State of MovieViral (2010)

State of MovieViral recorded January 2010 by Nick Butler:

Executive Editor Koelsch, Contributing Editor Caldwell, contributing writers, members of MovieViral, Distinguished guests, and fellow readers. Our rules declare that from time to time, the owner shall give to the MovieViral Forum information about the state of our website. And for one year, our leaders have not fulfilled this duty, but due to the simple fact that it’s only been one year. And had it been longer, I have no doubt that they would have done so during times of prosperity and tranquility. And they would have done so in the midst of war and argument, at moments of great strife and great struggle.

But we are tested. And again, we must answer to history’s call.

One year ago, I bought this domain amid two U.S. wars. And a community rocked by severe betrayal. A former owner on the verge of divorce and insanity, an administration deeply in distraught. Experts from across the spectrum warn that if we did not act, we might lose our community due to a lack of information flowing in regards to District 9 and because of the end of the Cloverfield Era. So we acted immediately and aggressively. And one year later, MovieViral continues to succeed.

[Applause]

But, the devastation remains. One in ten members still do not check the main website. Registration numbers have declined and the Movie and Viral sections have been hit especially hard. But this decline has also compounded the burden that MovieViral’s members have been dealing with for years: the burden of working harder and fighting to keep a community alive, of being unable to invite enough friends to maintain the integrity of the website. Now our administration has had some setbacks this year and some of them were deserved. But I wake up every day knowing that they are nothing compared to the setbacks that the members all across this forum have faced each year.

And that’s what keeps me going, what keeps me fighting. And despite these setbacks, that spirit of determination and optimism, the fundamental decency that has always been at the core of the MovieViral people lives on.

[Applause]

Now, Barack Obama campaigned on the promise of change, “change we can believe in” the slogan when. And right now he knows there are a lot of Americans who are not sure if they can still believe in change, or at least that he can deliver on it. But remember this, MovieViral never suggested that change would be easy or that we can do it alone. Democracy in a forum of 300 people can be noisy [burp] and messy and complicated. [burp] And when you’re trying to do big things and make big changes it stirs passion and controversy. That’s just how it is.

We administrators can respond to this reality by playing it safe and avoid telling hard truths. We can do what’s necessary to keep our friend numbers high on Facebook and get interviewed by the next newspaper instead of doing what’s best for the next generation.

Now, we’ve finished a difficult year.

We’ve come through a difficult struggle.

But a new year has come, a new struggle stretches before us. We do not quit. I do not quit. [Rolling Applause] Let’s seize this moment to start anew to carry the dream forward and strengthen our website once more. [Rolling Applause] Thank you. God bless you and God bless MovieViral.com! [Extended Applause]