A well-known journal is interviewing me soon about Gannett's unusual (that is, unusual for Gannett) fledgling entertainment website in San Francisco: The Bold Italic. I've got my own opinion. What's yours?Recent posts on the site: Hunting for a super bowl of noodles. Catching Bay Area crabs (of the crustacean variety). And tracking down America's most-followed mayor (San Francisco's Gavin Newsom has 1.4 million on Twitter!).
Related: In a review, technology blog Gizmodo says every Bold Italic page looks "lush" on Apple's new iPad
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It's a blog, one that used expensive development and design resources for no apparent reason (when you can accomplish largely the same effect with a themed Wordpress) with no apparent revenue plan.
ReplyDeleteSource for the expensive comment: http://pivotallabs.com/users/ian/blog/articles/1032-the-bold-italic-launches
I really don't understand the rationale behind it all. Seems like an incredible waste of resources.
So, "11g" really is the name of that Corporate development team. (Eleven being the 11th Floor at Corporate, housing the top executives. G's for Gannett, I guess.)
ReplyDeleteJeez, how lame is this? Ramen noodles. Let's do a story involving things that college kids are into. Yes, ramen noodles. Then there is this lengthy essay on catching crabs with a digression on how to take a pee on a fishing boat.
ReplyDeleteYes, 11g is the name of the former DIG team. They rebranded (ha!) and they are located comfortably next to Craig Dubow's office. It might surprise you that this is a site and a business plan built by IDEO and not really by Michael Madness.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how they actually make money or justify the enormous expense of the people supporting the Bold Italic or the million dollar cost of IDEO.
I think it is a nice blog and different, but can't get past the expense or how this is a business.
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ReplyDeleteMy son lives in San Jose and he and his friends love it. They feel it is a website designed for their busy and varied lifestyles. It gets a good grade from the 30 something crowd!
ReplyDeleteIt starts off negatively offensive by implying neighborhoods are fragmented and people need to know about the neighborhoods in which they live, work or buy. Will Gannett ever get it that people do know what's going on around them. To tell them they don't know anything is crap. Maybe people don't know the details of their tax money and how is was spent last night at a school board or council meeting. IMHO, that's the kind of information people crave.
ReplyDeleteIf some outsider told me where I was supposed to eat and shop in my own neighborhood or city, I'd resent it. But if they told me why the city has to raise my water bill or how much the mayor spent in travel or credit cards, I'd gladly read it.
I can't believe Gannett has this kind of money to throw around on things like this, the moms site (it's still branded in my mind as the "how to give a blow job site) and metroflix or whatever it's called (forever branded is my mind as the kooks who videoed drunks), you'd think it would have money to devote to news.
Nice...Consultants are now building our new "innovative" products.
ReplyDeleteWho manages 11g? Is this a Saridakis project?
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ReplyDeleteI can't speak to how well it covers the city, but I like the stories I've read. The only thing really "innovative" about it, from a content POV, is the first-person approach and focus on personal experience. And that's not really *new* ... just what the best columnists and magazine writers have been doing for, oh, decades. Leave it to Gannett to think it's doing something new.
ReplyDeleteAs for the system: Yep, it's a blog, built with completely unecessary pinning thingamabobs. Give me a hyperlink and I'll bookmark something if I like it, thanks very much. No need to re-invent the wheel.
And to the criticisms about the lack of a revenue plan ... while that's a valid point, there are only three ways to make money off of content online:
(1) Charge for content up-front.
(2) Sell advertising alongside the content.
(3) Sell a product related to the content.
Pick one and try it.
Here's what I wrote about revenue prospects back in late December, when I first posted on Bold Italic:
ReplyDeleteTo me, it looks like the Bold Italic's revenue may come from fees paid by merchants whose names appear in the features published on the website. For example, I noticed the following, on the About Us page: "Later on, we plan to offer tools to help match merchants with potential customers who share their passions."
I'm guessing that registered users (readers) will be able to add merchants they like to a favorites page. Then, merchants will be able to pitch promotions/advertisements/etc. to those readers -- again, for a fee.
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ReplyDelete3:16 pm: Really, $1 million to IDEO -- or is that just rumor? And did IDEO have a hand in the big Detroit retrenchment last year, or am I thinking of a similarly named consultant?
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteI am not 3:16p, but I can validate that $1 million fee being paid to IDEO. IDEO Is the Palo Alto company that worked on Detroit's model and this is the same IDEO firm that is building The Bold Italic. They are also in the process of building a foodie website from what I am hearing.
Also, I know that this is not a Saridakis project, but a Gracia Martore and a Craig Dubow production. This is according to Michael Maness. He often brags to a bunch of us in Digital that is he a "direct report" to Craig and Gracia.
Digital has not been involved with any 11g products. I rarely hear Saridakis mention them nor can he answer any questions about it when asked. It seems like it is a very secretive project. Given the tight budgets across the company, I think it is surprising that Gannett moved several people out West and is covering all living expense, plus is paying IDEO an enormous fee to help build a blog and pay random people for each article they post.
I do not have anything against Michael, but how do I get a gig like that? What pictures does he have?
From what I've heard, this was not an expensive project at all - and was done with minimal resources. Can anyone confirm all the speculation above that this is an expensive project?
ReplyDeleteBold Titanic, not Italic. And yes, it's lavishly expensive. Since it is coming out of the Crystal Towers as a special project, there are no controls on expenses.
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ReplyDeleteAccording to Kevin Poortinga and Josh Resnek, they have said multiple times that this is a very expensive "seven digit" cost for a blog site.
ReplyDeleteI trust Josh and Kevin and they have always been right by me and my team.
Furthermore, in a meeting recently with Bob Dickey's "chiefs", they all chuckled and made a comment of the "multi-million dollar" Michael Maness project in SAn Francisco.
I think there is enough evidence. Salaries alone of Michael and his team of five people, plus IDEO, plus overhead and travel already adds to a few million a year.
Who are these five people? Were they all new hires? Or were some existing employees? What's the timeline for this project -- i.e., when does it have to start producing revenue?
ReplyDeleteMichael Maness
ReplyDeleteLaura Ramos
Mary Specht
Jim Lenehan
Some other overpaid former newspaper lacky
PLUS IDEO
Something interesting is going on here. Remember Frank Vega? Does anyone think that a website like this is just another avenue to go take a shit in someone else's back yard? The Bold Italic is a way for Gannett to stick it to Frank... it's very subtle, but let's face it... the company could have chosen another market. To these guys at the top of the food chain, it's just a game.
ReplyDeleteBut to address your initial question, it's not particularly well-written for such a cutting-edge website. And does it make any money? I doubt it.
I struggled through the article about using a letterpress to print invitations. Then, ever so carefully buried in the piece was a call-to-arms telling me where to buy these over-priced squares.
Very esoteric.
That's funny, 9:45. Maybe Frank will retaliate and start a similar website in Detroit.
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't 11g and Maness held to the same standards as Gannett Digital, as far as revenue/traffic expectations? It's a boondogle, plain and simple.
ReplyDelete