Oh man! TKart irritates me up the wall. maybe kartpulse keeps developing some great content and articles. I’d love to contribute some and would love to learn more in article format, not just via forum threads.
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That’s the direction KartPulse is headed. 
We’re working on a redesign (Well re-build from scratch) of the main KartPulse.com site. While that’s happening, we decided to launch and use the forums as a place for the community to hang out.
The “Old” site is still there and it gets organic traffic, but we’re not sending any traffic there because, frankly it’s not up to par and this forum platform is doing a better job of getting people engaged when we post articles here.
Our intent is to publish “summary” articles that stem from forum discussions on the new site. The forum software does some things to automatically summarize long topics, but that’s not the same as a real human, kart racer objectively looking at a thread to come up with someone concise and actionable.
On TKart
I will say I have to give credit to TKart’s design, imagery and aesthetic. It’s very very good. But the information is a little lost in translation to folks in the US and their “marketing” strategy through a network of questionable facebook pages that rely on freebooting without any regard puts me off big time, not to mention it’s hugely ironic given all of TKart’s (actionable) content is behind a paywall.
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It’s a great question. Success is a very individual thing right?
The internet is built on the delivery of free value, upfront and TONS of it. So a lot of the challenges that folks talk about for karting media, are not necessarily Karting media challenges, but challenges that every content creator on the internet faces.
Scale of course accounts for things too, karting is small, so that makes it harder.
So one has to decide for themselves what the value going to be for them (Outside of $ compensation) when they create content, or “make a thing”.
I started KartPulse in 2013, right after EKN updated their site. I kicked things off with a FaceBook page, a survey and meandered from there to where we are today. @DavinRS climbed aboard as my right hand man in 2015 and we’ve just kept at it since.
The value for me, and the main reason I continue to work on KartPulse (Aside from the fact that karting is a passion of mine) is the amount I have learned by building it, the connections I’ve made in the sport and the impact it’s had on folks. I’ve been able to leverage these skills in other areas of life and work
Not to be a d11k, but when I see someone talk about monetization when it comes to ANY content on the internet, before they have written anything (or committed at least 2 years to working on and promoting something consistently) I have to laugh.
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Actually, I agree. TKart design and aesthetic is really attractive. Even offering one or two complete articles for free that might be of interest.
Incidentally, I’d be happy to contribute some articles via the forums on topics if that is of interest.
I think mutual respect and common decency. Less elitism. Less “my karting is more valid than your karting”. “oh you dont race my thing so your thing is stupid” That kind of divisive $hit that’s ugly for the sport internally and makes karting look like it’s a bunch of feuding egomanicas to folks that are passing by looking to get into the sport 
The culture aspect is something we’ve been trying to redirect. Or at least attract people with the same attitude and values
KartPulse is basically “You like karting? We like karting! ***k yeah Karting!”
The end
That doesn’t mean you can’t be as competitive AF. It just means don’t be a dick. Simple right? Crude, but simple.[quote=“chrisortenburger, post:21, topic:810”]
There isn’t an impartial news source in the sport, and I am just as guilty as any. I’m obviously paid by SKUSA, Evinco, IAME, etc. So naturally the content I create is biased to spotlight the guys who sign my checks.
[/quote]
Kudos for that transparency because I’m not sure how many folks know that about you.
I hope we’re not lumped in with that We do memes but wouldn’t dare call them news.
Surely there is a balance that could be struck? It would depend verymuch on the attitude of the business that’s being critiqued of course. Ideally you are looking for business that 1) Is looking for constructive criticism as a way to improve their “thing”. 2) They get that their “thing” isn’t going to be for everybody. 3) Doing #1 in public can be a very positive (but not by any means easy thing).
I think SKUSA, for all the negative attention thrown their way regards their expansion of revenue sources beyond merely events (Tires, engines etc), has done a good job of communicating how they iterate and improve in public and take feedback into account. It’s a two way thing though, the folks on the other side of that conversation (The customer) needs to understand how to think objectively… Rather than just complaining/ranting.
I guess we’re talking about what some of us seem to be craving… more in-depth creative endeavors. Something beyond “Oh we won a kart race” press releases and race reports. Although I think I have a bigger aversion to race reports than most. I’d rather consume something I can use to take action, or learn something from.
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Even if we do use memes, it’s ok to just have fun sometimes with karting. 
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Circling back… Another one bites the Dust 
Chase’n Racin (Predominantly Dirt Karting) are shutting down.
Text below becuase the site is being shut down.
http://www.chasenracenillustrated.com/wp/2017/09/13/exit-ramp/
I apologize in advance if this gets long winded, lol. There’s a large number of you reading this that have been around for much, if not the whole ride we’ve enjoyed in karting. Who knew nearly 20 years ago what an insistent invitation to shoot for what then was the largest State series (divisional) in the World Karting Association, the SC Dirt Series, would turn into. One thing led to another, and we began seeing our work published in several publications as we took on more and more karting events. From being the official photographers for the SC and NC series’ to being sought out to cover most major events in the industry, our popularity grew quite rapidly, although not as quick as can happen these days, thanks to social media.
After close to seven years of freelancing our material to other rags, the opportunity presented itself, and Chase’n Race’n Illustrated was born in December 2004. The intent from the start was to be a magazine for the “little guy”. We struggled mightily to make that happen, but did to a degree. But it wasn’t until we went “national” that the advertisers and the industry as a whole began paying attention.
It wasn’t long before we were truly a national publication, traveling across this beautiful country 40+ weekends a year to bring the best of karting to the masses. Our standards for submitted material was high, maybe too high, and that limited our “help” tremendously. The workload began wearing on us a few years ago, and I began devising an exit strategy, all the while, not willing to simply “let go”.
But, with the proliferation of social media, the age of instant gratification, and the next generation of racers, the writing appeared clearly on the wall, it was time to change gears and head down another path. When we laid the printed magazine to rest in October 2014, and pushed everything we had online, it simply wasn’t enough to sustain, and continue the ride.
Several factors within the industry led to a conscious decision to step back and leave the sport to the next generation. However, the speed junkie in me still craves to be fed from time to time, and we’ve been fortunate to be welcomed and supported by some old friends. But again, times have changed, and it simply isn’t feasible to continue.
It’s been one helluva ride people! Many of you, I thank from the bottom of my heart. There’s too many of you to name, for the fear of surely leaving someone out. One of my all time favorite sayings can sum it up…”Those who matter, knows. Those who don’t know, don’t matter”.We are scheduled to be in Lincoln NE for the Nebraska Kart ShootOut over the New Year’s weekend, and I have assured the promoters that we will continue making that trip as long as we’re welcome and supported. From there, we simply don’t foresee many more races in our future.
Unless I die soon, this is not a good-bye, but a “so long for now”, as I intend to enjoy some weekends off where I can be a spectator at select events, if for no other reason than to “hang” with some of the remaining old timers.
I could probably write a book but I won’t bore you with the details today, lol. Who knows, I may heed the suggestion to start a blog and simply “sound off” from time to time, reminiscent of the old “Start n Grid” in the magazine. What ya’ll think?? Lol.Until we meet again…
As of October 1, 2017, this website will be suspended. We encourage our followers to keep in touch with us via Facebook on the P&R Photos Image Solutions page and on the web at www.p-rphotos.com.
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