The problem with popular visibility. ( A discussion of new way to be discovered )

This has already been said, but I would like to see an improvement on the search and an added "suggested" feature.

One way you could improve visibility by suggested titles (If you liked this you might also like these comics) is adding standard tags. So besides the custom made tags we now can set (and are searchable but only one at a time), there could be a LARGE list of standard tags that creators can check according to what suits their comics. From these tags automated suggestions can be generated matched against what comic the reader is currently following.

Perhaps readers can even submit what tags they want to follow, and as soon as something is published meeting the preferences there will be a recommendation.

Also, the search needs improving to be able to narrow down a search. I don't just want everything that is "sport" I also want "sport +vampires" possible excluding "sport +vampire -music".

RE: Suggested lists.

Has anyone noticed this (new?) functionality in the app before? (Don't know if it's actually new, but I hadn't seen it before nor do I remember it being announced. It can be reached by checking a series description from within the app, so kinda hidden.)

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No idea what criteria is used to feed the list and it's kind of a mixed bag right now (some series get no results, others only get results from the same artist) and it seems to be app exclusive; but going by the interest in recommendations some people seem to have here, it could be promising.

It's pretty unfair, certainly, but it works as life. The most popular people have it easier. I say we just burn all the populars and then go to eat some enchiladas.
And also, the concept of helping readers to find new content which is not from the popular users is a great idea.

Don't know if this has been suggested yet, but I think this site should pretty much just base the way it operates off the Youtube model.

This would mean:

• If you're not logged in, the homepage would show popular and trending updates/episodes. Updates/Episodes, not comics.

• When you're logged in, the homepage would be an arrangement of updates based on what you like and who you're subscribed to. So a mix of suggestions and videos from subscribers.

• Creators need to be able to make nice big 'title images' for each update, which they can make as enticing and clickbaity as they wish.

• Once you click on one of those irresistible update images, you'll get the episode, PLUS a long list of suggested/similar updates in a dedicated area on the side (or underneath for mobile). Of course, you'll also get the option to read the next or first episode in that particular comic.

• A proper search function needs to be implemented, so people can search for updates/episodes according to the keywords, titles and descriptions creators put on those updates.

At the moment, this site is pretty much acting as a hosting aggregator for thousands and thousands of effectively standalone comic sites. Three suggested comic thumbnails at the bottom of an update isn't cutting it.

Imagine if on Youtube when you searched for something or were on your homepage, all they ever showed or suggested to you was the channel thumbnail instead of the actual videos themselves?

Well, you don't have to imagine it coz that's pretty much what we've got.

I know back in manga they would publish a one-shot from a new creator in a volume of an already established series. I know there are both bigger and smaller creators on this forum, so maybe we could work something out here. If I had a bigger audience, I'd be totally up for advertising a smaller comic that I thought was good.

Sadly i think the site is after money above all, so it need a flagship of some kind to make publicity, that is why they keep making bigger the big ones, to drag the attention of peopĺe outside the site and make good old marketing.

Tapas has to turn a profit, unlike other sites like LINE Webtoons which is subsidized by Naver. Ads alone are not enough to keep Tapas going so they have to push to sell premium series. Without this income the site would eventually close like Inkblazers. No one around here wants that result.

And yes, the site benefits from making certain series super massive. If Sarah's Scribbles hits 1M subs on Tapas, for example, that's good for publicity to help grow the reader base. More readers benefits everyone because most readers read more than just the top 10 on Tapas.

I think some people are forgetting in general that the people running Tapas need to put food on their tables.

Also lolwat, "burn all populars"? If comics with 40k+ subs like Sara's Scribbles, AMOLAD, GamerCat and Silent Horror pack their stuff and leave or uhm... get burnt, then the many many many many dedicated fans they have will eventually leave with them. We need those guys.

Goodness gracious you speak truth! I have been feeling this way for a long time. While I do not like to compare myself to others, I undoubtedly know that my comic has more potential that has not yet been reached because of this invisible barrier. Popular comics will remain popular as long as they are sitting in the spotlight positions of the site + app!

Can there be a way for smaller comics/creators to be seen more frequently besides the 'Fresh' tab? I don't think audiences will be disappointed! If a new concept is designed for this awesome website and app, then communities like mine will grow along with others who may deserve it after the hard work they put in.

This has been on the minds of newer creators for quite some time but if people jump on this train, maybe something can be done. I see Tapas a few years from now being even bigger with Novels thrown into the mix, but overall improvements to provide a balance for artists are long overdue.

Pretty please with a cherry on top let's make magic and give all series a chance.

Making money is not a bad thing, but the tapas team could make two groups, the marketing one and one for the site, the day the big series end, they will get nothing, make more "big ones" from time to time and get a healthy income and a growing site with fair rules, plus it will never run out of money.

To me the home page should be reversed. Like the new comics at the top, the just updated in the middle and the staff pick and popular at the bottom.

...Popular are already on the bottom tho?

Ooh, didn't know that lol. I just go straight to my library

I understand that Tapas need to push the popular ones first to "lure in" new readers and create revenue.
What I suggested was only to make it easier to find other comics as well with a more advanced search bar.

I don't know if this has been noted yet, but I noticed that the "Discover" section on Webtoon allows for somewhere between 130-160 pages per genre, plus a ton of pages (600+) for the combined Discover section!

I think that a change like that for the "Fresh" section could help give smaller creators a higher chance of being discovered. With only 5 pages and so many creators, an updated comic enters and leaves the "Fresh" section super quickly, while on Webtoon, it takes much longer to get bumped, which gives creators a longer exposure to people browsing through active comics. It's also easier to switch between categories, since they are horizontal links and not a dropdown menu.

A higher visibility for the "Fresh" link would help as well (Webtoons "Discover" is at the top of the site!). I know Tapas needs to promote their premium comics, but the link is buried all the way at the bottom of the page, which could lead people to believe that the things promoted on the top of the page are the only things offered on the site. Plus, more users reading non-premium series doesn't = a loss for Tapas, since those readers may be more inclined to purchase coins to support their favorite small creators, and are spending more time on Tapas in general if they have more series to read.

INTERNAL RATING SYSTEM: I figured this site already has an internal rating system that perhaps has all mods/admins rating comics and giving preference to those that they think are appropriate for material on their site, entertaining (to them, only), and worthy of their discrimination.

(ex-- each admin rates comics 1-to-5 and when tallied, the higher scores rise faster. With 20 admins., a rating of 100 will get a 5x boost in hidden stat compilation over a comic with a mere 20 rating.)

I've seen old-old comics that have few subscribers and few views jump up the charts above newer updates with many subscribers and loads of views. It doesn't make sense. The only way that could happen is if the site is rigged to promote certain comics on an internal rating system.

Perhaps I'm wrong.

If there is an internal rating system, it should be abolished. Let the readers' views and votes rule the site, or drop the pretense and just rule "above the fold" with an iron fist that doesn't use terms like "popular" and "trending".

One thing that would help new comics get traction--put in a time-slide system where comics that haven't updated get lesser ability to appear in "popular" and "trending". Freshness should be encouraged. Old-n-complete (not updated for a year, for example) comics should be archived in a separate area reserved for such, and those should be hand-picked by staff to rule out random/amateur work. Make way for the new stuff!

There should also be a category that dredges up the unpopular stuff and provides a grab bag of things which aren't getting noticed, but updated regularly for more than 20 episodes (or some number of episodes) to allow serious contributors who aren't as popular to get SOME exposure somehow.