's willing to use that platform to engage with us. I also think that Facebook pages offer non-technical people a way of updating their customers themselves without having to ask and wait for a website manager to do it and because of that ease, we're more likely to see frequent updates than we would have done if Meat's attention was more focused on a standard website.

I appreciate that not everyone likes Facebook but I think in Meat's case, it's a platform that allows him to do the things he considers to be important in an easy way.

It is a shame that the official website is the way that it is and I think a fan could quite easily do a better job but I think that would open up a fresh can of worms for Meat.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by JennaG

That's strange because I've nearly always had notifications of tours to my email address. They might be a little slow but I always get them.

Well, I guess they've either lost my address, or the notifications went to my spam folder. In either case, not very effective. It doesn't really matter though (for me), because I get plenty of news elsewhere.

Originally Posted by JennaG

I once read an article which suggested that social media was 'killing' the more conventional website as more and more people are preferring to set up Facebook pages for their business

I think that's true, and you state good reasons why. As I said, it is an effective tool. But I think he's still missing out from reaching a large number of people, not to mention people of a certain age *ahem* who don't go online at all, or very little (but that's a different story).

[duke knooby]

i dont do facebook, so i'm glad there are places like this to get up to date info, and opinions, banter etc with like minded people.

[nikox1]

All this website lark aside, where is the new album?

[JennaG]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

As I said, it is an effective tool. But I think he's still missing out from reaching a large number of people, not to mention people of a certain age *ahem* who don't go online at all, or very little (but that's a different story).

I think that it's very difficult to reach out to everyone, particularly those who aren't online in an easy way and I don't really think there is a solution to the matter. There will always be some people who can't or won't use whatever method Meat primarily uses to update and interact with his fanbase. For example, I know that some people find forums too difficult and complicated to use and they're not always easy to browse if your only Internet access is via a smartphone.

[nikox1]

Mlukfc is basically Meats official website!!! And why not? Makes sense

[CarylB]

Originally Posted by nikox1

Mlukfc is basically Meats official website!!! And why not? Makes sense

And the front page still shows Rocktellz & Cocktails

[Evil Ernie]

Originally Posted by nikox1

Mlukfc is basically Meats official website!!! And why not? Makes sense

There's a website?

[Adje]

I think we're kinda losing the point here. Yes there are other ways to reach out to fans and other people. That's not the issue.

Fact of the matter is that we have an artist here that does have an official website. It's already there and people can see it. And it's listed as the official website so it reflects on the artist as well. Why not make it, at least, look like an official website. Now it uses a blown-up picture of Vegas. I mean even that image looks poor, pixelated and blurry. How hard is it to put up a sharp image?

So the question is not if there are other ways to reach out to people, the question is why there was made no effort, not even the slightest, to the existing and available site.

Even if Meat doesn't want to invest in it, it's 30 seconds of work to upload a decent main page image of Meat Loaf instead of that dreadful low quality image, that it has now.

[nikox1]

Originally Posted by CarylB

And the front page still shows Rocktellz & Cocktails

Have a word with R

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Adje

I think we're kinda losing the point here. Yes there are other ways to reach out to fans and other people. That's not the issue.

Fact of the matter is that we have an artist here that does have an official website. It's already there and people can see it. And it's listed as the official website so it reflects on the artist as well. Why not make it, at least, look like an official website. Now it uses a blown-up picture of Vegas. I mean even that image looks poor, pixelated and blurry. How hard is it to put up a sharp image?

So the question is not if there are other ways to reach out to people, the question is why there was made no effort, not even the slightest, to the existing and available site.

Even if Meat doesn't want to invest in it, it's 30 seconds of work to upload a decent main page image of Meat Loaf instead of that dreadful low quality image, that it has now.

Someone listened!

[GenoJLaw]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

Someone listened!

I did see that the picture has changed on his website. Lets hope for some more changes soon.

[Evil One]

One new picture does not redeem a shit website

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Evil One

One new picture does not redeem a shit website

It's disappointing when so much information and fun stuff is available which could be centralised into one massive site. There could be a list of all his albums and links where to buy, a full concert timeline going back to the 70s with all songs performed, a store with merchandise, all song lyrics, all movies, photos with other celebrities, photos with fans. Ideally the blog style news updates should never have been removed which would have meant we could go back to 2006 or so. In an even more ideal world one would have had the facility to comment on all shows and articles.

Instead the site has pretty much only been used to promote the current tour or latest album.

A lot of artists do seem to have these kind of websites and I think it's partly because of the different marketing / promotion companies involved. They're not going to give a rat's ass about the overall back catalogue of an artist (except for maybe in Meat's case rehashing the Bat and Bat 2 stories to win credibility or something) and instead push whatever needs to be pushed right now.

What's gone before quickly gets forgotten with an artist website which is a shame and in the case of Meat's massive back catalogue and number of shows etc quite sad. Dare I say even Patti Russo's site is better right now and it's just put together by one fan.

Surprisingly meatloaf.net still ranks number 1 in Google for meatloaf and Meat Loaf with hardly any content on it at the moment.

Facebook and Twitter may be good outlets to stay in touch with everyone but I think in the case of an artist these are exactly the vehicles for which the actual site has been used it seems: just promote Vegas now. etc. No doubt it will get an update when the next album comes out but it would be better I think to see the site being tackled by a group of people who can see beyond pushing just the next record and next tour.

[Wario]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

It's disappointing when so much information and fun stuff is available which could be centralised into one massive site. There could be a list of all his albums and links where to buy, a full concert timeline going back to the 70s with all songs performed, a store with merchandise, all song lyrics, all movies, photos with other celebrities, photos with fans. Ideally the blog style news updates should never have been removed which would have meant we could go back to 2006 or so. In an even more ideal world one would have had the facility to comment on all shows and articles.

Instead the site has pretty much only been used to promote the current tour or latest album.

A lot of artists do seem to have these kind of websites and I think it's partly because of the different marketing / promotion companies involved. They're not going to give a rat's ass about the overall back catalogue of an artist (except for maybe in Meat's case rehashing the Bat and Bat 2 stories to win credibility or something) and instead push whatever needs to be pushed right now.

What's gone before quickly gets forgotten with an artist website which is a shame and in the case of Meat's massive back catalogue and number of shows etc quite sad. Dare I say even Patti Russo's site is better right now and it's just put together by one fan.

Surprisingly meatloaf.net still ranks number 1 in Google for meatloaf and Meat Loaf with hardly any content on it at the moment.

Facebook and Twitter may be good outlets to stay in touch with everyone but I think in the case of an artist these are exactly the vehicles for which the actual site has been used it seems: just promote Vegas now. etc. No doubt it will get an update when the next album comes out but it would be better I think to see the site being tackled by a group of people who can see beyond pushing just the next record and next tour.

Meat has so much archive photos, so many boardtapes. He could put footage and highlights on his page.

If he hires me I will do it, I would love to do it.

[JennaG]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

It's disappointing when so much information and fun stuff is available which could be centralised into one massive site.

I agree that so much more could be made of the site, particularly with a career as vast as Meat's has but I sense that the website is not a priority for Meat, who is much more interested in investing his time into other aspects of his work such as new material, preparing for a film role or interacting with fans. I have to wonder if he also feels that fansites are doing a better job of covering some of the material that the official website/facebook/twitter don't. I personally think that fansites do a better job of covering Meat's career but can understand entirely why Meat wouldn't want to go down the route of choosing a fan to run the official site.

Originally Posted by AndrewG

Surprisingly meatloaf.net still ranks number 1 in Google for meatloaf and Meat Loaf with hardly any content on it at the moment.

Part of me has to wonder if that is solely because it's the official site rather than because it has anything worthwhile on it.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by JennaG

I personally think that fansites do a better job of covering Meat's career but can understand entirely why Meat wouldn't want to go down the route of choosing a fan to run the official site.

Could you elaborate on that, Jenna? Why do you think it would be a problem?

Originally Posted by JennaG

Part of me has to wonder if that is solely because it's the official site rather than because it has anything worthwhile on it.

It comes up pretty high in a Google search (Wikipedia is first), and I imagine most people go there first since it's the official site. All the more reason, IMO, to have a current, informative site.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

It comes up pretty high in a Google search (Wikipedia is first), and I imagine most people go there first since it's the official site. All the more reason, IMO, to have a current, informative site.

You are correct. On google.com it is Wiki. (on uk it's still .net) And that is the problem. The lack of content could be to blame for that second spot. Compare for example the results for Springsteen and Bob Dylan, both on number one with their own sites. Other artists such as Rihanna and Beyonce have been beaten by their own wiki page too since they have pretty poor sites at this time in my opinion.

If anything a more comprehensive site would probably help to sell a few more albums / MP3s / DVDs.
Nothing wrong with that surely. And if you know a little bit about the internet they could get a little kick back out of that too.

There are plenty of people out there who won't know all the albums Meat has done. There could be a few audio fragments and other things. Trawling through a wiki page isn't exactly exciting.

No problem a fan making the site I think but it should be done in an objective way rather than pushing certain things the fan is interested in. And of course it needs a nice design, be responsive so work well on tablets and mobiles. It wouldn't cost much in reality. Just some time to build it up and keep updating it. I suspect the money generated from it would probably pay for the work within a year anyway.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

Compare for example the results for Springsteen and Bob Dylan, both on number one with their own sites.

Bruce's page had a big overhaul a couple of years ago, and I want to say it was done with some fan involvement, though I can't remember for sure. It's currently light years better than the previous site, though the fan sites are still better for certain things (and often quicker with news). However, it's still definitely current, and has integrated ticket and merchandise sales effectively, IMO.

[JennaG]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

Could you elaborate on that, Jenna? Why do you think it would be a problem?

I think that there is a lot of jealousy that exists within fan communities and to choose someone to run an official website is quite a significant honour. How do you choose a fan out of all of the fans that can create and run a website? If you pick one of the people who run one of the fansites, is Meat risking alienating the others by not choosing them? There is also the fact that fans can lose interest in an artist and then Meat would be back in a situation again where the site might not get updated as often as it should.

I'm not pretending to know that this is actually what Meat thinks, it's just something that crossed my mind and I appreciate that plenty of artists might have gone down that route but I don't think it's without issues.

[Wario]

Originally Posted by JennaG

I think that there is a lot of jealousy that exists within fan communities and to choose someone to run an official website is quite a significant honour. How do you choose a fan out of all of the fans that can create and run a website? If you pick one of the people who run one of the fansites, is Meat risking alienating the others by not choosing them? There is also the fact that fans can lose interest in an artist and then Meat would be back in a situation again where the site might not get updated as often as it should.

I'm not pretending to know that this is actually what Meat thinks, it's just something that crossed my mind and I appreciate that plenty of artists might have gone down that route but I don't think it's without issues.

I see that but for almost a decade, I think the name "warioloaf" is a very evry familiar one, and if I were to run the site, get to put together archive videos, clips form boardtapes from the older days, switchboard bvideo of the alst couple tours, itd be a mad interesting site!

Its not jealousy its people knowing the site is in good hands.

I could of made a kickass live DVD too. But thats beside the point.

Its all up to Meat. I feel like his site should be a celebration of HIM rather then the bland kinda thing it is right now.

Sorry if I seem egotistic, I just want everyone to be happy

[nikox1]

Originally Posted by Wario

I see that but for almost a decade, I think the name "warioloaf" is a very evry familiar one, and if I were to run the site, get to put together archive videos, clips form boardtapes from the older days, switchboard bvideo of the alst couple tours, itd be a mad interesting site!

Its not jealousy its people knowing the site is in good hands.

I could of made a kickass live DVD too. But thats beside the point.

Its all up to Meat. I feel like his site should be a celebration of HIM rather then the bland kinda thing it is right now.

Sorry if I seem egotistic, I just want everyone to be happy

Go ask Meat then!!! Lol

[Evil One]

I thought the name Warioloaf was synonymous with being banned from Youtube?