While Om was off gallivanting in Paris this week for a conference, I subbed in for him as co-host of the GigaOM Show. I got to pick a guest from my video beat at NewTeeVee, so we brought in Stanley Burrell, a.k.a. MC Hammer, to talk about his new startup, DanceJam. Roll the tape:
DanceJam aims to bring together various dancing communities. The site will include videos from aspiring dancers everywhere as well as Hammer and his celebrity pals. It will be driven by contests that include offline regional meetups, and be monetized through ads and contest sponsorship. The company — which is based out of a few offices in the Bay Area — hasn’t given us a firm launch date. The latest word is “mid-January” — but last week it opened up part of its site to the public so as to solicit videos to have ready for the launch. Check it out for an early preview.
We spoke further with Hammer and DanceJam CEO Geoffrey Arone about the founding of their startup, which they say was an idea they had both hatched independently before being set up with each other by some mutual acquaintances. Arone said he’s “not a great dancer.” Hammer said he’s OK.
Arone told us he was attracted by the market opportunity, with videos featuring dance, from The Evolution of Dance on down, being especially popular on YouTube, and dance-related movies and TV shows taking off in recent years.
If they’re successful with dance, Hammer and Arone say they hope to extend their social video platform to other genres such as extreme sports.
One hundred percent of the people I told I was interviewing MC Hammer about his tech startup said “MC Hammer has a tech startup?!?” So I started out by asking him about his geek cred. Watch the video — which also includes the GigaOM Show’s weekly news roundup and reader feedback portion — to see his reply.
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10:56 PM PT
[...] According to tech blog GigaOM, Stanley Burrell, aka MC Hammer, is launching tech startup DanceJam.com, a dance-centered social networking site. DanceJam aims to bring together various dancing communities. The site will include videos from aspiring dancers everywhere as well as Hammer and his celebrity pals. It will be driven by contests that include offline regional meetups, and be monetized through ads and contest sponsorship. The company — which is based out of a few offices in the Bay Area — hasn’t given us a firm launch date. The latest word is “mid-January” — but last week it opened up part of its site to the public so as to solicit videos to have ready for the launch. [...]
2 comments so far
1:38 AM PT
Excellent show. I also think there is a great niche to be exploited. Your comment about geeks in Silicon Valley not caring for it is spot on because it’s something they don’t know much about - human socialization skills.
When the “Hammer” mentioned casting etc it really triggered some ideas where DanceJam could be part of that bridge between casting directors and talent allowing his firm to get a piece of the action (referral fees?….).
Goodluck Hammer!
btw - VC baby was very funny.
10:22 AM PT
I thoroughly enjoyed the program. I agree that the establishing an online dance community has some very unique potential. With the current success of Dancing with the Stars the start-ups’ window of opportunity is definitely now. Where the business goes with maturity, only time will tell, but the initial demographic numbers will be “mind bottling.” :-)
VC Baby wasn’t what I expected but I guess I’ll need to watch it a few more times for it to grown on me.
Joyce, you look great as always, never mind one person comment about your introductions. Om, you should continue to “keep it real.”
How did you get Mr. Burrell in that GigaOm shirt?
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