Is SPIN really circling the drain?

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Yeah I'd imagine

avant gardener (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 2 February 2014 14:32 (ten years ago) link

a SNL-style world

then again absolutely no one will be watching that in 20 years, possibly bcz we will be in Thunderdome or Waterworld

images of war violence and historical smoking (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 2 February 2014 15:11 (ten years ago) link

I know Whiney's just trolling here, but the idea that Buzzfeed's music section is being run by an "outlier crank" is pretty amusing. Katy Perry listicles really need that outlier touch to gain any kind of traction.

Position Position, Monday, 3 February 2014 02:49 (ten years ago) link

He's p cranky on twitter and on his blog

Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 3 February 2014 04:52 (ten years ago) link

Not trying to be mean or snarky, but what is (was?) Videogum? Was it just a site that aggregated funny videos? Was it an official offshoot of Stereogum?

Evan R, Monday, 3 February 2014 22:36 (ten years ago) link

Pretty much.

Murgatroid, Monday, 3 February 2014 22:38 (ten years ago) link

Was it sort of the red-headed stepchild of SPIN media? I read Spin and Stereogum regularly, and honestly don't recall having heard of it until the announcement today

Evan R, Monday, 3 February 2014 22:49 (ten years ago) link

Videogum was the best site on the web and then Gabe quit and it was over

polyphonic, Monday, 3 February 2014 22:55 (ten years ago) link

yeah videogum was gabe and then he left (well became disinvested first) and it kinda withered and died

le goon (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 00:04 (ten years ago) link

videogum with gabe at its peak was the funniest web site on the internet and i think he (and silvestri etc) have had a big influence on the sense of humor and style of blogging

le goon (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 00:04 (ten years ago) link

ok this demands further explanation. but hey, spin says it wants to put further resources into idolator! so, uh...

eric banana (s.clover), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 00:18 (ten years ago) link

ahhhh, gotcha. I couldn't figure out why people were eulogizing what seemed like the millionth site to piggyback on already-viral content

Evan R, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 00:36 (ten years ago) link

ok this demands further explanation. but hey, spin says it wants to put further resources into idolator! so, uh...

― eric banana (s.clover), Monday, February 3, 2014 7:18 PM (57 minutes ago) Bookmark

the company is bleeding money (if it even has any left) and i'm sure videogum post-gabe wasn't returning anywhere near the money buzzmedia was putting into it.

le goon (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 01:17 (ten years ago) link

had no idea videogum was good

flopson, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 01:20 (ten years ago) link

no j0rdan s. hyperbole thread gabe's "worst movie of all time" posts is some of the best/funniest writing in the history of blogging

http://www.videogum.com/category/the-hunt-for-the-worst-movie-of-all-time

le goon (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 01:22 (ten years ago) link

omg, ballount post just collapsed and condensed years of reading rockcrit and then ilx into a black hole.

epic on many levels.

People aged 30+ (or older?, wtf) can't help but to view SPIN through a nostalgia lens.

Pale Smiley Face (dandydonweiner), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 12:32 (ten years ago) link

videogum was funny the few times i looked at it but it was definitely like "this ain't bad, shame it's called 'videogum'"

scott c-word (some dude), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 12:35 (ten years ago) link

I remember seeing videogum every so often in my rss feeds and being very impressed how it never watered down its voice. (its voice being a slightly more high-key version of the standard blog voice, but even that is harder than one might think to pull off on a consistent basis.)

katherine, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 17:57 (ten years ago) link

I noticed I still haven't gotten my Daily SPIN email today....

an enormous bolus of flatulence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 17:58 (ten years ago) link

Are Whiney and Harvilla still there?
from that Post link:
Short consumer-engagement time on many of the 40 sites in the Spin network was always a problem, suggesting viewers were popping into many of the sites briefly, spending less than 90 seconds before exiting.

The network includes sites such as Celebuzz, The Superficial, Buzznet and Go Fug Yourself. The company had two major downsizings of staff in 2013, and as the editorial staffs were slashed, traffic began to erode as well. By November, it had fallen to around 26 million unique visitors on all platforms, down from 34 million in March.

Strang said the company currently has about 165 employees. He said the sale of the assets to the new firm did not involve any new layoffs, but added, “We’re constantly trying to be at the right size.”

dow, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 18:39 (ten years ago) link

Wow there are (were?) some dreadful websites operating under that umbrella

Evan R, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 19:09 (ten years ago) link

Go Fug Yourself?

christmas candy bar (al leong), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 19:12 (ten years ago) link

Just visited that. Credit them for committing themselves to their atrocious branding: They work some variation of "fug" into nearly every headline

Evan R, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 19:14 (ten years ago) link

Obv. fans of The Naked and The Dead and The Fugs; yay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjT_sYUlt70

dow, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 19:17 (ten years ago) link

and grant morrison's seaguy!

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/chubby1.JPG

balls, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 19:24 (ten years ago) link

Are Whiney and Harvilla still there?

whiney is not still there

Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 19:59 (ten years ago) link

Sorry, unless you prefer it that way now.

dow, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 20:02 (ten years ago) link

read the ny post story and then take a wild guess if i'm feeling bad about jumping ship

Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 20:05 (ten years ago) link

Yeah, I read it; that's what I fuggered. cheerz

dow, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 20:09 (ten years ago) link

videogum with gabe at its peak was the funniest web site on the internet and i think he (and silvestri etc) have had a big influence on the sense of humor and style of blogging

― le goon (J0rdan S.), Monday, February 3, 2014 7:04 PM (Yesterday)

i haven't read vgum in YEARS but i just tried to read that post announcing the move or whatever and shuddered at the voice that girl was taking. maybe i'd hate it from gabe too these days, i don't know

k3vin k., Tuesday, 4 February 2014 20:41 (ten years ago) link

nah she's not good

polyphonic, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 20:45 (ten years ago) link

if this is it for Spin, you gotta give it credit, it took this thread almost exactly 10 years to come true

scott c-word (some dude), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 20:48 (ten years ago) link

xp yeah it's that "whoops I dropped my thought... ANYWAY" style of writing, which pervades a lot of those junk Spin Media sites. Nothing wrong with it on a blog (or a forum) or whatever, but no sympathy for the investors just now realizing they aren't going to get rich off of it

Evan R, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 20:49 (ten years ago) link

no i think there's a lot wrong with adults writing that way anywhere

k3vin k., Tuesday, 4 February 2014 20:50 (ten years ago) link

Short consumer-engagement time on many of the 40 sites in the Spin network was always a problem, suggesting viewers were popping into many of the sites briefly, spending less than 90 seconds before exiting.

In the case of Spin, this might be because after loading, all non-slideshow pieces would redirect to the home page, and all slideshow listicles would only reload the first slide.

(In my work browser)

(D1CK$) (sic), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 21:08 (ten years ago) link

lol can u imagine

flopson, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 21:09 (ten years ago) link

if this is it for Spin, you gotta give it credit, it took this thread almost exactly 10 years to come true

could be the moron who originated it

Pale Smiley Face (dandydonweiner), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 22:12 (ten years ago) link

if somebody just lost their job I think they get a pass on writing style for the day

katherine, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 22:48 (ten years ago) link

Miss dash snowden

, Wednesday, 5 February 2014 00:51 (ten years ago) link

dash snowden was a lady? a single lady? ::straightens tie::

scott c-word (some dude), Wednesday, 5 February 2014 01:40 (ten years ago) link

Back off, buster. I saw her first

, Wednesday, 5 February 2014 01:45 (ten years ago) link

Go Fug Yourself?

― christmas candy bar (al leong), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 19:12 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Just visited that. Credit them for committing themselves to their atrocious branding: They work some variation of "fug" into nearly every headline

― Evan R, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 19:14 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

my partner used to love go fug yourself, though i've not heard her mention it in a lnog while

the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music (stevie), Wednesday, 5 February 2014 10:49 (ten years ago) link

one month passes...

guilty lol @ "Aswad"

"Jiggle It" - 2 in a Zoo (Stevie D(eux)), Friday, 28 March 2014 21:28 (ten years ago) link

Wow, Jem Aswad has been around forever. When I went to my first CMJ Convention back in 1989, he was a panellist working for Dutch East India Trading Company, I think!

Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Friday, 28 March 2014 22:19 (ten years ago) link

i always thought he was a chick named jen

sorry bro

j., Friday, 28 March 2014 22:21 (ten years ago) link

not surprising for reasons that have nothing to do with jem, who is a good dude

le goon (J0rdan S.), Saturday, 29 March 2014 04:22 (ten years ago) link

Knowing SPIN's state these days, you could have stopped after the first two words.

Herbie Handcock (Murgatroid), Saturday, 29 March 2014 04:27 (ten years ago) link

well yeah

le goon (J0rdan S.), Saturday, 29 March 2014 06:03 (ten years ago) link


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