Why "The Blue State" site is no more

If you are able to read this message, it's either because you subscribe to our RSS feed or have us bookmarked under our old address (thebluestate.typepad.com).  Everyone else has not been able to make sense of all the madness that has transpired over the last 12 hours.  They may never know.  But since you are here, let me tell you.

First thing is first: My four-year project known as "The Blue State" -- a personal site later turned blog that brought in almost one million visitors, raised the ethical bar for political debate online to the best of my ability and brought in dedicated writers and readers -- is no more.

This news is as frustrating for me as it is for many of you.  I put hours upon hours into this blog, as did Tony, Erick, Justin, George and all the other writers.  But our domain host, behind our backs, allowed an individual to purchase The Blue State on back-order.  We received no warnings that our site had expired.  Once it did, this morning, this site was officially transferred to an individual by the name of    Arshak Sargsyan of    Armenia.  That explains why you can no longer access the site at www.thebluestate.com anymore.

Thankfully our friends at Typepad saved each of our posts.  Other than that, the site is gone.  I protested all that I could on the phone with our domain host.  But they say it's now out of their hands (of course, that was by their choosing).  All I am left with is my enduring drive to shape the political debate online and encourage young people to get involved to help change the status-quo in our nation's capital.  I AM NOT GIVING UP!  This is only the beginning.

After spending nearly two hours throwing a fit and moping about how it all isn't fair, I am ready to move beyond The Blue State and create something even better.  But I need your help -- more than you know.  I plan to start from scratch.  There were a number of good things with The Blue State that I want to keep, and many things I would like to improve.  I want your feedback.  Sometime between now and June a brand new political site with a fresh name will be created.  I am starting over. 

Those who care and want to reflect a bit on the site that was, or offer some advice/help on the construction of a brand new site, please feel free to comment below.  Again, thanks for all your support over the years.  But like I wrote before, this is only the beginning of something newer and better.  I am determined.

Comments

[Arlen]

That's a huge pain, man, I'm really sorry to hear it and I definitely sympathize. I suggest you keep the site and the archive here on typepad and just get a new domain and email everybody who links to you on their blogrolls and as many of your readers as you can with the new url...

Email me when you get this figured out, I'll update my link to you.

Best,
Arlen

[Michel]

I actually don't think loss of your dot com is that big a deal. People will google and find the site somehow. Anyway, I know what it is like to encounter a huge frustration and use it as an opportunity to regroup. I wish you the best, and I'll try to follow you around. But don't stop posting stuff cold turkey. I'm particularly fond of the videos and polls you find.

[Chief Editor: Todd]

Thanks, both of you. And you both are right, it's just a domain. I'll find a new one, and re-name it....and just keep all the archives. Typepad has a good way of organizing, and they are very loyal. My former domain host, on the other hand, isn't. I'm gonna take a few days off to think about this. But I'll definitely keep responding to this thread. :)

[Dani Glaser]

Todd... I'll miss the site for now and when you send the new url, it will be back in my favorite!!. Does it make sense for you to collect email addresses and send us the announcement when it's up and running?

[Granny]

This is sorry news indeed.

An odd reflection of the generic state of things these days.

Bravo to you all who gave time and effort to inspire, educate, encourage and befriend, and even patiently tolerate.

With affectionate thanks ~
blessings and good wishes.
Encouragement to you now.

"Move on", "we can do these things" ...

[Michel]

All "The Blue State is Dead" aside... Edwards endorsed Obama? WTF? That's crazy awesome!

[Chief Editor: Todd]

Amazing about Edwards endorsing Obama. I didn't think it would happen. I thought Edwards' wife would prevent that from happening. But yeah, big news for Obama. He is definitely on his way to becoming the nominee!

And Granny, thanks for those nice words. I'll let everyone know about the next site.

[Scott]

While I'll miss the downtime and feel for you in this ridiculous situation, I look forward to Blue State Mach 2.

[J Marcus Campbell]

Todd,

Sorry to hear about your loss of domain. I would suggest using Bluehost.com for your hosting they have automatic domain renewal. Http://wqxt.com/ and Http://Willybova.com/ are both hosted with them and we could not be happier. I am sure you have a vast email list, so that is a start. In addition what was the name of the crooks who let your domain slip? As far as your lost URL, I always accessed the site from the typepad url. Another suggestion is to put the site under your name Todd, at least there is some protection from squatters on your own personal name. As for hosting when you sign up for Bluehost please go to my site and click through there so I can get the commission....LOL. Anyway I am sure you will do fine.
Be careful testing domain name searchs some companies tie up the domains after you search for them.

Willy Bova

[Michel]

I agree word for word with everything J Marcus just said. Bluehost is awesome, and having a site named after you would be great (and personal branding seems to be pretty popular with political blogs these days. We all know Josh Marshall, Arianna Huffington, Robert Greenwald...

[John Morgan]

Todd,

My experience with Typepad is the opposite: The Pennsylvania Progressive is down because they told me I cannot use a public official's name without her permission. This woman blogged openly (her real name was on her blog for months) and filed a complaint with Typepad that I used it.

Do not trust Typepad! I am moving my blog to Soap Blox but it's taking time to develop.

[Chief Editor: Todd]

All of what you wrote is very intriguing. I did consider using my own name in the title of the blog. However, I want the blog to be more about populism than about myself. I'm still thinking about it. Plus, I have a huge extended family, some of which are Republicans. So I wouldn't want to anger them by using our name for something they disagree with. However, if any of you are really dead-set on the idea that using my last name would help, my last name is "Haskins." I don't know what that would go with. "Haskinsreport.com," "Haskinslist.com," "Haskinsville.com," or whatever. Got any ideas, don't hesitate to email me: thebluestate@hotmail.com

This site will be launched sometime in the first half of June. I'll give more details when I can.

[Michel]

Or you could go with your first name, since everyone already knows you as Todd. Like ToddReports.com, ToddalAnalysis.com, PoliticalHaskins.com, ToddPolitics.com, ToddDaily.com, ToddFromTheLeft.com, and my personal favorite: ChiefEditorTodd.com. :)
I'm ok with Haskins, but I find Todd rolls off the tongue easier and makes for better sounding site names.

[Michel]

On a side note: my nickname is Kriggs, and I made some software called Kriggs' List. Worst decision ever. I usually got half-way through talking about it before people were like "wait, that's not Craigslist..."

[queerunity]

i just find a cool blog and its gone :(
http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com

[Michel]

Todd: is it true that you were chosen to represent your district in a caucus, so you'll be going to the convention? And are the rules such that pledged delegates are forced to vote as they are chosen to do, or can they betray their district and vote differently?

[opit]

This sort of thing happened to me at Oldephartteintraining http://opit.wordpress.com in December. Traffic is still only a fraction of what it was but certainly much more than it would have been starting cold.
Another problem is an ongoing red-listing of your site by Web of Trust which has happened ( and was lifted ) before.
Give me a holler when you are set up again so you will be listed soonest. I found where I was blogrolled it helped to draw the attention of the webmaster to the change ; usually an address update has been quite prompt. Technorati will help you find them.
http://my.opera.com/oldephartte/blog
Opit's Linkfest

[opit]

ps Oops. Found the .com Did you give up after all ?