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Cruising the Information Superhighway
PlanetOut's Gay.com spent untold sums of cash revamping its infrastructure in the past few months, which was most visibly seen with the relaunch of its chat program — easily the most used feature on the site. Except ever since the gay hub debuted the new version of its site at the beginning of the month, Gay.com has been plagued by downtime. By our rough science, it's been offline more than it's been online. Quite embarrassing for a company that's already had its fiscal misadventures widely reported (Queerty included), but we imagine few of you care how this affects the accounting books than it does your online cruising. So, you tell us: How has Gay.com going offline hit you? Fewer hookups? Are you just signing up for Manhunt.net instead? Or are you suddenly abstinent? Hitting the bars more? Or banking on monogamy? Queerty will have more on the problems festering at Gay.com — but first, we want to know if it's really affecting you, or if Facebook already supplanted the site. (And yes, we're prepared for any number of you saying how irrelevant Gay.com is, because it's just a place to hunt for sex, and why should you care. But that's idiot logic, because plenty of fags use the site quite often. Sometimes daily.) And below, Gay.com's open apology letter to members. CONTINUED » |
» Big, Big Loss.
"In its most recent quarterly filing PlanetOut Inc. reported an accumulated deficit — that's how much money it's lost since it started — of nearly $100 million. The San Francisco web portal, which is aimed at the lesbian, gay and transgendered market, reported an accumulated deficit of $99.8 million as of March 31. For that quarter, PlanetOut lost $10.4 million on sales of $4.8 million." [SF Business Times] |
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A survey of 2,259 adults found that 68% of self-described gays are more likely to buy from a company they find gay-friendly. And there are definitely companies - and methods - coming out on top: Bravo, Apple, Showtime, HBO, Absolut, and Levi's, are the gay-friendliest brands, while WalMart, Dunkin Donuts, Cracker Barrel, Exxon Mobil, and Samsung earn the lowest marks from gay and lesbian consumers, according to the 2008 Prime Access/PlanetOut Gay and Lesbian Consumer Study released today. In Absolut's case, we're assuming that includes their now famous 8-inch advert. |
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» "Embarrassing."
Media journalist Erik Sass finds PlanetOut's publishing sale "embarrassing:" "In an embarrassing setback, PlanetOut Inc., a leading LGBTmedia company, is selling its magazine business for a song… Having purchased [Out and The Advocate] and erotic book business of Liberation Publications for $32.1 million in November 2004, on Thursday PlanetOut announced it is selling the magazines to Here Networks, a gay and lesbian-themed TV network, for a paltry $6 million." [MediaPost] |
» PlanetOut Sale Final?!
The rumors were true. We hear that Regent Entertainment's bid for PlanetOut's magazines will be finalized today. The Los Angeles-based company simply couldn't resist bringing Out and The Advocate into their fold, which includes gay cable network here! We'll keep you posted as we hear more of the details. |
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Well-written and thought provoking in terms of media as activism, Feit's "A Quiet Media War" also takes a stab at historical analysis: …San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom compared today's equality struggle with the civil rights battles of the mid-20th century. Two key distinctions separate the otherwise parallel culture shifts: On-demand and globally accessible media has utterly revolutionized how we galvanize opinion. And unlike the African-American community 50 years ago, today's GLBT community commands intellectual and tangible resources that make it a sprawling, amorphous, international and upwardly mobile gatekeeper. No wonder people are afraid of us! We gays sound horrifying, like some sort of pink gelatinous monster. The Glob?! |
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» Partners.
We don't know how we missed this story last week, but we did: PlanetOut has joined forces with Expedia.com. "PlanetOut Inc. has put Expedia Inc. in charge of travel booking on its web sites. It didn't give financial details of this agreement. Expedia, based in Bellevue, Wash., agreed to advertise on PlanetOut sites as part of the deal, and to sponsor some of the company's events." [Business Times] |
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Rumors Of "Imminent" Sale...
First and foremost, book wholesaler Bookazine snatched up a piece of the company's Publishers Distributing Company, which includes Bruno Gmunder Verlag and Starbooks Press. Meanwhile, PlanetOut's magazines, including The Advocate and Out, remain the big mystery, with sources telling us more people were interested in a buy than executives anticipated. While nothing's set in stone, there are murmurs that Regent Entertainment, which owns queer cable channel here!, has been circling the gay glossies. One speculator described a sale as "imminent". Any one out there hearing more details on these developments? |
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» Losing It
Things continue to look grim for the gay media masters over at PlanetOut: "Gay and lesbian focused web media company PlanetOut Inc. reported a loss of $51.2 million for 2007." [SF Business Times] |
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One alerted PlanetOut staffer had this to say, "Jesus Christ," while another offered "careless whisper". Both responses are apt, we think. |
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In an effort to save its seemingly sinking brand, PlanetOut appointed Out EIC Aaron Hicklin as the company's Editorial Director. In addition to working with other editors under the media umbrella, Hicklin will "play an integral role in the development of the digital media aspects of Gay.com 2.0 and will serve as the creative visionary behind the re-launch of PlanetOut.com," says an internal email. Hicklin couldn't be more excited, squealing via email:
In "the next month"?! Oh, right - it's a planet. Hope Hicklin packs a lunch! Here's the entire aforementioned email from CEO Karen Magee. It's a truly remarkable read.
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Meanwhile, a reader has also been picking up some chatter: I've heard that some very prominent people over at LPI have resigned and that a few others have been let go. At The Advocate mostly. You might have already heard about this but just in case you haven't… Any of you kids got the goods? |
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Shares of PlanetOut Inc. sank to an all-time low Tuesday after the media company… said it may sell itself. A PlanetOut spokesman wouldn't tell the Washington Blade whether any companies have come knocking. |
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Will Gay Media Company Survive Hard Times?
In an effort to keep from going under completely, the company's reportedly looking for a sugar daddy: PlanetOut announced today that it has begun searching for potential buyers after reporting losses for seven consecutive financial quarters. God speed, gay publishing, God speed… |
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Will The High Seas Ever Be The Same?
It's official! Out owner PlanetOut officially signed over RSVP Vacations to Atlantis. Here's a publicist approved note: PlanetOut Inc., the leading media and entertainment company exclusively focused on the gay and lesbian market, today announced that, in accordance with the previously announced agreement with Atlantis Events, Inc., the sale of RSVP Vacations to Atlantis has been completed. On a related note, PlanetOut's stock has lost 24 cents since this morning. |