Things have certainly not gone to plan this year and it seems the problems are still coming think and fast. With so many changes the team and I would like to put things into perspective for our visitors, onlookers and interested parties.
A Brief Introduction.
THX News is a simple idea to provide free access globally to local news, travel information and educational resources. The project started in July 2020 and we created a test website in 2021 which is still active to this day. Our website provides 24/7 access to local news and weather but on a global scale.
The website currently has over 7,000 pages of local news and information that is constantly changing every hour. Our objectives with the test website was to run a series of tests in a real world environment. We explored the potential for growth, conducted research, staff training, experimented with designs and explored emerging new technology.
In the Summer of 2021, the ideas behind a demo were fashioned from discussions with my eldest son who is a senior software engineer. We worked behind the scenes with the objective of raising series A funding ($1.7M) in February 2022. Sadly those plans had to be dropped as events unfolded.
Creating the Demo Website.
A big surprise came on January 1st 2022 when my son decided, without any warning he would resign. We then went into negotiations with a Russian senior software engineer in the Crimea who agreed a deal to build a demo website by August 2022. Sadly, Putin’s Ukraine invasion stopped the work in its tracks and a call out was made to software engineers to help us bridge the gap.
When the interviewing dust settled, we had approx. 34 volunteer software engineers from all over the world and put 11 of them to work in three teams. After a month or so the teams started to naturally dissolve as engineers found paid employment and needed to move on in their careers. We then created a core team with a team leader, 2 front end engineers/designers and a back-end programmer.
Branding.
During the last 6 months we have worked on branding and marketing for the new Demo website. Many logo’s, banner designs and introductions have been created. They are already being distributed around social media platforms and this process is set to keep evolving.
We are proud of our new designs and have applied to trademark our brand name.
Health Issues.
A series of major health issues affected the team leaders in the summer of 2022 and it kicked off with our lead software engineer having a heart attack during our monthly video meeting. Our marketing manager then had major chest surgery, and I ended up in hospital for several days with a back injury. Happily we have all since recovered.
The Proposed Demo Launch in August 2022.
Even with our health issues the team pulled together to try and launch the demo on August 23rd (My birthday). Sadly some technical problems came up when we tried to put all the new technology together in real life.
At first it looked like a solution would be found within a few days but as time rolled on, we started to realize there would be many more delays to come.
Additionally, our lead engineer lives in central Florida and we were delayed by hurricane Ian. Gladly he and his family were very lucky and were only lightly affected by the storm, though there was extensive damage to his community.
Things do not end there as our senior software engineer has just heard that his father died while celebrating his birthday. Obviously, all our hearts go out to him and his family at this awful time.
What About the Future?
At THX News we are commited and totally dedicated to making this project work for people all over the world. We have had no outside funding and with gritted teeth, we are overcoming all the obsticles put in our way.
In the last month on LinkedIn/Xing/Facebook we started a branding/marketing campaign with over 100 articles written. They have been well received and this campaign will continue and expand as more employees get fully training. We are now getting ready to start reporting the news around the world through video and news articles.
THX News will gradually launch a series of improvements and new services which culminates in the full launch next year. Judging by the events already this year we know the path is likely to be rocky but will persevere.
If you have any questions and don’t mind honest and frank answers, then fire away.
THX News will gradually launch a series of improvements and new services which culminates in the full launch next year. Judging by the events already this year we know the path is likely to be rocky but will persevere.
If you have any questions and don’t mind honest and frank answers, then fire away!
Email or LinkedIn are the best place to catch us.
