By now you might be noticing something a little confusing: I still make "front page news posts" in the form of traditional forum posts, but I'm posting additional news here on my personal page, as well! I was a bit conflicted with this concept at first, but it's actually really cool.
You see, over the years my role within Newgrounds has sort of changed. The front page space didn't really feel like a place for me to discuss my own day to day thoughts and ideas, and I basically became a mouthpiece for the site and not for myself. Now, I have my own place, where I can complain about stupid shit whenever I want. Expect the front page posts to remain very NG community-centric (with the occasional plugs for my console projects, such as Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers), while tomfulp.newgrounds.com will be much more Tom-centric... More of a behind the scenes of day to day life at NG and beyond.
The user pages are also one more step towards a more "total Democratization" of Newgrounds. One of my big goals has always been for everyone to be able to use the site the same way I do. For example, I once would build pages for each of my games and give them a special showcase spot on the front page, but now I just submit them to the Portal and they are promoted in the same way as any other Portal submission. OK, maybe I leave them on the front page extra long... Life's not always fair. :)
User pages are an extension of that same mentallity. I didn't like the way the old front page affiliate posting system worked; it excluded a lot of people who deserved front page posting access, but I couldn't possibly give it to everyone because official site news would always be getting bumped off the front page. Now, EVERYONE who contributes to the site (in the form of Flash or music) has the ability to post news to the front page, albeit in a space below the official site news. Everything has been brought up alongside the content submissions, so now people don't have to scroll all the way down to find it.
As new features are introduced to user pages over time, I hope to see more people running their own "Newgrounds within Newgrounds"... Where they cultivate their own environment of news and content (not just their own submissions). Essentially, every user page on Newgrounds should have the potential to emulate the traditional Newgrounds front page, but with control in the hands of the user who maintains it.
My goal is that 20-30 years from now, when I'm an old man and no longer hip with the kids, I'll retire to tomfulp.newgrounds.com (where I will continue to post news and showcase my favorite submissions) and a democratically elected user will rise from the ranks to oversee the Newgrounds front page for as long as their term may last. Or maybe I'll just hand it over to my kids or someone from the staff, I can't make any promises there... It just seems like a cool idea. BYE!
The-Swain
Glad to be one of the first to see this dream gettin' realized. I normally don't take a liking to blogs, but you guys have created a blog based around a game/cartoon environment, and in my eyes it totally redefines the experience. I love it.