AOL AND THE DEATH OF QUEERSIGHTED

Almost a year ago I fell in love with Kenneth Hill (pictured above), one of AOL's top queers. Unlike many of his peers in the mainstream media world, Mr. Hill was out, proud and an assertive and compassionate champion and crusader for gay rights and the magnificence and wonder of human diversity.

Our relationship was based on mutual admiration as writers and crusaders and our love was as pure as pure can be. In fact, during the QueerSighted days, as much as Kenny and I came to share on so many levels, we actually never met in person. Yes, Kenny and I were the ultimate in cyber lovers and mind mates. (We've since met in person while sitting shiva for QueerSighted.)

After almost seven years at AOL, Kenny was to realize a dream.  He was offered the opportunity to take the on-line media giant's commitment to the queer community to a remarkable new level that would set AOL apart from all other mainstream media giants: an edgy, uncensored, honest voice in support of the GLBT world, a sort of queer New Yorker.  This was to be QueerSighted, an innovative new generation blog supported by the power and reach of AOL Time Warner.

Many were skeptical, including myself.  Would AOL actually support a candid and authentic queer blog that would provide diverse and candid queer voices access to its vast audience?

The answer was yes.

Personally, I proceeded with a nervous mix of cautious optimism and profound excitement.  For me, a  writer and a relatively newly out gay man, the notion of having a voice and an opportunity to speak to millions of my fellow Americans, queer and straight, via a platform provided by as mainstream a media giant and American corporation as one could imagine represented a new age, a golden age.  As a young closeted gay man I grew up in a world of secrecy and constant fear, a world where homosexuals were subjected to electro shock therapy and two men could be arrested for sharing love and affection.  Suddenly, I found myself as out as the noon day sun; it was exhilarating.

So in February of 2007, I found myself not only OUT but part of a dedicated team of queers and corporate crusaders who would play a significant role in moving queer rights, queer culture and queer visibility forward--positively, powerfully and on a scale not before seen.  My God, this was AOL!

Among queer-friendly corporations, I thought, HRC would have to create an entirely new category for the world's largest ISP.

And so QueerSighted was born, a diverse community of queer writers that would evolve and grow and within six short months draw more than 3.5 million page views per month.  QueerSighted would pull in serious advertising revenue, and just before it's demise--yes demise--QueerSighted would find itself within weeks of being able to lay claim to the honor of largest non-porn gay website in the world.  In fact, weeks before AOL killed QueerSighted, the blog was already in a photo finish race with Gay.com and Logo On Line for the number one spot.

For many of us at QueerSighted and within the queer community, AOL's spectacular commitment to the GLBT community represented a major step forward.  This wasn't a LOGO or a Here!, this was mainstream America on our side and the wind beneath our wings (couldn't help myself.)

AOL made a tremendous noise about its commitment to the GLBT community and to its queer readers in particular. AOL trades on the important and valuable role it plays in the various communities it serves through its many pages and themes.  Partly, I walked away from my original blog, PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK because AOL convinced me that I would be able to share my voice with a huge audience, gay and straight.  But after six months of pouring our hearts and souls into this venture and creating an important and influential--even leadership--role in the queer community--AOL looked at 3.5 million page monthly views, 500,000 monthly unique site visits and the commensurate ad revenues, good will for the AOL brand throughout the blogosphere, the print media and the electronic media and within hours shut it all down.

QueerSighted was by any standard a runaway success and a shining example of commitment to queer America by a major corporate brand.  And with the strength of the AOL brand behind us, QueerSighted "authorities" were able to deliver important and even critical messages to many other on-line, print and broadcast media outlets.  But at the end of the day, this hugely and almost instantly successful venture that had quickly established its brand-building and financial worth to the corporation was abruptly canceled. No warning and no reason other than we "were just one of the causalities of a corporate cost-cutting process."

Is this true?  Perhaps, which would mean that AOL's stated vision and commitment to the Queer community was a pack of corporate lies.  Was there some other reason?  And was the deletion of QueerSighted bundled into a general "layoff" to hide some ugly truth?  Were our politics too far to the left of certain senior officers at AOL?  Was AOL receiving threats from it's large Evangelical and Right wing readership that used to entertain itself by flaming our site?  I guess we'll never know and the worst thing we can say about AOL is that they lied about their commitment to the GLBT community and Kenny Hill and just swept us and him away as part of some mindless, heartless corporate housecleaning exercise. 

Just a few weeks after Kenny Hill and his team of queer bloggers launched QueerSighted, another major queer blog called us the "cold corporate giant."  The QueerSighted bloggers were hurt and challenged.  We poured everything we had into disproving that blogger's rude accusation.  Over the next few months, we would push every limit and deliver a powerful and uncensored voice to millions of queer and straight AOL readers--and beyond.

We would prove that rude blogger wrong. But as it turns out, he was right.  And the next time you read or hear someone from AOL trade on commitment to the community, dedication to its readers and standing for quality and open and free communication, remember the sudden and wholesale slaughter of QueerSighted and it's bloggers. 

I cannot and do not speak for Kenneth Hill, a passionate crusader for gay rights, diversity and good will, but after seven years of service to AOL, he returned from a family funeral, rightfully proud of his career success, with brilliant strategic plans to take us to a million unique site visits within another couple of months and found an office full of empty cardboard boxes. Within a couple of hours his hard and indisputably successful work (and ass) was booted out of AOL's Virginia headquarters.

AOL has tried to convince us, the QueerSighted bloggers, to remain silent on this travesty. They offered us the opportunity to post farewell blogs that would be screened and pre-approved according to the needs of their corporate strategy.   After six months of free speech, we were now to be censored.  We declined.

They've also offered to post links to our individual blogs on AOL pages.  As attractive as that may have been to this blogger--we all love numbers--the truth was more attractive--and, in any case once they realized that I'm using naughty four letters without the obligatory asterisks in place of the uck and the otherfuc and that I'm also posting pictures of men that aren't cut off at the waist, they would have dropped my PAYOR link as fast and as abruptly as they dropped Kenny Hill and QueerSighted.

And, at the end of the day, I suppose we can't accuse AOL of homophobia or politics. After all, Mary Cheney remains a vice president at AOL and she, as we all know, is a staunch supporter of the queer community, our rights and our voice.   And just because a number of AOL's openly homophobic and conservative right wing bloggers remain employed and blogging doesn't mean that the termination of large numbers of senior gay employees means anything.

Comments

[Vincent]

In some respects I am glad that now perhaps you will return to your home and my previous cyber relationship with you can be re-established. I have truely missed that.

As for AOL and Queersighted, well it was interesting while it lasted, however the way they have treated you all is quite remarkable and a sign of the times, and the growing power and organisation of certain elements that are galvanising themselves across the globe to deny the lgbt community their voice.

Keep your voice loud and clear and proud Richard, and let us know where the others that shared that vision in Queersighted have gone too.

Warmest regards....Vincent...x

[Alan down in Florida]

Read this twice and still don't understand why AOL pulled the plug. Nevertheless I prefer you unplugged and plugging away at injustice. And thank you for knowing that a penis, in and of itself, is not pornographic.

[Andrew]

wow, this was tame and I have to wonder why it is so tame? Don't tell me Richard that you have to plead the 5th every time someone asks you a goddamn question about the demise of our community. I guess it's due to legalities that no names were mentioned.

I guess since you(Richard) and Kenny can't say it on record I'll say it for you. "Fuck You AOL." You, took away our beloved community and gave us no reason, pos.

I did find it funny that you used the word queer like it was punctuation in a sentence. lol, you'll always have that ability to put a smile on my face even if it is about "Hypocritical Corporate Assfucks That Bend Over For More Money"

Much love, Richard.

OH! btw, you and Kenny met? Like in real life? yea? (heavily dissappointed here)

[Joe Lagana]

Richard - I'm just so sad at this turn of events. It seemed, when the 'transition' was occuring, that there was something afoot that wasn't completely kosher. Queersighted was certainly a breath of fresh air for me, a middle aged gay man in New York - and this is still a tough city to navigate even for a native like me. More corporate bullshit, more negativity in our path. We shall overcome.

[Will]

This situation reminds me of the story of the duck and the scorpion, where eventhough the duck is saving the scorpion from the flood, the scorpion stings and kills the duck anyway (and himself in the process) because that is who he is.

I always want to believe that these corporations are really interested in our rights, willing to be supportive, etc., but they always disappoint because it is what they are, right-wing corporate facsists, where all are to serve in the interest of the corporation, not the corporation the interests of society.

I will admit that I am not too saddened to see Richard posting back here at PAYOR. Keep up the excellent work. And, as a plus, I have now no reason whatsoever to have anything to do with AOL.

[Gary]

Ditto Will's last paragraph. I tried unsuccessfully to get into Queersighted and am delighted you're back here (dare I say where you belong?). Please let us know Mr. Hill has landed on his feet and, at some point, that Ms. Cheney has landed on her ass.

[Lee]

I've always wondered exactly what Mary Cheney actually does at AOL. She has always come across as one of the most cold-hearted, calculating, Log Kabinette types. It wouldn't surprise me if her position is just a scam. She has the reputation of a gay rights advocate, yet no one can actually name a single thing she's done.

[Bil Browning]

Allow me to echo everyone else's warm wishes for PAYOR 2.0. I loved PAYOR and tracked you down to Queersighted just so I could read more of your work. (I think we e-mailed about that, actually.) As long as I can still read what you have to say, I'll be happy.

I'm glad to see one of our contributors did a piece on the story. The whole Queersighted team deserved better treatment than you've described. My best wishes to the entire team.

[thegayrecluse]

The sad fact is that corporate America has no interest in fostering a "queer" voice, because it's always going to be too subversive for the "mainstream." (And I mean this in a good way!) It may seem painful now to have the plug pulled, but I guarantee you'll be better off in the long run if you can maintain your independence and watch the empire crumble from a safe distance. Good luck!!!

http://thegayrecluse.com/2007/11/04/on-the-suffocation-of-the-gay-voice-in-american-literature/

[David@GentsCanineSociety.com]

Welcome back Richard...AOL are the losers.

[Gary]

Welcome back, Richard. You're not the only ones that have left AOL, and to be honest-I hate their format.

So, Daddy...bring back your fun stuff and make us proud!

[Scott H]

I am glad I was able to find you (via Joe.My.Blog) outside of AOL. Queersighted didn't read authentic from the first for me - and it was also clear that the problem wasn't the writers. PAYOR is in my bookmarks - along with Prince Gomolvilas and Susan Norfleet, et alia.

[Prince Gomolvilas]

AOL had a gay blog?!