Site Interviews
Shane Monroe
Quag’s
Corner: Tell me a little about yourself.
Shane:
I've been an active computer user since I was 11 (1980) –
started programming at 13, and began doing professional
level web applications in 1995. It turns out that my hobby
mirrors my vocation; and I continue to develop web stuff on
the side too. Everytime I feel strongly about something, I
build a website for it. Family Guy impacted me so much, I
had to build a community for it. Fox wasn't going to do it,
and other sites around me weren't providing what I was
hoping for. So instead of bitching, I took up arms and set
to making FGF. Its grown beyond my WILDEST dreams.
QC:
What's your favorite Family Guy memory?
S: The
first time I saw Let's Go to the Hop. The whole episode I
was actually rolling on the floor, couldn't breath, face
red, tears weeping out of my eyes.
QC:
Who's your favorite character on Family Guy?
S:
Quagmire. Hands down. I have everyone in my office saying
ALLLLLLLL RIGHHHHTTT .... some who've never even seen the
show. LET ME FIND MY KEYS...
QC:
What's your favorite episode of Family Guy?
S: Its
a tie; Let's Go to the Hop and Wasted Talent.
QC:
What's your best advice to aspiring webmasters?
S:
Find a niche' - don't try to duplicate what is already out
there. There are MANY niche' "markets" still to be tackled
with Family Guy to allow a brand new website, useful in its
own right. Spend a few bucks a month and pay for a domain,
proper hosting. Don't try for a free ride - your visitors
are the ones that will suffer.
QC: What was your inspiration to start
FamilyGuyFiles.com?
S: In my quest for searching for endless references I
was unfamiliar with, I knew others must have the same feeling of
helplessness in understanding certain gags. It came to my
attention that while the Kool-Aid Man is like mother's milk to
Americans, Family Guy being watched by folks from another country
might totally not understand that gag. Peter's gag about Bob
Crane in Peter, Peter Caviar Eater inspired me to research Bob Crane
(and watching AUTO FOCUS - a candid look at his life) and before
long, I started researching everything I didn't know about.
Looking up dates, events - trying to find all the nuances to a given
gag (some of them are like 4 levels deep!). I knew I had to
use my web talents to share my findings. Next thing I knew, we
had over 1000 references and tens of thousands of fans signed on to
the site.
QC:
How do you feel about Family Guy returning?
S: I
can't believe it took this long. Obviously I'm overjoyed as
the next fan. TV has fallen to hell in a handbasket
with all this reality TV and sensationalism CRAP, that
wanting an intelligent good laugh for 21 minutes appears to
be out of the question. Family Guy hails to the days
of early Simpsons and Beavis and Butthead; sheer
BRILLIANCE disguised in a goofy looking, unintelligent
appearing show. Family Guy has done something no other show
has done - come back from the dead based on home video
sales. Since Family Guy, TV DVD shows are coming out
in droves. All these bastards should be kissing FG's
asses for that. Simpsons couldn't do the sales, South
Park couldn't do the sales. FG set the trends. I
think we've got several more seasons in front of us.
QC:
What are some of your other interests/hobbies besides your
site?
S:
Classic gaming. I run RetroGamingRadio.com, a monthly
internet classic gaming show. I also capture classic
movies from VHS, author DVDs out of them (menus, case
inserts, the works), etc. Of course, I have a family
and full time job that takes their share of my time. I also
write computer videogames at
www.darkuni.com.
QC:
On average how much time do you spend working on your site
every week?
S:
Depends. Some weeks, I'll spend 5-10 hours a week ...
others, I can spend 15 hours or more a week on the site.
Just depends. When I'm taking submissions, I could work 25
hours a week if I let myself work that much. I get
dozens of emails a day, plus all the submissions, and
finally enhancements.
QC:
What are some of your favorite sites, besides your own that
is?
S: I'm
a computer freak, so I spend a lot of time on software sites
like Betanews.com. I program games and programs, so I spend
a lot of
time on software programming related sites; mostly my
language of
choice (Blitz Basic) web site; www.blitzbasic.com. I am
also a movie
whore, so I spend a lot of time on DVD related sites like
dvdfile.com,
thedigitalbits.com, darkhorizons.com, etc.
QC: Do
you have any other projects going on right now?
S:
Well, I'm working on several video games, several websites
(see www.monroeworld.com), always doing new radio shows
(getting ready to release a 5 year compilation DVD for
that), and tons of other stuff.
QC:
Any final words?
S: This
has been fun! Thanks for the opportunity! All Family Guy
fans; keep it real - YOU are the REAL reason this show is
back. You all deserve the thanks for the staff and FOX.
Certainly my thanks for the undying support to FGF.com I've
seen over the last couple years.
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