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Letter from the Editor: Back in Black

Shacknews is back with a redesign that celebrates its history while looking forward to the future.

Asif Khan

August 1, 2018 10:00 PM

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Shacknews is back. We have experienced three consecutive months of all-time highs in monthly unique visitors. We had our largest presence ever at E3 2018 where we hosted interviews with developers and crowned MegaMoose64 our Shacknews World Champion in our first ever electronic sports tournament. We are carrying this momentum forward in all parts of our company. Today, we unveiled a brand new redesign of Shacknews.com. This is phase one of a two part redesign. Today's update focuses on improving our search engine optimization and social media presence. We have also completely overhauled the tools our writers have at their fingertips. This was a massive feat, but we wanted to tangibly improve the Shacknews experience for our readers. 

It is a very daunting task to modernize a twenty-two year old website while maintaining its identity and respecting its history. When we began this redesign process, I pulled up my favorite Shack design of the past. It was green and black, and there was a ton of information on the site. This redesign shares that same spirit. With a focus on mobile as well as desktop user experiences, we tackled this project with an attention to detail that is very apparent. The return to a black website was important, but allowing users to choose was the extra detail that makes this place so special. Optionality is something that I love as a user, and it is at the core of this redesign.

What was once old is new again. We have brought back our iconic Shacknews logo with a bit of our own new take. We will continue to draw inspiration from our rich history while pushing Shacknews forward. There is a laundry list of improvements that we have implemented today ranging from our Chatty comment threads appearing at the bottom of articles to Google AMP support. Articles are easier to find with improved visibility of our topics and it is super easy to share them to social media. A ton of little things have come together to make this redesign a major update for our users as well as our writers. 

I want to thank the team at Greenlit Content for the work they did helping us achieve our vision for what Shacknews should be. Thanks to my staff for their amazing work, and thank you to our readers and Chatty community members. As we hammer out the bugs in the next few days, my focus will shift to phase two. I plan to provide our users a new and exciting way to express themselves like never before. 

Do it for Shacknews!

Asif Khan

CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Asif Khan is the CEO, EIC, and majority shareholder of Shacknews. He began his career in video game journalism as a freelancer in 2001 for Tendobox.com. Asif is a CPA and was formerly an investment adviser representative. After much success in his own personal investments, he retired from his day job in financial services and is currently focused on new private investments. His favorite PC game of all time is Duke Nukem 3D, and he is an unapologetic fan of most things Nintendo. Asif first frequented the Shack when it was sCary's Shugashack to find all things Quake. When he is not immersed in investments or gaming he is a purveyor of fine electronic music. Asif also has an irrational love of Cleveland sports.