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| Gawker unveils new comments system and Nick Denton immediately uses it to pick fight with BuzzFeed | Gawker unveils new comments system and Nick Denton immediately uses it to pick fight with BuzzFeed |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| In announcing a facet of his site's new commenting system, Gawker impresario Nick Denton caused a stir, naturally, in the comments. The publisher went on an angry tirade against his newest – and hottest – rival, BuzzFeed, calling out its two highest-profile personalities in the process. | In announcing a facet of his site's new commenting system, Gawker impresario Nick Denton caused a stir, naturally, in the comments. The publisher went on an angry tirade against his newest – and hottest – rival, BuzzFeed, calling out its two highest-profile personalities in the process. |
| Gawker's replacement for its three-year-old tiered comments system allows users to moderate replies to their own comments and features an algorithm that is intended to promote "good" contributions. | Gawker's replacement for its three-year-old tiered comments system allows users to moderate replies to their own comments and features an algorithm that is intended to promote "good" contributions. |
| But the new system wasn't sophisticated enough to prevent the debate broadening to a whinge about Gawker itself, which has had a bumpy year after a redesign that was less than triumphant and the installation of a new editor keen on making waves. | But the new system wasn't sophisticated enough to prevent the debate broadening to a whinge about Gawker itself, which has had a bumpy year after a redesign that was less than triumphant and the installation of a new editor keen on making waves. |
| Some users accused Gawker of attempting to emulate BuzzFeed, whose founder, the entrepreneur and viral prankster Jonah Peretti, has in many respects both cracked the code of how people share content they find online – and why they share what they share. This prompted Denton to outline what he sees as a fundamental philosophical difference: | Some users accused Gawker of attempting to emulate BuzzFeed, whose founder, the entrepreneur and viral prankster Jonah Peretti, has in many respects both cracked the code of how people share content they find online – and why they share what they share. This prompted Denton to outline what he sees as a fundamental philosophical difference: |
| Jonah Peretti is one of the smartest web publishers out there. And Buzzfeed is an aggressive and dynamic company. But we're obviously pursuing a different path. Look at our recent hires, people like John Koblin and Rich Juzwiak. Look at the people who have left Gawker for Buzzfeed, like Cherette and Whitney. And this discussion system is not something that Buzzfeed would build. Jonah – whether at Huffington Post or Buzzfeed – has always cared more about the volume of discussion and social sharing than its quality. He sees comments as a way for readers to *think* they're contributing. It's cynical. | Jonah Peretti is one of the smartest web publishers out there. And Buzzfeed is an aggressive and dynamic company. But we're obviously pursuing a different path. Look at our recent hires, people like John Koblin and Rich Juzwiak. Look at the people who have left Gawker for Buzzfeed, like Cherette and Whitney. And this discussion system is not something that Buzzfeed would build. Jonah – whether at Huffington Post or Buzzfeed – has always cared more about the volume of discussion and social sharing than its quality. He sees comments as a way for readers to *think* they're contributing. It's cynical. |
| And here's the other comment, about Ben Smith. BuzzFeed's prolific and influential new editor-in-chief was recently hired away from Politico to provide BuzzFeed some gravitas to go with its corgi photo galleries: | And here's the other comment, about Ben Smith. BuzzFeed's prolific and influential new editor-in-chief was recently hired away from Politico to provide BuzzFeed some gravitas to go with its corgi photo galleries: |
| Ben Smith's quick-hit campaign "scoops" are about as viral as cat videos. That fits with Buzzfeed. But I suspect Smith has too much respect for journalistic accuracy to be comfortable with Jonah Peretti's stunts. Remember that Buzzfeed's founder made his name with fake news, like the Nike letter. And Peretti's craving for the quick viral fix will not be satisfied by the nourishing fare put out by prestige hires like Doree Shafrir and Matt Buchanan. Either before or after acquisition, Buzzfeed will collapse under the weight of its own contradictions. | Ben Smith's quick-hit campaign "scoops" are about as viral as cat videos. That fits with Buzzfeed. But I suspect Smith has too much respect for journalistic accuracy to be comfortable with Jonah Peretti's stunts. Remember that Buzzfeed's founder made his name with fake news, like the Nike letter. And Peretti's craving for the quick viral fix will not be satisfied by the nourishing fare put out by prestige hires like Doree Shafrir and Matt Buchanan. Either before or after acquisition, Buzzfeed will collapse under the weight of its own contradictions. |
| Denton and Smith initially declined an interview request with the Guardian, and Peretti – who also co-founded Huffington Post – was not immediately available for a comment. | Denton and Smith initially declined an interview request with the Guardian, and Peretti – who also co-founded Huffington Post – was not immediately available for a comment. |
| But Denton's assertion was also challenged by Gawker user @nichcarlson, aka the deputy editor of Business Insider, Nicholas Carlson, who wrote: | But Denton's assertion was also challenged by Gawker user @nichcarlson, aka the deputy editor of Business Insider, Nicholas Carlson, who wrote: |
| I don't think Peretti actually cares if those people drive traffic. The cat pictures and funny memes will bring the traffic. Shafrir and Buchanan are their to put a halo on the whole thing. Peretti pulled the same trick at HuffPo, a site that makes its numbers with boobs but builds its brand on politics. He has a saying for this: "business in the front; party in the back." | I don't think Peretti actually cares if those people drive traffic. The cat pictures and funny memes will bring the traffic. Shafrir and Buchanan are their to put a halo on the whole thing. Peretti pulled the same trick at HuffPo, a site that makes its numbers with boobs but builds its brand on politics. He has a saying for this: "business in the front; party in the back." |
| This is clearly an internet beef that has not yet even begun to simmer. | This is clearly an internet beef that has not yet even begun to simmer. |
| 5.15pm update: Gawker's editor-in-chief, AJ Daulerio, waded in to the comments, publicly contradicting his boss's dismissal of Buzzfeed. He wrote "That is a dumb thing to say. Sir." Prompted by Denton, he went on to elaborate: | 5.15pm update: Gawker's editor-in-chief, AJ Daulerio, waded in to the comments, publicly contradicting his boss's dismissal of Buzzfeed. He wrote "That is a dumb thing to say. Sir." Prompted by Denton, he went on to elaborate: |
| Because it's dismissive for the sake of being dismissive. Because I think you're overlooking the big media impact Ben heading over to Buzzfeed had not only taking that site in a new direction, but a good majority of online content publishers. I don't think the goal was for him to bring in traffic-driving scoops (hate that word) to anchor the cat listicles, etc. ... But what's most fascinating is how he's really building, in my opinion, the first legitimate modern day newsroom. He has an extremely tenacious group under him who specialize in different areas of both traditional and online journalism. Over time, it'll become the standard. | Because it's dismissive for the sake of being dismissive. Because I think you're overlooking the big media impact Ben heading over to Buzzfeed had not only taking that site in a new direction, but a good majority of online content publishers. I don't think the goal was for him to bring in traffic-driving scoops (hate that word) to anchor the cat listicles, etc. ... But what's most fascinating is how he's really building, in my opinion, the first legitimate modern day newsroom. He has an extremely tenacious group under him who specialize in different areas of both traditional and online journalism. Over time, it'll become the standard. |
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