On DriveTribes - A Call for Contemplation

"Patrick Nichols" (pnichols) 11/28/2016 at 18:25 • Filed to: None

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The following is a collection of semi-coherent thoughts that are based on mildly -educated speculation. It includes some critical statements about the exulted trio, Ernesto Schmitt, and the B/R. Your mileage may vary.

On the Exulted Trio of Clarkson, Hammond, and May

I know we, for the most part, loved the second iteration of Top Gear. For me I think the sweetspot were seasons five through eighteen. It was a solid mix of great filmwork, nerd-level information, and comedy. The early seasons were a bit awkward and obviously underfunded* and the later seasons seemed like a cash grab as their international star power grew. The Grand Tour seems like it could go either way.

*This gives me hope for Top Gear 3.0 3.1

With this in mind, I would ask that you keep an objective or even skeptical perspective with regards to their endorsement of the car worlds newest form of social media and content platform.

I am more cynical than most.

On Ernesto Schmitt & 21st Century Fox

Ernesto Schmitt is a “tech entrepreneur” with a strong background in the media distribution industry. This includes both traditional and nontraditional video distribution as well as working in the music industry. The second part their is key, as the music industry is notorious for making executives tons of money and devaluing their content creators.

Schmitt is also an alumnus of Boston Consulting Group, which (regardless of your political views) is extremely proficient at producing !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! with a focus on profitability.

One should expect that Schmitt was hired to do what he has done in the past. Furthermore, there should be some pressure from Fox and the Grand Tour W. Chump & Sons Limited to turn a relatively small investment into a large evaluation and an eventual buyout, especially while their popularity is at or near its peak.

On the Bleacher Report

B/R should be a shining example of content oversaturation and a lack of editorial oversight. I encourage everyone to read this post on Deadspin from 2014:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Draw your own conclusions based on the similarities and differences, while keeping in mind that the internet economy has changed a lot since the early days of B/R. Even though I find him to be insufferable, in addition to being an excellent journalist, Wes Siler lays out the GMG model in several posts, the first of which is linked below.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Full disclosure: I have no desire to go to Drivetribe even for the social aspects rather than the dream of journalistic accolades, but I’d imagine that has more to do with the time I spend on Oppo and how that has dwindled as life gets more complicated. I’ve made my investment here and whatever happens to Kinja in the future, I’m not sure I want to attempt to replicate what we have here anywhere else.

I’d love to hear opinions from all sides, for, against, or indifferent.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Patrick Nichols 11/28/2016 at 18:33

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I’m only there because Jethro Bovingdon and Henry Catchpole moved over from evo.

djmt1 > Patrick Nichols 11/28/2016 at 18:36

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My general disdain of Facebook has kept me away from Drivetribe but from what I’m hearing it’s basically CarThrottle’s communities mixed with that awkward period on Oppo when way too many people were shitting out FP bait in a tragic attempt to get hired by Jalopnik. If that’s even vaguely close then I’m avoiding it like the plague.

Patrick Nichols > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 11/28/2016 at 18:37

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So there are some decent journo’s and photographers using it as an exclusive platform? Do any of them have some financial stake in the platform like Tidal and some musicians?

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Patrick Nichols 11/28/2016 at 18:39

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I think they’re paid by DriveTribe to create/manage content. They have official editorial titles and everything.

Patrick Nichols > djmt1 11/28/2016 at 18:40

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Facebook exclusive logins are a big turnoff. I don’t mind gmail or twitter logins since they tend to be much less invasive and request much less in terms of posting on your behalf.

Patrick Nichols > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 11/28/2016 at 18:42

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I’m assuming paid positions only contribute editorially in terms of other paid content?

f86sabre > Patrick Nichols 11/28/2016 at 19:52

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I’ve played with it, clunky as it is, and I’m not sure what they want it to be. They might not even know. It’s a given that all these sites want to monetize us.

I suppose that if they can build a community that is stable and welcoming then they might do alright. I think that is what has kept Oppo churning and relatively healthy all these years is the “don’t be a dick” rule and that we are accepting of pretty much everything else.

Patrick Nichols > f86sabre 11/28/2016 at 19:56

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That’s fair but I feel like Kinja came into being as a way of keeping us in the gmg ecosystem because it is easier to keep us here than rely on FB shares and click bait headlines. Monetization has never really infiltrated the reader run sites.

f86sabre > Patrick Nichols 11/28/2016 at 20:07

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They tried. That was part of the original premise that Denton had of giving the reader more potential to be published on the main sites. When they had the few events where that backfired on them it slowed way down.

I joined Oppo right after it stopped being Off Topic and became Oppo. This was well before Kinja. The tone and content has been pretty consistent. A bit less silly, and a few more rules, now a days. Kind of a pity. People only really started writing long form here in earnest when the editorial staff asked for user content.

jimz > Patrick Nichols 11/28/2016 at 20:09

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I’m one who can’t stand Clarkson and don’t really care about TGT or DriveTribe. I am getting a little tired how it seems like every other post on Oppo the past couple of days has been “Here’s my tribe” or “Join my Tribe plOx”

Berang > Patrick Nichols 11/29/2016 at 02:49

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I actually corresponded with Schmitt (actually he contacted me) because I complained repeatedly and loudly about some issues on the site. I got the impression he was dedicated to the concept of the site, but also that things were not quite where he wanted/expected them to be by the launch date. I don’t know if he’ll be in it for the long haul, or is just there to get things set up and then get out with some cash, but he did seem genuinely interested in getting the site to work, rather than just cashing in on a celebrity tie in and hoping nobody would notice the flaws in the site.

Patrick Nichols > Berang 11/29/2016 at 09:18

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Oh I have no problem believing that he may be passionate for the project, but I doubt it ever outweighs the money.

Berang > Patrick Nichols 11/29/2016 at 10:28

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Nothing does. Unfortunately I’ve seen better sites than this get the plug pulled on them, so it’ll be exciting to see if they can get it fixed up enough to keep people interested, as well as figure out how to make money off of it.