Bitmob regularly hosts monthly writing challenges that exercises its members creative output. July's challenge, Pressing Issue, places its writers in the situation of a freelance reporter covering a subject laid down by editor Michael Rousseau. Under deadline, my task was to interview any staff member of Bitmob of my choosing as a feature profile.
Whether it’s Titanic or Inception, there are over a million fans for Leonardo DiCaprio. As fans we follow their works as it brings us various feelings ranging from inspiration, motivation or just a sense of entertainment. As Bitmob members, we have far nerdier addictions – to the writings of Dan Hsu or Demian Linn, perhaps – yet we extract those same emotions.
However, there are people who sit behind the limelight, dedicated to help heigthen the audience’s experiences. For those who have seen Inception, did anyone recognize Lee Smith’s amazing film editing? Or in Bitmob’s case, does everyone appreciate lead IT developer Rich McGrath’s work on making Bitmob look good from behind the curtains?
Since Bitmob’s launch in May 2009, thousands of articles have been published with the help of McGrath’s web scripts. As the overall variety and quality of submission grows, McGrath continues to learn more of his own craft: he’s proud to boast successful reconfigurations to the blog entry forms for quicker response; hourly save states of the website’s archives; and a seamless roll over to a completely new server before E3.
“Bitmob is a continual learning endeavor,” McGrath said. He mentions that he’s learned more working on the website than he would have by himself.
McGrath first heard about Bitmob when a mutual friend linked him with co-founder Dan Hsu. As Hsu scrambled to find a new web developer, McGrath stepped up to help Bitmob’s launch.
He mentions that the weeks leading up to the launch were a nerve-wrecking process. Aside from modifying existing scripts, the idea of a site solely built around user-generated content was like venturing into uncharted waters.
“We believed in the project since the beginning, but believing and seeing what happens are two different things,” McGrath said. “There was a lot of fear, apprehension. Luckily, it’s been a success so far.”
Currently, McGrath enjoys his time at Bitmob. While his job takes up most of his time away from gaming, Bitmob helps fulfills his goals.
“During my day job, you’re coding a lot of the things people are not going to use, never know about or see. It’s not very creative. Whereas a website, there’s more art involved with it. There is art to the look; art to the design and (user interface); and there’s art to the way the code looks, reads and how it interacts,” McGrath said.
As more writers use McGrath’s program to write blogs on a consistent basis, he feels a sense of accomplishment. Being a part of something that people like and respect is what motivates McGrath to keep working.
Even on the off chance that Bitmob closes down tomorrow, McGrath is satisfied at what the website offered to its users. “People were able to express themselves creatively by writing about games on the Internet using our software…and had a great memory of that. This is worth more than any amount of money in the world,” he said.
McGrath said Bitmob’s next act is in its Q&A/testing phase with improved user connectivity being the theme behind the update. No timeline has been announced, but McGrath teases that “we don’t have to wait too much longer.”