Why racist, nasty comments are better than none at all
photo: ArTono
Many publishers treat obnoxious comments as a problem to be solved — Above the Law takes the opposite approach, and embraces readers as they are. Read more at paidContent »
Get your cat on: BuzzFeed creates new section where readers can publish
photo: BuzzFeed
Users will now get their own vertical on BuzzFeed, where they can submit according to their “Cat Power.” Read more at paidContent »
Want a job at Gawker Media? You can get a head start by being a regular commenter
The new weekend editor at Gawker’s auto-focused Jalopnik blog got hired because he was a knowledgeable commenter on the site, an example of how the feedback loop between writers and readers can pay off for blogs. Read more at paidContent »
What the Atlantic learned from Scientology: native advertising is harder for news brands
photo: Phuriphat
The venerable Atlantic is being made the poster child for what happens when native advertising goes wrong. An ad industry event in New York raised the question of whether the Atlantic deserves this blame when many other sites engage in similar practices. Read more at paidContent »
If you are running advertorial or sponsored content, Google is watching you
Google has reiterated a warning to publishers that its ban on links that are designed to enhance a site’s PageRank applies not just to paid links but to sponsored content and advertorial as well. Read more at paidContent »
Are comments a wretched hive of scum and villainy or an underused resource for publishers?
photo: Flickr / Jeremy King
Although many traditional media outlets and journalists see reader comments as having little or no value, publishers like Gawker and The Verge see them as a potential source of revenue — and even potential hires. Read more at paidContent »
Fixing online comments — how do you automate trust?
photo: Shutterstock / Sam72
Jeff Atwood, co-founder of Stack Overflow, has launched a new platform that he hopes will improve the nature of online comments by adding trust metrics — but there are no shortcuts to healthy online communtiies. Read more at paidContent »
Gawker Media says its advertising future is affiliate links and commerce journalism
In a leaked internal memo, Gawker Media founder Nick Denton says that what the network describes as “a new type of service journalism” — posts filled with affiliate links — will become a major focus for the company. Read more at paidContent »
BuzzFeed’s latest: Is this the future of magazines?
photo: alphaspirit
The business success of digital news sites has led more of them to apply their technical wizardry to long-form journalism. BuzzFeed is the latest example. Will its style of feature one days replace magazines like the New Yorker? Read more at paidContent »
Sandy takes out Gawker, Huffpo and other sites
Hurricane Sandy’s impact made itself felt on major media properties including the Huffington Post, Gawker, and Buzzfeed. All of those sites reported outages around 7 p.m. EDT. Read more »
Plagiarism, defamation and the power of hyperlinks
photo: Flickr user Skedonk
If Fareed Zakaria and Jonah Lehrer had spent more time linking to the original sources of content they used in their writing, they wouldn’t have faced accusations of plagiarism. Their cases and a recent defamation lawsuit against Gawker Media help reinforce the value of the hyperlink. Read more »
paidContent turns 10: A brief history of digital media
Remember when Friendster was the hot social network, publishers doubted that ebooks would ever sell, and Netflix thought DVDs in red envelopes was the future? We do — that was that state of digital media when paidContent launched in 2002. Read more »
Has Nick Denton really reinvented comments?
photo: Flickr user Tony Margiocchi
When Gawker Media launched its new commenting system earlier this year, founder Nick Denton said that he wanted to reinvent the way readers and writers interact around a story and turn the discussion into the most important feature of a post. Has he succeeded? Read more »
Yes, Gawker is conflicted — but anonymity is still valuable
At a time when everyone is talking about how important it is for commenters to use real names, Gawker is going in the exact opposite direction. And while that may benefit Nick Denton for all kinds of selfish reasons, it’s still an experiment worth watching. Read more »
Tech bubbles, ad revenue and Twitter — five questions with Nick Denton
Gawker Media founder Nick Denton talks about whether we are in another technology bubble, what the decline of Facebook and Twitter as conversational media say about social networks, the death of advertising and whether he has any interest in selling his digital empire. Read more »
Nick Denton wants to turn the online media world on its head
Gawker Media founder Nick Denton says that he wants to fix the way that online comments work, but in order to do that he is having to reinvent Gawker itself — by trying to flip on its head the way that online content works. Read more »
BuzzFeed Launches Women's Vertical, 'Shift,' And Sports Section
There’s a new girl in town, joining established women’s blogs Jezebel and The Hairpin: Shift, BuzzFeed’s new women’s vertical, run by New Yo… Read more at paidContent »
Another Tech Blogger Launches An E-Book Venture
Does three make a trend? In recent months, both former Gawker editor Emily Gould and GigaOm’s Michael Wolf launched their own e-book venture… Read more at paidContent »
Gawker, Others Sued For Writing About New Yorker Art Con Story
A strange libel lawsuit that reads like a pulp version of the The Da Vinci Code just became a bit stranger — the controversial art world fi… Read more at paidContent »
Why the Guardian needs its American dream to come true
The Guardian’s latest attempt to become a serious player in the American market is gearing up, with the launch of a new homepage for US readers. But after many failed attempts, can it ever succeed – or could its American dream turn into a nightmare? Read more »
Shhh! Don’t Tell Google News You’re a Blog!
Google added some features to Google News, including the ability to choose to see less news from blogs. But how does the search giant define the term “blog?” There’s no easy answer to that, which reinforces why the distinction doesn’t really make any sense any more. Read more »
Revision3 Gets Lifehacker Show; Next Up: Sports & Cars
Revision3 published the first episode of its new weekly Lifehacker web series today, produced in cooperation with the popular Gawker blog. The show is just one attempt to tap new audiences, and Revision3′s Ryan Vance said shows targeting sports or car geeks could be next. Read more »
Vid-Biz: Anti-Comcast Coalition, Jackass 3.5, Gawker
Today on the Internet: Web companies including Google and Yahoo team up to protest the Comcast-NBCU merger, Paramount announces a digital-only follow-up to the latest successful Jackass installment, and the BBC is determined to count every view, including online and VOD. Read more »
Karina’s Capsule: DR Adams Films
Over the past couple of months, Ryan Adams –– yes, THAT Ryan Adams –– has taken the Internet by storm. Adams’ early efforts at producing internet video earned him the predictable scorn from the predictable sources, and in February the sensitive auteur closed his YouTube account. […] Read more »
Karina’s Capsule: Arin Crumley and Balance
Last weekend, filmmaker and digital DIY evangelist Arin Crumley went to a party in Brooklyn, where his coat, wallet, passport, bike and video recorder were stolen. Arin has built a brand around finding innovative ways to broadcast his personal issues and private frustrations directly to his […] Read more »
