In April of 2006, fans happily tuned in to see Robert Scorpio hit Port Charles for the second time that year (He was onscreen Jan-Mar and Apr-Nov). That April, fans could then move from tube to computer and participate in Tristan Roger’s latest venture, his newly created website. This site, which simply contained a biography page, a guestbook and a photo page, was a way for him to communicate with fans. The site became a hit. However, the volume of fans at that site grew to the point where the guestbook became so overloaded that communicating with the fans became impossible. Wanting to find a solution, Tristan turned to a few computer savvy fans to discuss his options.

As technology changed, Tristan began testing new ways of creating better methods of communicating. 2009 became the year to move forward again with new technology. The old Flash site has been replaced by Joomla (Okay, for the non-techies, Joomla’s a new one for me too, so we all just smile and nod like we have a clue). The new look is crisper and offers more toys to play with and more room to grow.

The new site features a menu that directs you to information from and about Tristan, most of which was available on the old site. The “From Tristan” tab takes you directly to his blogs and video blogs and the “Community” tab takes you to a variety of discussion options such as the very same message board we’ve all enjoyed all this time. (Don’t worry. We’re not losing a message board. We’re gaining a better website.) There are polls to answer, tweets to follow, videos to rate, and you will soon be able to support a charity by purchasing autographed pictures (remember Project Cuddle last year? Check it out and watch for more information in the future).

New to the Site: Pay Per View

Remember that Tristan began his original site to communicate with (and not just to) the fans. We have enjoyed that interaction for awhile, but now the time has come to open a new frontier. At the new tristanrogers.com there is the option to sign up for the Pay Per View (PPV) site. This concept is more commonly used to see movies and sporting events but has a growing presence on the web. As viewers gravitate more toward web based entertainment, the entertainment industry is slowly waking up to those viewing habits. PPV is one method of offering viewers quality entertainment with premium extras, and that is just what Tristan is doing.

Tristan says that the idea of PPV came to him when he was first thinking about another project still in the works, My Soap Café. He realized that PPV is the future of quality entertainment on the web. The main difference between the new site and the PPV site is that the PPV site focuses on Tristan Rogers and his personal interests. We always enjoy his humor and insight in his posts and videos, and when I asked if he will continue to share his thoughts and opinions, he said:

“I gotta be me.” Regardless of what is discussed, my ideas, knowledge and opinions are always going to be dressed within my usual impertinence, dryness and a thinly veiled cynicism about how life and events are played out.”

Tristan’s personal videos are one of my favorite parts of the PPV site. His honesty and humor shine through as he talks about his beloved Bulldogs and his love of cars. He first began sharing videos during his time at NightShift2 (Everyone stop and quit throwing confetti. I loved and miss NS2 also). I asked him what prompted him to get in front of the camera, (as TR, not RS) and invite fellow actors to do the same. He responded:

"Back in the 80’s and 90’s this would have been unthinkable. You just didn’t present the private side of your life at all. But reality TV changed all of that. Nothing is now off limits, if you want it to be. The desire is all in the hands of the celeb who is doing it. By that I mean the way in which you want to present yourself. NS2 was an easy environment to experiment with this. It would not have worked the same way over at GH.

In fact several people told me that after I had been doing it for an episode or two. It was one of those rare occurrences and I decided to take advantage of it. Apart from that, I did a turnaround in my life. Marriage and kids will do that. I figured now was the time to give the fans back a small look at the inside."

And he does just that. The PPV site will be a place for him to experiment with a number of things he’d like to try, some of which could end up on My Soap Café. Expect to see new things happening at the PPV site. Tristan says, “I wake up with an idea or someone suggests something and away we go. That’s what’s great about the Web. Instant entertainment, just add idea.” He has his own ideas but adds, “It is also important that I know what people want. So I will be monitoring what the posts are. I may even do something for kids. Talking to my son about that now.”

As much as we enjoy Tristan’s posts, we should know that he says he enjoys our posts too. “I am hoping to bring a lot more people out to post. I always get a kick when someone posts on my site for the first time. This means they will probably do it again. The web has been great at creating this forum for an easy exchange of thoughts, opinions and ideas. I would like to contribute to it on that level.”

The tristanrogers.com staff (a senior web consultant, a graphic designer, a webmaster, and a fan relations person) enjoy working with him and like his openness to trying out new ideas. When the Scrubs Wedding Album was proposed, Tristan was immediately ready to move forward with it and had them put it right up. One team member states, “Keeping pace with Tristan is the biggest challenge” and compares that undertaking to “chasing a rocket car on a moped.” (Which makes me ask: When does this man sleep?)