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>But they were able to maintain control over their creation, in artistic and financial terms, because they refused to let it too big. They didn’t sign a network

>But they were able to maintain control over their creation, in artistic and financial terms, because they refused to let it too big. They didn’t sign a network deal. They didn’t syndicate a comic strip. They cultivated a cottage industry, and made certain not to get any bigger. What spin, basically they became irrelevant because instead of growing, they died. But there was still... TROOGDOOOORRRRRRR TROOGDOOOORRRRRRRTROOGDOOOORRRRRRR

aftbit 3y ago
That is okay though. They had a good run, and they are burned into the memories of many fans from that era. Not everything needs to grow forever. Some things grow for a minute, then die, leaving the world a better place in their passing. Or they burninate the country side, whatever. :)
- ethbr1 3y ago
  +1 for not selling out Call it like it is. You can be Instagram rich, because you scaled and sold your company to a heartless corporation... or you can not. Both life choices, and no sense lauding the latter over the former just because it lets Systrom and Krieger have fuck-you yatch money, while Meta continues screwing up the world.
kridsdale3 3y ago
I mean, Trogdor got a video game on XBOX Live Arcade. That was about as big as you could make it without going full Hollywood, and that was ok. Only FRIENDS and the like ever had anything get more than 5 million views. Now that's trivial. So it doesn't mean anything.
danaris 3y ago
"Became irrelevant"? They made a decent living for a number of years off of their creations, without having to sell the rights to some mega-conglomerate and without ending up in the kind of sudden-celebrity death spiral you see all too often. They're still producing Homestar Runner content today, though at a much slower pace (I presume it no longer pays the bills on its own). If your only metric of "success" is becoming a massive celebrity and being a household name for the rest of time, then I think you've got both a very skewed idea of what is possible for 99.999% of people, and, in all likelihood, a very frustrating future ahead of you.
- hospitalJail 3y ago
  Paying the bills lifetime.

aftbit 3y ago

That is okay though. They had a good run, and they are burned into the memories of many fans from that era. Not everything needs to grow forever. Some things grow for a minute, then die, leaving the world a better place in their passing. Or they burninate the country side, whatever. :)

ethbr1 3y ago
+1 for not selling out Call it like it is. You can be Instagram rich, because you scaled and sold your company to a heartless corporation... or you can not. Both life choices, and no sense lauding the latter over the former just because it lets Systrom and Krieger have fuck-you yatch money, while Meta continues screwing up the world.

kridsdale3 3y ago

I mean, Trogdor got a video game on XBOX Live Arcade. That was about as big as you could make it without going full Hollywood, and that was ok. Only FRIENDS and the like ever had anything get more than 5 million views. Now that's trivial. So it doesn't mean anything.

danaris 3y ago

"Became irrelevant"? They made a decent living for a number of years off of their creations, without having to sell the rights to some mega-conglomerate and without ending up in the kind of sudden-celebrity death spiral you see all too often. They're still producing Homestar Runner content today, though at a much slower pace (I presume it no longer pays the bills on its own). If your only metric of "success" is becoming a massive celebrity and being a household name for the rest of time, then I think you've got both a very skewed idea of what is possible for 99.999% of people, and, in all likelihood, a very frustrating future ahead of you.

hospitalJail 3y ago
Paying the bills lifetime.