Windows Central: you've changed!

[John Rutterford]

I've been an avid reader of Windows Central for years now. I haven't been an active participant in the forum's or comments. I've just enjoyed the articles, the predictions and the editorials.

But it's all changed now. When I opened the app yesterday 11 of the first 14 articles are trying to sell me something.
Then I saw the post below and I had to register to vent my disappointment.
Where has the journalist integrity gone?

If I want deals on household goods there are better sites than this one. Most of these deals don't even apply to people outside of the US.

Honestly, what does this article have to do with Microsoft, Windows or even the PC industry:

Perfect the art of french fries with 50% off the Chefman 2.5L Analog Air Fryer today https://www.windowscentral.com/thrifter-deal-chefman-2l-analog-air-fryer

 

[Al Sacco]

Hey John. Thanks for the comment. I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience with our app. And while we do indeed post stories that feature deals we think readers will be interested in (c'mon, everybody loves French fries), I can understand why they might rub certain people the wrong way. However, we try to curate those deals in a way that helps readers only see the stories they want. I wish I could say that our app got the attention it deserves, but the reality is that we haven't enhanced it (or fixed some rather big issues with it) in a while. And due to that, we don't have the same control over what appears in the app, and where, as we do on our home page, for example. If you hit that page, you'll see a section for deals, but the vast majority of space there is dedicated to the quality Windows-specific content we've been creating for years.

Thanks for reading.

 

[John Rutterford]

Thanks Al. The app is the main source for me and probably many others for getting straight to your article list.
My feedback was purely to let you know that you're turning people away.
Your mobile site is riddled with ads too. I gave up after counting 10 ads in a single article.
I totally understand that you need to monetize your content but it's really starting to look desperate and you guys may be in financial difficulty.
All of this is just my opinion but I miss the original article quality of your journalists.
Most people say nothing and move on. It's up to you guys how you want to present yourselves and you evolve based on feedback from your readers.

 

[ITMedCEO]

I agree WC isn't the same.

 

[tgp]

Remember when Windows Central used to be Windows Phone Central? They needed to drop the Phone part after Microsoft deprecated mobile.

There isn't much to talk about there anymore, except for information about its demise. I mean, what are they supposed to report? "APB! An HP Elite X3 for Verizon just popped up on eBay for $259.99! Get it while it's hot!"

Of course the site had to change!

 

[John Rutterford]

But it's not windows phone Central anymore. It's Windows Central. I'm sure there's more to talk about on what's going on with Windows without resorting to posts on cheap air fryers and blenders!
There's a huge back Catalog of software for windows, review and report. there's always new windows related hardware, report on that. report on use cases of how windows is being used by different industries and markets. keep Microsoft honest. for example where is the article on surface pro 3 keyboards no longer working leaving users no choice but to upgrade their surface?
The journalists have become lazy and resorting to deals and discounts from best buy and Amazon just degrades the content of the site.
My point is, I'm not the only one who feels this way. My feedback is in hope that the site gets back to its roots or it won't be around for long.

 

[pkcable]

Have you guys checked out the Windows Central YouTube channel? They are always looking at Windows products......

https://www.youtube.com/user/WMExperts

 

[wizll]

I've been an avid reader of Windows Central for years now. I haven't been an active participant in the forum's or comments. I've just enjoyed the articles, the predictions and the editorials.

But it's all changed now. When I opened the app yesterday 11 of the first 14 articles are trying to sell me something.
Then I saw the post below and I had to register to vent my disappointment.
Where has the journalist integrity gone?

If I want deals on household goods there are better sites than this one. Most of these deals don't even apply to people outside of the US.

Honestly, what does this article have to do with Microsoft, Windows or even the PC industry:

Perfect the art of french fries with 50% off the Chefman 2.5L Analog Air Fryer today https://www.windowscentral.com/thrifter-deal-chefman-2l-analog-air-fryer

yep agree 100%. was great when it was windows phone central. when it transitioned to windows central it was still good for Microsoft related content. however, as you said, it is now littered with non-sensical articles, how to press 3 buttons in windows articles, and basically reposting crap from kinja deals. Is there a way to get a rss feed with only DanielR's posts? He seems to be only one writing anything worth looking at. Yeah, maybe it is time to retire this place from my feed, it's pretty much spam at this point.

 

[scotthenry76]

I also am getting very turned off on the constant feed of garbage deals when opening the windows central app disguised as articles. I noticed if I go to the website and click on "news" everything looks fine. But each time I open the app on android it shows "all" which includes every junk deal the mobile nations group pumps into each of their sites. Seems like there needs to be a way to filter this.

 

[Chris Turek]

I am also in the same boat. The app is essentially useless. There are sections for All, Editorials, Reviews, etc. You guys should set default to what you tend to curate on the website while giving us a "Deals" and "All" section to go to if we want those types of articles.