Here’s what I said on Substack, before closing that channel, effective 25 Nov 2024.
In recent months, I’ve been evaluating my various projects.
This hasn’t been easy, but after getting through the demoralizing phase, the path forward is clear.
I want more time for the unique things I bring to serious, experiential paranormal research.
MandelaEffect.com Results
My recent Mandela Effect site experiment has shown, as my friend Vivek suggested, that the topic has been exhausted (or nearly so) at sites like Reddit.
I’m fine with that. The Mandela Effect site was never intended to gain as much attention – nor require as much of my time and focus – as it did.
Oh, I have few regrets about popularizing that topic. In its early days, thanks to friends like you, it was fascinating and fun.
But after a few years and abruptly surging popularity… it wasn’t. Soon, unless I monetized the site in ways that seemed distastefully commercial, I couldn’t justify the four-figure hosting costs.
So, I deleted the site and put some of the content – mostly the wonderful comments – into books.
Then, a while ago, I began receiving steady requests to restore the site. That surprised me.
However, WordPress dot com offered an attractive hosting package within a budget that I could justify. My team and I did our best to reconstruct the original site. (And frankly, I think they did an impressive job.)
However, despite our best marketing efforts, that site currently attracts a scant 20 – 100 visitors/day. (At its peak, MandelaEffect.com routinely received 100k unique visitors/month.)
Taking a cold, hard look at this has been part of a… well, I don’t want to call it a “midlife crisis,” but I suppose that concept applies.
I’m eager to focus entirely on the things that most interest people like us. And then share my research, discoveries, and thoughts with you.
What’s Next, and Why
If there were a Venn diagram showing the overlap among ghost enthusiasts, folklorists, historians, travel mavens, and bibliophiles, the overwhelming shared interest would be books—usually hardcover books with high-quality illustrations.
I’m starry-eyed about that idea, but those kinds of book-length projects require time, focus, travel, and the involvement of many people prior to publishing.
We’ve already phased out my Ghosts101.com site. With search engines like Google integrating their own AI answers in search results, Ghosts101 was the first site to become a book. (It’s not in hardcover yet, and I’m not sure it will be; it’s for a different audience, and some replies quickly become outdated.)
We’ve also been redesigning and trimming HollowHill.com to align with its strongest visitor demographic: Ghost enthusiasts in the U.K. and Ireland.
In addition, much of that site’s how-to content will be updated and compiled into topic-specific books, which I’ve already started publishing.
Among social media options, since Substack isn’t as popular as I’d hoped, I’ll delete that channel on November 25th.
Also, with a lagging interest in serious ghost hunting as well as the Mandela Effect, neither of my YouTube channels has much appeal. So, for now, I’m letting those lapse, too.
The good news is that these changes will give me the time I need for more innovative projects.
FionaBroome.com will remain, but as a page for people interested in my work. I’ll also use this site to share occasional updates.
And, in addition to books, I may find other ways to share what I’m working on. As time permits, I’ll take a fresh look at Libsyn for occasional podcasts.
Mostly, I deeply appreciate your interest and friendship. They have been—and continue to be—important to me. I hope we won’t lose touch.
The online realm is changing, sometimes radically and rapidly.
For me, well, I’ll admit that I’m rather exhilarated by the prospect of having time for fresh research and more fun (and enduring) ways to share what I discover.
I look forward to meeting you—perhaps at a deliciously haunted historical site—in the future.