The VampireFreaks Social Network is shutting down in February 2020. We first saw this news being circulated on a couple of our friends Facebook Feeds and instead of quoting one of the other websites that are out there, we went right to the Official Facebook for VampireFreaks and got directed to a statement on the social networks ending from founder Jet Berelson himself. Read on down below the logo.
The Statement:
I’ve been running VampireFreaks for 20 years now and it’s been a great experience. So many ups and downs, and the website has brought so many people together. It’s been a lot of work, but hearing stories about people finding their spouses/loved ones on VF has always made it worthwhile.
VampireFreaks has always been a labor of love. Recently, running the VF social network just hasn’t been enjoyable for me anymore.
I’ve always taken pride in being part of a community of weirdos and freaks that can relate to each other and be supportive of each other. To be honest, it’s just lost its magic to me. The internet isn’t the same place it was 15-20 years ago and I’m not the same person I was either. I’d like to have our website be remembered as being a great inclusive community. I just don’t want to live my life online anymore, I like having my privacy.
So I’ve decided to take down the VampireFreaks social network starting on February 1st 2020. This gives everyone over 6 months notice. We will be cancelling any subscriptions once the site is taken down. Effective immediately we are not allowing any new account creation.
VampireFreaks will still exist as the VampireFreaks Online Store and as an event promotions company and you can still follow us on social media. The VF online clothing store continues to flourish and you can always find us for your wardrobe needs. Our flagship event Dark Side of the Con has been doing amazingly well and growing by leaps and bounds every year. We have Steampunk Con which is a big 3-day steampunk convention in NJ. Our NYC club nights have been doing very well. I’m also a freelance website programmer and I’m always trying out new projects and I just have too many things going on. VF will continue to bring people together, but in real life at events such as Dark Side of the Con. I know this limits us to only people in certain areas, but it’s more fulfilling for us and we hope to expand to more areas. I’ve spent so much of my time online and I’ve realized that nothing compares to just spending quality time with your friends and loved ones, interacting with the real world.
To everyone who has supported VF over the past 20 years – Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ve received countless messages over the years from members showing appreciation for the site.
To the VF Admins and staff – Thanks for doing an amazing job, I couldn’t have done this without you. I know a part of me will die with the closure of our social network. It will be a depressing time for me and it’s hard for me to even write this out. 20 years is a lifetime in internet years. We had a great run and I’ll always be proud of what VF was. I just don’t want to do the same thing for the rest of my life and I want to focus on what works for me.
Much love…
Jet
*** end of statement ***
PiercingMetal Thoughts: That was one hell of a statement and I think that Jet got to cover every point about his big decision on this. Believe it or not, there was a time when PiercingMetal.com had a VF Profile and it was during a time when I was looking to learn more about some of the Gothic Metal and Rock bands that were out there. We also had quite a few friends with profiles and at times it was easier to keep up with them over there than on Facebook. Eventually the profile wasn’t worth keeping because I never logged in or updated my account so it was better to delete my account but I digress. So what do I personally recommend to those readers who still have accounts? For one thing I would make sure you have copies of all your uploaded photos somewhere on your hard drive or a cloud storage space because once it ends you will not likely have access to them. I’d also reach out to the real connections you made over there and make sure you have the means to reach them when the switch gets flipped. Get their mobile, their WhatsApp or Skype or the arcane email address so you don’t lose touch. I figured it important to say this now because no one pays attention anymore until its too late and then its just too late to do anything. I can sympathize with Jet and his wanting to end such a medium because as a content creator myself, this can get very, very, very overwhelming at times and it will occasionally leave you wondering why you are bothering day after day. It’s almost impossible to keep up a regular website administration and content while also monitoring and hoping to grow and audience on a myriad of social networks. Good luck Jet, I am sure that I will see you out in the music scene of this metropolis soon enough. Where you readers members of this network? Will you miss it? Chime in down below.
Official Website: https://vampirefreaks.com/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vampirefreaks/
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/VampireFreaks