Can Anyone Compete With Gawker or Weblogs, Inc.?
When it comes to blog empires there are only two names in the mix: Gawker Media and Weblogs, Inc.. However, there are thousands of individuals out there with delusions (might be the wrong word) of making a living from their blogs. Is it possible for an individual to start another blogging network that can go head-to-head with the two goliaths?
I have a mini-empire, if you wish to call it that, that does about 10% of what I want it to do so I am no where near the power and control that they have. But what if there were just a couple of tweaks here and there that could be done or maybe a complete change in strategy, do you think it would be possible?
I know Darren has a similar concept with his Breaking News Blog sites. I have an idea that I am very excited about that really isn’t that different from what those two do, but I think it would work really well. Of course all of us have ideas that we think would work really well so that isn’t a surprise.
In any case do you see room for improvement in this arena? The market isn’t anywhere near saturated since the people I know have no problem subscribing to more than one feed with similar topics. That’s why Joystiq, Kotaku and Insert 25 can coexist in harmony.
No I won’t share my idea at the moment, but if I ever implement it everyone who wants to can make some money. I always get excited just thinking about it though and that’s a good thing for me. Now all I need is some time…
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POSTED IN: Personal Thoughts
8 opinions for Can Anyone Compete With Gawker or Weblogs, Inc.?
Benvolio
Mar 1, 2005 at 2:14 am
Your including ads in your rss feeds?
mmm…
Kyle
Mar 1, 2005 at 2:15 am
There will always be room for more.
Blogging is like writing novels or magazines. How many horror novels are there? How many articles on how to build a webpage are there? People will always seek information, and as long as that remains true - there’s always room.
The goal is to be the best. It may take time, but eventually you’ll gain popularity, and rise above your competition. But you’ve got to actually be better than them.
Scrivs
Mar 1, 2005 at 2:21 am
Yeah ads appear every 5 entries so they don’t overwhelm the readers, but they also don’t make an impact on my bank account either :-) I guess it’s more of an experiment.
Good points Kyle. People forget that being better is a must in today’s world. Well at least the world I work in.
Blog World
Mar 1, 2005 at 11:17 am
Why Compete With Gawker or Weblogs Inc?
Scrivs at WorkBoxers poses the question “can anyone compete with Gawker or Weblogs Inc?”. Unfortunately he doesn’t answer it, though he does mention he’s working on something. What a tease!
I’m not going to answer that question either. Instead I’m …
Ryan Latham
Mar 1, 2005 at 1:22 pm
Once upon a time there were 2 competitors in the console race. Sega and Nintendo. Why was there only 2? Because they proved themselves to be consistent performers, and had a solid reputation for that. Then all of a sudden, Saturn happened. Now there is only 1 solid performer.
Oh look, here comes a promising up-and-comer, PlayStation. Dreamcast sealed Sega’s demise. And Gamecube could not compete with Sony, and another up-and-comer, X-Box.
Now maybe the Nintendo’s new console will do some good for the company, but more likely will seal its fate as a software only company.
What does this have to do with anything? You can always compete, as long as you make great product. You can be at the top by making a superior product, but that is hard. Being at the top is not even what you are asking, just to compete.
Take X-Box and PS2, which is superior? PS2 (don’t flame, that is opinion), yet Microsoft can still compete by providing a quality product (despite cords). As long as quality is being produced, so is competition.
Bryan
Mar 1, 2005 at 3:28 pm
Wow Ryan, I think that sums it up nicely.
Good post.
Michael Moncur
Mar 1, 2005 at 6:02 pm
No, the market isn’t saturated–In fact I think the market hasn’t even begun yet. There are a hundred mainstream topics that are completely unrepresented by weblogs, and while it might be hard to compete with Engadget and Gizmodo, it’s pretty easy to get in on the ground floor in another area.
Scrivs
Mar 1, 2005 at 9:16 pm
I don’t think the market is ever saturated as long as you come up with something just a little better than the worst one out there :-)
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