Wednesday, July 3, 2002
Wes Salmon gets his stinger yanked
Posted by Jason Dunn in "THOUGHT" @ 05:05 PM
Wow. 
When I heard this news I was completely shocked: HandHeld Media Group (HHMG) has let Wes Salmon go from PDABuzz. They just acquired the site this year from CompanionLink, amidst many promises of keeping the site just like it always was - and now they're going to run the site without the guy who started it and made it the killer PDA community site that it is today. Sheesh. Not cool at all. 
I admit that I don't often venture past the opening page of PDABuzz, but I've long admired their vibrant community, and consider it a benchmark that I wanted to strive for. The best community sites all have one thing in common: a person who represents the best of that community, one who guides and shapes the community. That person was Wes, and he did it with style. Now that shaping will be done by the people from HandHeld Media Group (Denny, Rick, and Dave).
No offence to those guys at HHMG, but when I picked up the recent "Buyers Guide", I really wasn't impressed. Their "reviews" of Pocket PCs are extremely Palm biased (they said the battery life of ALL Pocket PCs was "abysmal"), and the back page MP3 rant was somewhat entertaining, but very uninformed. Nothing in that magazine made me feel like these guys were trusted experts that I should listen to - almost every article I read was lacking in some way.
I can only predict that PDABuzz will turn into the Palm-happy bastion that their magazine is. I think it's a blow to the PDA community in general when "generic" PDA sites like PDABuzz go away. It's important to have enthusiast sites like Thoughts, but ultimately there's a huge role for sites that take a more balanced approach to PDAs and their operating systems. We'll miss ya' Buzz...
If you'd like to discuss this over at PDABuzz, or give Wes a fond farewell, do so. I'm sure he'll be checking out this thread as well. I've also published the entire statements from Wes and HHMG just in case they get changed as this unfolds. <!>
My time at PDABuzz.com has come to an end
Posted by Wes on Wednesday, July 03, 2002 - 3:27 PM PDT
"It is with much regret that I post this message, but as of July 5th, 2002, I will no longer be Senior Editor of PDABuzz.com. As many of you know, PDABuzz.com was my creation and has been my full time job since January, 2000 after being acquired by CompanionLink Software in August, 1999, followed by Handheld Media Group in March of 2002. I was informed of my pending release by Handheld Media Group on Friday, June 28th. I was offered the option to regain ownership of the site after 6 months of unpaid employment, however I am unable to accept this offer for financial reasons.
In responses to my release, PDABuzz.com has received resignations from all of our volunteer discussion forum moderators. I cannot tell you how much these people have helped me over the years and how much better they made PDABuzz.com as a result. I am truly grateful for their support and hard work. The moderator group has issued a letter to the PDABuzz.com community regarding this situation, which is available here.
In closing I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported me and this site since it launched in October of 1998. Without the continued support of our readers, we could have never become one of the most popular and successful PDA websites on the Internet. My time at PDABuzz.com has been an immensely fulfilling life experience, one that will be cherished for many years to come.
For the sake of not cluttering up the forums with messages regarding this announcement, please direct any questions or comments to me at my personal website or via email.
Farewell and once again, Thank You,
Wes Salmon"
And here's the Handheld Media Group's posting:
"Handheld Media Group Adjustments at PDABuzz.com
The world continues to change and we are forced to change with it. With great regret we’ve had to let Wes Salmon, PDABuzz’s Founder and Senior Editor go. We have nothing but admiration for what Wes has done over the years and will do our best to stick to his successful formula…great news, robust and insightful boards…a great community for handheld device users.
PDABuzz will now be guided by three very talented and respected editors: Denny Atkin, Rick Broida and Dave Johnson.
Through knowledge and expertise in the handheld market as publishers of Handheld Computing magazines and newsletters our editors will strive to bring additional features, product reviews (hardware, software and accessories) and analysis of the market. Over time PDABuzz will present a greater variety and quantity of information for individuals as well as businesses large and small and provide more emphasis on Wireless technologies.
PDABuzz will miss the current moderators and look to others among you to help continue the great tradition of the buzz discussion boards. Find out more about Handheld Media Group at About Us and can contact us with questions or comments at [email][email protected][/email]."
When I heard this news I was completely shocked: HandHeld Media Group (HHMG) has let Wes Salmon go from PDABuzz. They just acquired the site this year from CompanionLink, amidst many promises of keeping the site just like it always was - and now they're going to run the site without the guy who started it and made it the killer PDA community site that it is today. Sheesh. Not cool at all. I admit that I don't often venture past the opening page of PDABuzz, but I've long admired their vibrant community, and consider it a benchmark that I wanted to strive for. The best community sites all have one thing in common: a person who represents the best of that community, one who guides and shapes the community. That person was Wes, and he did it with style. Now that shaping will be done by the people from HandHeld Media Group (Denny, Rick, and Dave).
No offence to those guys at HHMG, but when I picked up the recent "Buyers Guide", I really wasn't impressed. Their "reviews" of Pocket PCs are extremely Palm biased (they said the battery life of ALL Pocket PCs was "abysmal"), and the back page MP3 rant was somewhat entertaining, but very uninformed. Nothing in that magazine made me feel like these guys were trusted experts that I should listen to - almost every article I read was lacking in some way.
I can only predict that PDABuzz will turn into the Palm-happy bastion that their magazine is. I think it's a blow to the PDA community in general when "generic" PDA sites like PDABuzz go away. It's important to have enthusiast sites like Thoughts, but ultimately there's a huge role for sites that take a more balanced approach to PDAs and their operating systems. We'll miss ya' Buzz...
If you'd like to discuss this over at PDABuzz, or give Wes a fond farewell, do so. I'm sure he'll be checking out this thread as well. I've also published the entire statements from Wes and HHMG just in case they get changed as this unfolds. <!>
My time at PDABuzz.com has come to an end
Posted by Wes on Wednesday, July 03, 2002 - 3:27 PM PDT
"It is with much regret that I post this message, but as of July 5th, 2002, I will no longer be Senior Editor of PDABuzz.com. As many of you know, PDABuzz.com was my creation and has been my full time job since January, 2000 after being acquired by CompanionLink Software in August, 1999, followed by Handheld Media Group in March of 2002. I was informed of my pending release by Handheld Media Group on Friday, June 28th. I was offered the option to regain ownership of the site after 6 months of unpaid employment, however I am unable to accept this offer for financial reasons.
In responses to my release, PDABuzz.com has received resignations from all of our volunteer discussion forum moderators. I cannot tell you how much these people have helped me over the years and how much better they made PDABuzz.com as a result. I am truly grateful for their support and hard work. The moderator group has issued a letter to the PDABuzz.com community regarding this situation, which is available here.
In closing I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported me and this site since it launched in October of 1998. Without the continued support of our readers, we could have never become one of the most popular and successful PDA websites on the Internet. My time at PDABuzz.com has been an immensely fulfilling life experience, one that will be cherished for many years to come.
For the sake of not cluttering up the forums with messages regarding this announcement, please direct any questions or comments to me at my personal website or via email.
Farewell and once again, Thank You,
Wes Salmon"
And here's the Handheld Media Group's posting:
"Handheld Media Group Adjustments at PDABuzz.com
The world continues to change and we are forced to change with it. With great regret we’ve had to let Wes Salmon, PDABuzz’s Founder and Senior Editor go. We have nothing but admiration for what Wes has done over the years and will do our best to stick to his successful formula…great news, robust and insightful boards…a great community for handheld device users.
PDABuzz will now be guided by three very talented and respected editors: Denny Atkin, Rick Broida and Dave Johnson.
Through knowledge and expertise in the handheld market as publishers of Handheld Computing magazines and newsletters our editors will strive to bring additional features, product reviews (hardware, software and accessories) and analysis of the market. Over time PDABuzz will present a greater variety and quantity of information for individuals as well as businesses large and small and provide more emphasis on Wireless technologies.
PDABuzz will miss the current moderators and look to others among you to help continue the great tradition of the buzz discussion boards. Find out more about Handheld Media Group at About Us and can contact us with questions or comments at [email][email protected][/email]."
