First of all it’s been about 45 seconds since I’ve clicked the damn thing and I still I haven’t read a word of it because the site is too slow to load. And they don’t have an RSS feed that’s available on googlereader. That’s enough for me to not care.
Daily Beast peddles web-based news and commentary as if it’s something new (read: Huffpo) It doesn’t do anything any better than its competitors, it just packages it more nicely and markets it better. It’s not like Newsgroper or something that has a specific gimmick that hopefully people will enjoy. It has some meta-media critique and a lot of inside baseball about “big names” that most people have never heard, myself included. Shit, I had to wikipedia founders Barry Diller and Tina Brown. An article Wired article notes that they’re likely to hemorrhage cash because they have no income, and Tina has a history of money-losing ventures, but she says Uncle Barry has deep pockets.
Their tag line “Read This, Not That” implies that they’re the ones telling you what to read and you should listen to them . And that irritating little caption has all of the smugness of NYT’s “All the news that fit not to print,” but little of the content to back it up.
The fact that there are no ads is nothing new, they don’t have a demographic or an established readership, so they couldn’t sell ad space for much anyway. I give them three months, six tops, to establish a core readership, some baseline traffic numbers, and something else they can show to advertisers because there’s no other way to monetize it. While they’re doing that, though, they’ll be hungry for PR and are likely to write some outlandish pieces in the hopes of getting links and sparking blog commentary. . . Aw, fuck!
Boing Boing for nursing home residents. i also find it to be everything that’s cynically wrong when old media hacks: they try to take establishment voices — ie tucker carlson, clinton etc, and them into sexy little blog stars.
I totally read that as Daily Breast.
We’re in the wrong business. Give me webcam and some bandwidth and i could be a fucking millionaire (with a small meth addiction.SMALL)
Matty, Matty, if I were CIA I’d track you down and force you to burn a fatty… with me. Just Kidding. No, no, no. You don’t understand this… thing we do. It’s called, we build it, they come, then we sell. (lock, stock, and barrel) It’s that my friend. Don’t believe me? Google: “first look” I used to work with them. I’ll just say with… we build the domain name, we hire traffic experts (and this place could use one) to drum in the voodoo, and viola… it’s worth a rating based on hits. That’s the biz. That site is that. It’s awaiting a buyer. They do that for a living. No, we know, we do. Ask Ande about all that. We hear she knows, all to well, how that shit goes down. I know, I’m too forward with all that. Sorry in advance, but that’s truly what goes on. Yes, I publicly accuse them of that very thing. I do. That’s why there are no ads. They don’t sell advert space when they are intending to sell anyway. They are building the gusto, and then see, it’s someone else’s investment. That is how I see that… thing, that they do.
Remember the Oneders? The “wonders”. The one hit wonders. This is that. It is rare that we find a “labor of love” like you guys build. It’s not only that, it’s that, you truly invest your heart. That’s why I come back. Once you build and tear down a few times… once you argue over san francisco font style groovy a go go with the non- dead- heads… once you do all that… then you will love PSI. You’re the anti-manufactured web event. You’re that. See, that’s rare. So love yourself in your present purity, because they are watching, and they are coming to corrupt you… yes, with money. Hold on to your hats. More people read than you think. That’s why we tell you, to suck it, Kathy Griffin Style. Email the bitch… she’s got openings and is into this… sort of thing. In fact, she wants to be the queen of the snark-tastic. Can you get her attention? I bet you can. (and she’s fucking L.A. loaded)
Wonk, my precious wonkers. I know this world far better than you think: I’ve worked in marketing and advertising for three years now, and I can see through these hucksters like chiffon panties.
Let me direct your attention to a little button at the bottom of the site tagged “Advertise With Us”, where you will find this lovely copy: “The Daily Beast has a variety of sponsorship opportunities and advertising placements available, and will work with you to reach our audience of connected professionals and influencers. Please contact advertising [at] thedailybeast.com for information.”
Furthermore, since they’re already owned by IAC, they’ve no reason to be bought. The reason they can afford to go adless for the first few months isn’t some venture capital dipping pool, but the aforementioned Mr. Diller’s own deep pockets.
See, this site has some highfalutin’ notions of “syndication” of all of their content. You might be interested in this article in Forbes where they talk a little more about their business plan. Personally, I think that syndication on the internet is misled, and they’re more likely to capitalize on their “connected professionals and influencers” with a Gawker-like direct advertising circuit that will attract the likes of HBO, high-end liquor and automobiles. Advertising, my dear boy, is how money is made, and just like the hair club for men, I’m not only a believer, I’m also a benefactor.
Really, I’m just astonished that an online news site can spring up in this day and age not because they’ve got a better mousetrap, with no newer and fresher idea, but simply because they think they understand the formula better than the other guys. If you need some more background reading on formulas in media, see Natasha’s excellent Radar article about the fall of Men’s magazines.
Matty is as passionate as market differation as i am about underboobs
We’ll put family feud, which first look owned / owns, against all the revenue that you’re talking about. FUCK that retarded shit. We are god. Kathy Griffin is hiring, give her a call. Do you need the number?
p.s. Jews are not electric. They are flies stuck to paper. Thus, The New Yorker.
P.s.s. fuck off, i will never post here again.