The Pajamas Media thing is taking on a life of its own as sides are being drawn up, odds are being laid, and there's even a dead pool for the PJ media enterprise.
None of this is surprising, least of all to me.
I've been in this game before. And don't for one moment think that this isn't a game. With lots of money at stake. But at its heart it is a game.
The rules are simple. Survive and thrive or wither and die.
I've worked at .com startups before. Twice. The first was Suite101.com. I recently ended by nine year affiliation with that company because I felt that I could do more through my own blog than through their publishing scheme. When I first started with them in October 1996, there was a competition by the name of MiningCo. I briefly considered joining their outfit instead, but chose to stay with Suite101.com. In the nine years, I've posted on Middle East Politics, the war on terror, the Sudanese genocide, and a wide range of subjects (including Internet Law). It was a great run.
Was it a good idea to stick with Suite101.com all this time? Well, you might not have heard of MiningCo., but you've probably heard of About.com. That's what MiningCo. morphed into. And About.com made a bunch of its contributors and management quite well off in the proccess.
Was this a boneheaded move on my part? Not hardly [actually, it would have been nice to cash out from About.com's success, but unless you invent a time machine, I'll accept the fact that I got some renumeration from S101 and that experience helped me land a position at the next .com startup, a legal information site. We launched the website on the eve of the .com crash, and it closed up shop after blowing through its venture capital.
Was that a bad move on my part? Again, I'd say nope.
It led me to my current paying job, where I've been for the past five years. And I've got the experience of working closely with those who started up companies - what to do and what not to do. It also provided me with the invaluable insight on writing and editing information on the fly and dealing with people.
So how does my experiences relate back to OSM, PJ Media, and all the critics, the cynics, and the heroes at the methadone clinics? It has everything and nothing to do with it.
This is a new venture, with new leadership, and they're trying to break into a very crowded marketplace. PJ Media has to do something to separate itself from the rest of the media outlets. Companies will have bad decisions and choices, and others will be downright priescent. Hope for the latter, prepare for the former.
So, I'm hedging my bets. I want PJ media to succeed, but I'm not going to bet the farm on it just yet. I'll continue doing what I've been doing all along: putting up solid content, and hope that folks who visit my site like it enough that they link back and tell their friends. And in the process make a few bucks to help with the house purchase fund. Now, that's a story for another day.
As for those folks who think that PJ media is sure to fail, I hope you're wrong. But, I'm preparing for the possibility that you're right. Oh, and I wont be burning any bridges either. I'll link to anyone and everything that I think is worth linking to because I'm an equal opportunity offender.
That's the kind of guy I am.
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