I think of Nick Denton as someone relatively publicity-shy, so it’s interesting to see where he makes appearances and gives interviews. This piece for Brit newspaper site The Independent doesn’t spill any trade secrets (surprise), but it’s worth a read.
The writer sez: “Yet the nine internet sites that comprise Denton’s Gawker Media company are among the most original and influential of their kind…”
Denton sez: “The one common theme is to take an obsession, say a gadget obsession, and feed it – produce more content than the people could ever dream of having or consuming. Everybody likes to read about themselves, about their worlds. As with addicts, the more you give them, the more they want.”
And(my favorite bit): “Even so, Denton doesn’t think there is a need for Gawker in Britain, claiming that there is already enough criticism, competition and sarcasm. American media, he thinks, is different. “Journalists tend to defer to official sources and people who invite them to parties. In Britain, that’s counter-balanced by ferocious competition; in the US it’s not counter-balanced by anything,” he says. ”
Update: Ellen at Standard Deviance has more to say about this interview, and pretty much deconstructs the wobbly bits–like the omission of Liz Spiers from Gawker’s launch, what the revenue picture really looks like, etc. Always fun when bloggers go at one another, in’t it?
I think of Nick Denton as someone relatively publicity-shy, so it’s interesting to see where he makes appearances and gives interviews. This piece for Brit newspaper site The Independent doesn’t spill any trade secrets (surprise), but it’s worth a read.
The writer sez: “Yet the nine internet sites that comprise Denton’s Gawker Media company are among the most original and influential of their kind…”
Denton sez: “The one common theme is to take an obsession, say a gadget obsession, and feed it – produce more content than the people could ever dream of having or consuming. Everybody likes to read about themselves, about their worlds. As with addicts, the more you give them, the more they want.”
And(my favorite bit): “Even so, Denton doesn’t think there is a need for Gawker in Britain, claiming that there is already enough criticism, competition and sarcasm. American media, he thinks, is different. “Journalists tend to defer to official sources and people who invite them to parties. In Britain, that’s counter-balanced by ferocious competition; in the US it’s not counter-balanced by anything,” he says. ”
Update: Ellen at Standard Deviance has more to say about this interview, and pretty much deconstructs the wobbly bits–like the omission of Liz Spiers from Gawker’s launch, what the revenue picture really looks like, etc. Always fun when bloggers go at one another, in’t it?