Is There a Future for SQLServerCentral.com?

analysis
Nov 21, 20062 mins

By now it's no secret that SQLServerCentral.com has been bought out by Red-Gate. In fact, I even blogged on it last week. I've had a chance to talk to Red-Gate about it, as well as a few dozen users and MVPs. Red-Gate says they intend to keep it as a community site and grow it as much as they can. However, they also plan to use the membership list. I didn't ask for what purpose, because why would I? We all know

By now it’s no secret that SQLServerCentral.com has been bought out by Red-Gate. In fact, I even blogged on it last week. I’ve had a chance to talk to Red-Gate about it, as well as a few dozen users and MVPs.

Red-Gate says they intend to keep it as a community site and grow it as much as they can. However, they also plan to use the membership list. I didn’t ask for what purpose, because why would I? We all know they’re talking about marketing. And I suppose that’s their right because they bought the site, but I know they’re going to lose a lot of users over it. People don’t want to be cold called by anyone. Without exception, everyone I talked to said that they’re worried about how things will change with a vendor in charge. Red-Gate hasn’t yet said how they’re going to run the site, and I’m sure those things are still being ironed out. I do think however that we’re all being naive if we think they’ll let someone go on and write a review against one of their products. Pretty much the same way you couldn’t go onto my personal site and tell me how horrible my daughter is. I’d pull it down the second it got posted.

Anyway, I had about half a dozen guys ask if I was planning to step up and host the next big community site. Honestly, I just don’t know. I think it may be a little too early to completely write-off SQLServerCentral.com just because it’s a vendor site now. I think the future will show that it’ll still be a valuable resource, but it’ll go the way of the rest of the vendor sites where you’ll take what you can from it, and then move on to another site for objective opinions. It does always leave you with that vague feeling of “what are they trying to sell me” in the back of your head though doesn’t it?

Anyway, tomorrow I’ll be griping about MS not caring about DBAs, so stay tuned.