 |
| Campbell (left) and Melnick (right) |
They then joined the SFDB blogroll on September 25, 2010. At that time, their "mission statement" was...
Our mission: to wander our hometown and its environs in search of the city we’ve always wanted and often suspected was there all along. Essentially, we intend to squeeze the orange dry in the hopes that it yields plenty of juice. It may or it may not, but that’s kinda the point.What followed was a barrage of posts filled with interesting information on South Florida concerts, events and happenings that always worked their way into the Sifts and got them numerous SFDB Post of the Month recognitions and nominations. Jordan's writing skills and Robby Campbell's magic with the camera lens was a marvelous combination that produced many memorable posts for their readers.
Beached Miami is the chronicle of this shameless excuse to eat, drink and introduce ourselves to attractive ladies as Univision reporters. We hope you enjoy. Feel free to contact us to suggest places we should go, events we should attend, and people we should meet. We are open to everything.
Sometime in early 2011, Beached Miami started accepting advertising. Not too long after that, the "Beached Miami" branding began appearing on their superb video productions and at local concerts that they were helping to promote. I vividly recall the time I visited O Cinema in Miami and was amazed to see the Beached Miami logo on the screen as one of the theater's sponsors. They also began sharing their content with the Miami Herald and Open Media Miami. In an email to me last week, Jordan commented...
On the content side, we realized that we needed to expand and increase our coverage. So when we had the opportunity to partner with Open Media Miami to provide our readers with hyperlocal community news, we jumped at it. While the partnership is still evolving, we are currently covering community news every week (e.g. our coverage of the Midtown Walmart debate). This is not only sorely needed in Miami, as the larger local media outlets offer less community news everyday, but it is a conversation starter, and conversation is the lifeblood of a site like Beached Miami.In mid-2011, Beached Miami started the Sketchy Miami project and received a lot of attention from the local media and fellow South Florida bloggers for this unique endeavor that further diversified their online portfolio. They were the darlings of the South Florida blogosphere and they were on a roll.
But the Beached Miami of 2010 was changing. There was more promoting to do, more Sketchy Miami events to organize and there was little time to write the personable and unique posts that had been the mainstay of the blog. Jordan explains...
In truth, it has become harder for me to do this kind of writing for Beached as I have dedicated myself to the site as an editor first, writer (a close) second. I love to do that kind of writing and I do sometimes regret that I am not doing more of it, but there is only so much time in the day and Beached Miami will never be what we want it to be if we don't think long term and make sacrifices.A number of Beached Miami blog posts are now being outsourced to other South Florida bloggers, writers and Open Media Miami. Jordan and Robby still contribute on a regular basis but their posts are mostly limited to concert or event promotions that Beached Miami is involved with. It should be noted that one of their essays was recently published in The Atlantic...a piece they mentioned and linked to at Beached Miami.
I miss the Beached Miami of 2010. What was a gregarious, personable and easygoing effort by two Miami guys trying to "squeeze the orange dry," has ballooned into a kind of aggregate blog business venture that is drawing a certain amount of its content from various contributors who are often times unknown to the Beached Miami reading community. Gone is the unique and distinctive personalities that used to be present in the posts, videos, and podcasts that were produced by Robby and Jordan.
Is this is a necessary evil of growing, maturing and "taking it to the next level?"
I don't know. I only know the way it feels.
-photo courtesy Miami Beach 411
.
18 comments:
Alas, I tell my students this all the time. Once you start monetizing/expanding your blog, say goodbye to the joy of writing. You become the publisher, editor, salesperson, accountant and janitor of the operation. I do miss the old Beached Miami too, but understand the guys have to move forward.
Rick, I value your opinion and appreciate your support for Beached Miami since the beginning. Here are a few reactions to your piece:
-- No content is being outsourced. Open Media Miami content exists in full on Beached Miami and only in excerpt elsewhere. For all intents and purposes, OMM content "lives" on Beached Miami (this wasn't always the case). Re other contributors, we are proud that 40+ people have contributed to Beached Miami since we launched. We don't consider this outsourcing. We don't often aggregate a la HuffPo. These are direct contributions to Beached Miami, and in many cases we pay our contributors. This last point is important: an independent blog that launched without a dime of financial backing now has a budget to pay talented contributors, albeit a very small one.
-- Also important to note that Beached Miami does not equal Robby and Jordan. We launched it, yes, but since the very beginning we've had contributions, including 74 posts and counting from William Alton, our music editor. I'm pretty sure we called out for contributions in the original text of our about page (which you quoted above). We always wanted to be a platform for other Miamians.
-- I'm adamant that our partnership with OMM makes us a much better site. In addition to our music and arts coverage, we now cover community issues at exactly the moment when larger local media outlets are shrinking their community news coverage. In fact, I'm thrilled about this development in the site.
-- Finally, it is wrong to reduce what we do to "concert or events promotion". As far as music coverage goes, the Miami Music Guide (www.beachedmiami.com/music-guide) is a labor-intensive and very good curation of the local music calendar. The ongoing New Waves series gives our community a first listen to new SoFla-made music. And Nevermind Miami (www.beachedmiami.com/nevermind-miami) and the Top 50 SoFla Songs of 2011 (www.beachedmiami.com/2011songs) are both powerful testaments to the talent of the Miami music scene, and both required a lot of hustle.
All that said, I see where you're coming from and, as I said in our email exchange, I agree that Beached Miami has evolved a great deal since the early days. We simply view that evolution differently.
I'm glad you're paying many of your contributors, Jordan. Way to go ... that's the spirit to keep integrity in our craft. And thanks for clarifying those points here. I would love to feature you guys on a panel some day on what it takes to grow a blog.
After going back and reading what I wrote about "outsourcing," I realize that I made a mistake in what I was trying to say. What I meant to say was that a number of Beached Miami posts are now being written by other South Florida bloggers, writers and Open Media Miami. Personally, I have to say that I visit Beached Miami to read Beached Miami content and not Suntanned Mumford or Annush on the Causeway or anyone else. I understand what you're trying to do and that's commendable, but you have to understand that it's a change for a person who followed Beached Miami religiously through the early stages and enjoyed the hell out of it. It also seems that those posts are taking the place of Beached Miami mainstays that, because of all the additional work that you, Robby and William have taken on, are no longer possible.
And I did overlook William. His presence in Beached Miami profiles and videos has been extremely, shall we say, subtle.
I didn't mean to imply that all you're doing is promotions. I used "mostly limited" in order to avoid that implication. Yes, your guides are labor intensive and are really the only game in town, a lot of times, when it comes to that kind of thing. But I do see a bunch of promoting working its way into artist interviews and spotlights like, for instance, Rachel Goodrich. That's all good, but again, when the videos, the podcasts, and the extremely local profiles and "about town" posts all but disappear, the balance seems to be skewed.
I like the new Beached Miami kind of like I like Home Depot. Home Depot is a big, convenient, one-stop shop for everything home improvement. But I still find the corner hardware store fun, satisfying, and authentic.
.
Thanks Maria. We don't have all the answers, but building Beached Miami has been one helluvan education and we do have some lessons to impart. How to *sustain* an independent blog -- that's the question.
That IS the million dollar question, Jordan. I have yet to see a South Florida blog do it although I'm not really sure that many have tried.
When I think of the blogs that have been the stalwarts of the South Florida blogosphere like Eye on Miami, Transit Miami, Sex and the Beach, Miami Beach 411, and, at one time, Critical Miami, I think of a consistent, personable voice that readers identify with and connect to, even though they may not agree totally agree with what is being said all the time. How that can translate out to $$$$ at local level is anyone's guess but I would imagine it's infinitely more challenging than doing it at a national level.
Those of us who do it as a hobby are fortunate not to have to worry about such things, I suppose.
.
@Maria I couldn't agree with you more. We're trying to create a locally owned, independent news source that pays local writers. Yes, I'd like to get paid along the way, but this isn't something to apologize for. One doesn't try to turn a blog into a business because its an easy way to make money.
@Rick I would suggest that a "consistent, personable voice" is indeed important but is not enough by itself to build enough audience to make a site sustainable on a local level. The "voice" needs to be surrounded by news and contributed content, which helps draws the traffic and eyeballs that advertisers want. That said, we'd also like for Jordan to be writing more, and it'll happen.
My principle role with Beached going forward is to be the guy making the cold calls, going door to door, setting the meetings and selling the site. The reality is that if I make more sales, then Jordan will be able to write more. The very thing you're questioning - the commercialization of the site - is what's necessary to sustain the thing you clearly value - Jordan's writing.
(I'd like to do more reporting myself too -- I dont' consider myself a salesperson and never will. I'm just a stop-gap, trying to do what needs to be done now to keep the site going.)
What's the alternative anyway? You can't expect young writers to work for free indefinitely. If you value what Beached has to offer -- and Jordan elaborated on some of the unique work the site has done over the last few months -- then you should be rooting for the site to get advertising and become a sustainable business. The choice is between a site that grows or a site that dies, and we've chosen the harder of those two paths.
I hope other local sites are also able to turn the corner. Transit Miami has a different route -- probably that of a nonprofit. I hope they succeed. I want to see a writer like Craig Chester getting paid well, with a salary and benefits. That would be good for Miami, good for journalism, and good for the local blogeshere.
I'd like that photo to evolve in such a way that becomes no longer visible to human eyes.
Jared....first I would just like to say that I'm pretty sure that no one has done more cheerleading for Beached Miami than I have since 2010. Indeed, I may have been talking them up before some of today's biggest supporters had even heard of them. It was a great blog and I still enjoy reading it.
Secondly, this post contained as many kudos, if not more, than it did concerns. Of course, the focus is on the negative and I guess that is to be expected. But as a supporter of Beached Miami and the owner of a blog that discusses other SoFla blogs, I think it would be somewhat remiss of me to not say something about the changes I've observed taking place and the way I feel about it.
I think there is a loss of something whenever anything morphs from a small operation into an enterprise focused on producing revenue. I think it's inevitable. This post isn't meant to reject that change or to dissuade Beached Miami from continuing [as if] but I simply wanted to note my feelings here at SFDB. Nothing more.
I sincerely wish the guys a lot of luck and will be extremely pleased to see Beached Miami flourish.
.
"Transit Miami has a different route" -- pun intended? I hope so!
@Jared: You said "You can't expect young writers to work for free indefinitely." Well, actually, yes you can. I have been writing and running TransitMiami for six years without any compensation and will happily do so indefinitely. Also, the ten or so other writers I have had over the years never asked for a dime, and always put in 110% (including Craig). The incentive for us is not financial, but ideological. Achieving changes in policy or design are pretty strong motivators.
That being said - would it be nice to get paid - of course! Folks do get paid for blogging, but that is not what it is all about. The blogosphere thrives despite the lack of financial incentive because people give a shit about what they write about. In our case, our writers are urban planners or transportation planners who have expertise in our subject area. They are not professional journalists who rely on the blog for their livelihood. (In other words, they don't need to get paid to blog).
In that respect, you shouldn't apologize for wanting to make a buck. Most writers blog for a hyper-specific purpose (to study the dysfunction in county government, document the latest food trucks, to document the blogosphere...etc) My impression with Beached Miami is that it started as a blog about random Miami happenings by two passionate dudes, but has become a business about aggregating content from a wide range of subjects. In this case, yes it may be hard to find willing bloggers to volunteer their time to create good content without paying them. But it is also a false choice to say that either the site makes money or it dies. SFDB is a perfect example of dedication and consistency without financial incentive. (Or Eye on Miami, or any of the other blogs on the sidebar).
Great blogs are popular because they either have: a voice that people have come to identify with (like the rants from Eye on Miami's Genius of Despair) or a well researched hyper-specific subject area (like South Florida Lawyers) or both. You can't be everything to everyone - and if you try, people stop reading. If you focus on one thing - and do it really really well - then you might be able to make money without sacrificing quality (talk to the Coconut Grove Grapevine, or MiamiBeach 411). Leave the content aggregation and covering of local news to Huff Post, Riptide, and the Herald.
My 2 cents.
PS. Transit Miami is not going nonprofit, or for-profit. We are seeking a one-time Knight Foundation grant (and we are up against some tough odds) for a web app and to pay an administrator to run the app for a limited time. The point of the app is to diversify content creation so that we don't have to rely on any one writer to create content. If we don't get the grant, we'll build the app anyway and keep writing about urban planning and transportation issues in Miami- for free. The point is not to pay a writer, but to continue to build the site as tool for community advocacy.
Tony,
Sorry I didn't notice this before, but I have to correct one thing. There isn't any aggregated content on Beached Miami, unless it's pointing to something that Jordan wrote elsewhere. To suggest that Beached Miami "has become a business about aggregating content from a wide range of subjects" isn't accurate.
It's an honest mistake - you're confusing it with the Herald portal, which is open for you, Beached, the Grapevine, or anyone else who does good work and wants a link. You can go back and forth between to Beached and to the Herald Biscayne section to see what I mean.
When I say the site either "makes money or it dies" I am referring to our specific case. Not yours or anyone else's.
I respect the sites your talking about, but it's not what I'm trying to build. My examples are Talking Points Memo, West Seattle Blog, Sacramento Press, and others. If you want to keep it as a hobby, I respect that, but you should recognize that there is a trade off there as well. It limits the scope of what you can accomplish. I would argue that you would be able to create a better tool for community advocacy with a dedicated staffer who can put in the time to build sources, attend the meetings, help manage the site's community and contributors, and really master the beat. Craig is a good example in that he believes in Transit Miami and does some great work for the site, but if he eventually wants to make a career out of writing/reporting (and I think he does), then he'll eventually have to move on. I'd like to imagine a world where he can stay with Transit and grow with the site.
The money issue is a separate issue. Our case is very peculiar. To put it simply, we have are putting together a local network with very good ad inventory and traffic stats, but we lack sales staff. I'm working on a solution to that problem now.
Regardless, I'm an admirer of your site, and I think it plays a very important role. I hope the app works out, but your going to need one hell of a developer to replace what one paid staffer could do.
Sorry for going on so much! I just love this discussion. Kudos to @Rick for hosting it.
Jared....I don't want to speak for Tony but I think when he uses the term "aggregate" he's referring to the practice of using bloggers and writers from other sites to create content for Beached, i.e. Suntanned Mumford and Annush to mention but two. You could also call it "guest blogging," I suppose, but I believe that when it's a regular practice or part of some bigger plan for the blog then it's more aggregation than anything else. Those are just two examples, I know, but I also suspect that it is the path of the future that Beached pis planning for itself.
.
@ Rick - Exactly - that is what I am talking about! Not much difference in my mind between aggregating vs. guest bloggers (who have their own blogs and can cross post).
@Jared - Couple things: "If you want to keep it as a hobby, I respect that, but you should recognize that there is a trade off there as well. It limits the scope of what you can accomplish." Maybe, but we accomplish plenty already. We cover more local urban planning and transportation news than anyone in Miami. Period. Not bad for what you consider a 'hobby'. :)
"I would argue that you would be able to create a better tool for community advocacy with a dedicated staffer who can put in the time to build sources, attend the meetings, help manage the site's community and contributors, and really master the beat." Of course!! That's why we are pursuing the grant. But it has less to do with having a journalist than with someone familiar with urban planing.(I prefer an urban planner who can write, to a seasoned journalist who knows nothing about urban planning).
"Craig is a good example in that he believes in Transit Miami and does some great work for the site, but if he eventually wants to make a career out of writing/reporting (and I think he does), then he'll eventually have to move on. I'd like to imagine a world where he can stay with Transit and grow with the site." Sure, but the great thing is that I have people emailing every day who are qualified, competent and passionate. If Craig leaves, someone is ready to replace him. Same as with Felipe, and Kathryn, and any of the other writers we have had. Plus, TransitMiami gets national coverage on sites like The Atlantic Cities, Next American City, and Streetsblog. What we lack in ability to pay, we make up for in visibility.
Like I said before, if the app doesn't get funded, our coverage of local issues will go on undeterred - because there are always going to be folks who are passionate about the city and who want to write about it -for free.
There is a fundamental difference about the posts you cited as "aggregation" and 95% of the content on the site. There were opinion posts - letters to the editor - on civic issues that Beached Miami readers care about. We will take informed and reasoned posts from guest writers. Encouraging debate on civic issues is good thing, and our readers have responded positively. Publishing posts from guest writers is also part of what Transit Miami does, as you yourself stated. Is what Transit Miami does aggregation? I think not.
Even so, you can't possible argue that Beached Miami is now dominated by letters to the editor/guest bloggers, or that this has come to define the site. If you read the site, you'll find scant evidence to support the claim that Beached is a "business about aggregating content from a wide range of subjects." That's just false.
Also, I get what you're trying to say, but guest blogging is not aggregation. It's guest blogging. Aggregation refers to a different and specific practice, which you see on HuffPo Miami, Ripetide, and increasing at MiamiHerald.com. Aggregation has it's place online, but you won't find any of it on BeachedMiami.com.
Interestingly, the whole "blog for visibility" argument is what HuffPoMIA presents to its contributors as well.
As for Transit, well, I think I've been clear that I think the site is awesome. Whatever my own ambitions, Tranist is, in my mind, the post important site in the SoFlo blog scene. When I say that I'd like for you to get not just one grant, but several, and a grant writer, so you can have staff, I'm speaking as a fan. (Like someone who wants the Dolphins to have a better QB. Not that Tranist is like the Dolphins. It's a much better run organization).
Thanks Jared. I'm sure we are NOT the most important, but I appreciate the sentiment. :)
And I see where you are coming from. I think the conclusion from this conversation (and all the other comments posted) is that people don't care if you make money running the site or not - as long as the voice that brought them there is not lost. Sounds like that is what you are trying to do.
And I am very encouraged by the simple fact that Rick made this a stand alone post because it has given us all a chance discuss the evolution of our tools. What is our relationship to professional media? How are those line blurred? What business model will work for news blogs moving forward? How can the work created by (both non-profit and for-profit) blogs be leveraged as an organized, professional news source?
Interested to see how things shake out.
"I think the conclusion from this conversation (and all the other comments posted) is that people don't care if you make money running the site or not - as long as the voice that brought them there is not lost. Sounds like that is what you are trying to do."
Exactly, Tony.
Jared...I think I stated that "a number" of posts and "a certain amount" of content is being contributed by outside writers. I wouldn't say "dominated" but as a longtime reader I sure notice them when they're there.
Again, if that's what Beached Miami has to become to be "successful," then so be it. I'm guess I'm kind of selfish in that all I want is my Beached Miami experience to stay the way it was.
Post a Comment
Spam, vulgar language, trolling and off-topic comments are not tolerated at SFDB and your comment will be removed if it meets this criteria.