Watching that hit counter tick is a guilty pleasure. And talking with intelligent people who won't flame you into submission is a rare treat on t'interwebs.

Well put, Andrew. Those who haven't written anything yet, take the plunge and get to it! We have a very active and receptive community here.

I think I am going to start, I've been highly considering it for quite a while now. I actually want to eventually get into game writing, so this would be a good start. I just need to think of some interesting topics to get me started now.

Going to bring back the iPod Gaming column I used to do here. That was a lot of fun.

Also, I'm here. And I'm awesome. Do people really need more convincing? :)

I've been meaning to write some articles for here for a while now. Guess it's about time I start making good on that and get some work done.

I think part of the issue for us new users is figuring out what, precisely, Bitmob is looking for. I had a piece on Kellee Santiago's argument to Roger Ebert which was promoted to the front page, and I'm grateful for that...but then I had another piece about the insular nature of gaming media which I felt had much more meat to it and was a better thought-out and researched piece, but that didn't make the front page.

Not that I expected the second piece to make the front page just because the first piece did, I'm not an idiot...but my point is that I thought the second piece was above and beyond better than the first one. So, I'm not sure what to take away from that. I can't tell whether Bitmob is looking for fluff pieces, or serious pieces, or neither, or both.

I'll just keep plugging away to see what else I can get on the front page, but does anyone have a more solid idea as to what Bitmob wants? I'm going to write what I'm interesting in writing, regardless, but the official page here on Bitmob discussing what they are looking for isn't terribly specific, so I'm curious.

Hey Dennis, great question. We don't look for anything specific, per se. No specific subject matter or style, as you can probably tell from perusing the front-page stories over the past year.

It certain helps a TON if the writing is strong and concise, if the headline and intro grab our attention, if the whole piece is cohesive and on track, and if it keeps us reading all the way to the end. Because if it does all that for us, then we figured it'll do that for other readers.

But otherwise, unless you see a "Bitmob Wants You to Write About" type call-out for stories, we'd rather not tell you anything at all. Because part of Bitmob's charm is that you never know what you're going to get from the creative minds out there. We don't want to limit you or force you down a certain style or path.

Finally, it's possible your other stories are in the queue. We have a private list somewhere of all articles we plan on front-paging, and some of them are almost four months old. Like the story I'm about to promote at 7 pm PST tonight...that was written at least two months ago. We just don't have the bandwidth to do these things in a more timely fashion, sorry. We're still a start-up trying to turn this into a full-time business! :)

I was writing a three-paragraph response to this before I refreshed to see if anyone else responded, but Shoe do the interns have a quota of stories/ interesting finds they have to post every week? In writing my now-defunct response I noticed that the majority of the articles that get posted to the front page are actually done by staff and editorial interns, and as of 9:30 EST the ratio of staff articles to Bitmobber articles is 14-2 not including the Spotlight feature.  People should understand that the staff probably isn't snubbing their long-thought-out articles in favor of Wario Nikes and is more likely trying to appeal to readers with a balance of news/ cool things/ Bitmobber's stories.      

You've convinced me to join. I was skeptical at first since real names are required, but I figured I would see how much attention I can bring to my articles that I posted a couple days ago on another website. I won't mention which site but I will say that I found bitmob through that site after I searched for Dan "Shoe" Hsu, whom I knew had a connection with that site because I'd read a certain magazine where Hsu was editor-in-chief. So I'll just see how this goes and maybe I'll continue posting other articles.

This idea may sound crazy, but I would like to see more of the female perspective @ Bitmob.  Where is all the ladies at? Consider that a challenge.

I think it's important to remember that you shouldn't be writing for the sole goal of getting on the front page. While that's all well and good, and trust me, I remember the thrill of seeing an article of mine make it to the top, the best thing you can get out of your writing is the experience of writing it.

Most of us are all rather young writers (I know I am), so we learn something from everything we write. Writers learn from writing, just like artists learn from drawing and chefs from cooking. So don't consider a piece to be a failure just because it doesn't get in the spotlight or on the front page. Some of my early favorites didn't, but I learned just as much from them as any of promoted stories.

Chris: We do have a daily schedule. The interns don't edit community stories, so their slots are filled with lighter fare (a funny news article, video, etc.) or regular sections (News/Video Blips, Spotlights, etc.). The editors make up most of the remaining slots in the schedule, and it's up to them whether they want to promote a community post or write something original. Since we're not paying anyone, we're not *that* demanding on what they should do with the time they're volunteering to us. :)

@Dennis: Brevity and being uncritical of the press are key. ;)

Thanks for the answer.       

@ Dennis In my personal experience it's best to not worry about if something gets attention from Bitmob proper at all. I have had stuff I barely worked on get a spotlight and stuff I poured my heart and soul into sit desolate in 100 views land. The second I started taking it too personally it bit me in the ass and things just got worse for me from there. I figure it's just a crap shoot. The editors can't be everywhere at once and things are always going to slip through the cracks for various reasons. People see it, good, people don't see it, oh well. Not much you can do but write what you want to write and if it does well then be pleasantly surprised.

I've been thinking about writing something for a while. I'll probable get around to it when I felt I've done enough research for the piece.

Andrew discovered Bitmob around the same time as myself, and I couldn't phrase my own feelings about the site any better.

So heed his advice! Take a chance and write something for the site. I promise you that it's worth it.

My personal experience has been that the site and the community are much more enjoyable if you write sincerely and without an agenda. Don't write to try to get on the front page. Don't write to try to break in to games journalism. Don't force your writing to conform to what you think others will enjoy or what will grant you the most success. Write because you truly enjoy games and you want to share your personal experiences with them. This approach has served me well.

Also, who's that sexy dude in the Wrestlemania 23 jersey?

I wish and want to write but I have nothing to do it on! My craptop is a piece of crap with all the bottom keys are missing because my daughter likes to rip them off. I'm writing this on my Palm Pre. And trust me it's not fun what so ever. So untill i get myself something better to type on, my post will/ have been limited. *sad face*.

I appreciate all the responses to my question, for the record!

The reason why I asked about what Bitmob is looking for is because, as a freelance games writer who is just starting out, there are two lessons I feel I must learn:

1) What is my specific niche?

2) What do gamers want to read, besides tabloid journalism (Kotaku, Joystiq) and PR feeds turned into news items (G4, IGN, GameSpot)?

Writing being a business, anyone who wants to make it in games writing has to find their middle ground between #1 and #2, and then figure out whether there is an existing avenue for their writing, or whether they need to blaze a new trail. My supposition is that Bitmob is a tool for working on Lesson #2, by looking at what does, or does not, make it to the front page.

What I am taking from your answer, Dan, (which, again, I sincerely appreciate), is that the selection of articles to the front page is somewhat schizophrenic in a good way, as in promoting variety. Or, to put it another way, while Bitmob may serve as an avenue for potentially entertaining an audience, it is not a vehicle to making any measurements or estimations as to what the games writing industry may or may not support.

Even if true, that wouldn't prevent me from writing here. Especially when you are starting out, for me, anyway, even having a *single* article promoted to the front page is a huge confidence-booster. It's validation that someone has a voice which some find interesting and worth listening to.

There are a ton of reasons why articles get promoted to the front page. Sometimes, they get sent there because of quality writing. Sometimes for relevance. Sometimes because the editor that came across them has a soft spot for the subject matter. Sometimes because the pieces might spark a good debate. And once in awhile, I've seen a piece -- or three -- promoted so that the editor can disagree publicly with the article in the editor's note preceding the article.

Whatever the reason, it isn't something you can predict. Several times, I've finished a piece thinking I would see it on the front page, only to have it show up weeks later or not at all. The last piece I wrote was one I wrote for myself, not expecting much attention, and it was immediately chosen.

Just about everybody makes it to the front page eventually. It's in the editor's best interests to provide a mix of old favorites and new writers, to encourage new readers to submit and sate the current reader base. So long as you have something insightful or interesting to share, and you share it in a way that's concise and clear, you'll make it there. I promise.

Well...I already did.  Once. :P

Of all the pictures we took that day, why does that one of me with the hideous face always get used?

Because your face is always hideous?

Although I have joined and posted a couple articles, I don't seem to be getting much attention. Like Dennis, I'm having a hard time finding what gamers want to read about. The lack of comments and "likes" makes me believe no one can finish reading my articles.

@Ernie. It takes a while to develop the knack of getting people's attention. Here at Bitmob, I would recommend very clear and concise titles and descriptions. Looking at your articles, you have fairly long and unbroken paragraphs, and that requires a lot of effort from your reader! I would break them up, add some photos, and do your best to make your articles concise.

Andrew's absolutely right!

I appreciate the advice, Andrew. I'll consider this while writing my next article.

The biggest hurdle I find in writing for Bitmob is simple : English ain't my maternal language. The rest is just standard fare : No confidence in my writing, failure at finding interesting topics, etc. I have written two things for Bitmob,and to be quite entirely honest, both of them shouldn't have been published, although the This or That entry is far better in quality than the other. I guess I should drop the pretense of being a serious writer and mostly opt for cheap jokes.