Online media website Gawker Media founder and CEO, Nick Denton, has decided to dramatically reinvent the style of his website from a blog to a newsmagazine format. The new design “aims to emphasize original work and the growing number of videos on his sites, visited by 17.3 million unique U.S. visitors in September.” Denton owns a compilation of nine blogs that includes Gawker, the sports site Deadspin and his Gadget site Gizmodo. The previously reverse chronological format will be replaced by one cover story with other posts and headlines flanking the right side of the page. The so-called “face-lift” is currently being publicly tested, with many other bloggers and media organizations waiting in the rears hoping to mimic Denton’s newest technology release. Several “have copied such features as his tools for comments and his elaborate back-end analytics system, which in the new design, helps power a live visitor counter at the top of each site.” Many believe Denton to be a risk taker in his implementation of technology. Inevitably, some are hesitant to change, but with Denton’s talent for pushing users “towards a new usage behavior,” he hopes they will eventually be satisfied by the new look. Due to increased competition, bloggers are being forced to reinvent themselves in order to set themselves apart. Denton recognizes the need for this transformation, especially as blogs are becoming outdated, most specifically in relation to huge social media giants like Facebook and Twitter. Thus, Denton started the transition to a new format in October 2009 due to glitches with the reverse chronological format that was currently in place. In coverage of the Balloon Boy Story, the reverse chronological format caused it to keep falling off the page. Denton claims he has become “bored” of the current site and calls it “constricting.” In addition to the new look of the site, Denton wants to create more space to show video ads due to active demand. Gawker’s CTO, Thomas Plunkett, “believes the new design will double the network’s monthly page views to one billion a year after launch.” Currently, Plunkett and programmers are working to improve the speed at which stories slide into view.
Gawker is hoping to be the first blog site to revolutionize itself in hopes of better competing with the big guns like Facebook and Twitter. With Denton’s technology instincts, the new website interface could better cater to users and also increase profitability tenfold, especially with the implementation of video commercials for advertisers and sponsors. While the change is risky, as all new technologies are, Denton seems confident in his ability to lead users into the new site without much difficulty. If all goes well, Gawker could increase monthly views from 17 million to over a billion. It is yet to be seen whether users will prefer the old blog look or quickly adapt to the newsmagazine-type feel.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304879604575582790000433702.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEFTTopNews
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