Mercurius
First Avenue
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So a new website, indie columbus, is garnishing some attention and it seems to offer much of the same content and services as Columbus Underground. The similarities of the content and the demographic that it seems to cater towards is almost identical to C.U. Upon a superficial inspection, both sites seem to have their strengths though.
Thoughts?
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TheOtherZach
Zackass
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The great thing about the interwebs is that content producers are no longer competing in a zero sum game as is the case with print or broadcast. As the (quality) local content grows more people will go online for Columbus news and more advertisers will take these types of sites seriously.
The more local Columbus voices out there the better.
Coreroc
Egoville USA
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I think that the site started off on a good note, but seems to be develpoing slowly. The major difference is that only certian people post the stories vs. anyone can start a thread. I believe that there was a similar idea behind IC but with an edge of being a little more blunt and brash if you will.
Personally I don't seem to get a feeling of new when I go there. I mostly feel like I can drop in once every 2 weeks and not miss much.
Nitsud Regnifloh
Valerio Heights
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Tenzo, keep you away, you're listed as one of the newest members to the site - BUSTED. haha
the home page looks purty, but i am a sucker for tried and true. CU it is.
i am gonna have to agree with coreroc on this one, for once (haha), it seems kinda thin but that could just be for start up reasons.
Bear
The woods
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I'm with Zach. I've visited both and like them for different reasons -- not to get all old-media, but they remind me of newspaper vs. magazine: short sharp quick current bites vs. longer, more in-depth, glossier content from a smaller number of sources.
The thing I really like about both is that there's so much good, interesting content from people I might actually meet walking down the street (and occasionally do).
asil
Worthington
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I'll check it out once in a while (after CU of course). Interesting layout, bite sized articles that are well written, contributors that sound more like peers than Lantern graduates. I like it. I especially like the profile of Miguel, he's kind of a badass.
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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We actually have never officially "launched" indieColumbus although it is definitely alive and kickin. The first month we were live we received about 4,000 unique visitors, all from word of mouth. The second month (February) we nearly doubled to 8,000 uniques. Again, all word of mouth. These numbers tell me people are hungry for different, well written content. Secondly, I'm convinced people want to interact with that content using services they already do - Twitter, and FB.
The traffic numbers aren't all rosey. There has also been a drop off in traffic, which tells me we obviously need to publish more. Coreroc is right to observe that things are developing slowly. We're working on it now.
I think Bear nailed it - in terms of the newspaper vs. magazine analogy. Aside, from a basic social component I see CU and IC serving different needs and they coexist quite nicely. I love CU and will always participate in this community. Mainly though, because of the people on here. I struggle with the format at times.
If we were to take a competitive bent on the IC project the real competition is TOP, Alive and the Dispatch. It's no secret they are all clawing at the web as a way to save their print businesses (it won't). There is a big local information void we saw opening as a result of this trend when starting IC. The void exists between blogs, mainstream local press and aggregators like CU. We decided to address that void by creating IC and focusing on deeper, local content. It's been a fun experiment. We're still experimenting.
The site is creaking along right now. We've been doing a lot of testing in terms of our content strategy and technology platform. We're in the process of a total ground up redesign (technology and UI) to make the social features (Twitter, FB and the IC community) more seamlessly integrated with the content. In terms of content, we have 25 - 30 of some of my favorite Columbus people on board as writers. Stay tuned and we appreciate the feedback and welcome more criticisms. Thanks!
Nitsud Regnifloh
Valerio Heights
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ah, gotcha. i noticed a few CUers trying out the new site.
jeff_r
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I read this:
IndieColumbus dot com is Bustown’s only essential online phenomenon. Cutting-edge, controversial, fast, and funny, it’s where the Central City’s radical urbanists riff on culture, politics, outrage, activism, and their most inspired ambitions.
and really just assumed it wasn't for me.
I've never called Columbus "Bustown".
I don't self-identify as a radical urbanist, and I don't expect I've ever "riffed" on much of anything.
And as much as I hold my ambitions dear, I don't think I'd ever go so far as to suggest they're inspired.
Coreroc
Egoville USA
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Just cause you don't relate to the lingo doesn't mean your not saying the same thing. Sometimes you just have to tune in to understand.
Now to assume that the writers of indie columbus aren't inspired now thats just down right ignorant and rude. Check out content before you judge and lift the bliss.
Snarf
Dystopia
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Coreroc wrote >>
Just cause you don't relate to the lingo doesn't mean your not saying the same thing. Sometimes you just have to tune in to understand.
Now to assume that the writers of indie columbus aren't inspired now thats just down right ignorant and rude. Check out content before you judge and lift the bliss.
I think you misread. I think jeff_r was saying HIS writing is not inspired, not the IC writers.
Motorist
The Trots
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I've only spent a little time so far poking around on there but I didn't see anything that would prompt me to be a regular visitor. The way it promotes itself (we're so edgy) and some of the content (urinals of columbus? srsly?) reminds me of the various Columbus-centric lifestyle magazines that have proclaimed that they are not like the other mags that came before them.
What was the impetus for developing this website? On a basic level, it seems to want to do that same things that CU is doing but with a slightly different (and not any easier to navigate, IMO) format. I wonder (and I'm just thinking out loud so don't get your panties in a twist) if it has anything to do with one person (Walker) overseeing and taking credit for the site versus a couple people getting to control the site. I can't help but notice that at least one person who has stormed out of here in a huff a few times is an administrator on the site. It all seems like a bit of a duplicated effort and I can't wonder how much of that has to do with ego and butted heads.
Lastly, the overuse of the word Indie is getting to me in much the same way the young professional gets a lot of your goats.
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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@jeff_r - You're entitled to your opinion. However, I would suggest checking out more of the content or at the least, reserving judgment if you choose not to look beyond a statement.
Matt Slaybaugh wrote that bit and I can tell you that he is one of the most interesting, inspired people I've met in the city. A quiet, humble gentleman with a lot of presence. It's meant to be a little silly in addition to ambitious.
Anyhow, just because "you" don't refer to Columbus as "bustown" (I don't either) doesn't really mean shit and isn't really a reason to dismiss the ambitions of those writing about and highlighting things here to make the city a little more fun and interesting.
Cookie
Flyntonville
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JonMyers wrote >>
Anyhow, just because "you" don't refer to Columbus as "bustown" (I don't either) doesn't really mean shit and isn't really a reason to dismiss the ambitions of those writing about and highlighting things here to make the city a little more fun and interesting.
I didn't see him say anything about the writers, only that he probably wasn't the intended audience for it.
HeySquare
German Village
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Calling itself the city's "only essential online phenomenon" is a little delusional. And I prefer the interactive nature of CU.
But I enjoyed the articles. The writers are good. And I was pleased that articles gave credit to CU for certain topics, like the patio mapping article.
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