Message me
Welcome to ChicagoNow, a network of blogs connecting passionate experts on a wide range of uniquely Chicago topics.
We're glad you're here--even though we're still building the site.
ChicagoNow launches
chicagonow.com - 26 weeks ago - 414 views
3 Comments Have your say. Vote up the best responses. ↓
Reactions on the web
Latest tweets linking to this story (Share url: http://windycitizen.com/wcuF)
Latest tweets linking to this story (Share url: http://windycitizen.com/wcuF)
Invite your friends
Top Media Stories This Week
Comments
Kudos to the Tribune for making something new. I'm not quite sure what I'd head to Chicago Now for, but it'll be interesting to see what they do with it.
A few weeks back someone posted a video where they explained what the new site would be about: "Facebook meets the Huffington Post for Chicago."
This is a curious statement, for a few reasons.
1. Is the Tribune really so afraid of HuffPo Chicago that they'd launch a completely new project and explicitly say that their goal is to copy it? Isn't HufffPo Chicago just one dude who steals stories from other sites all day? And they're copying this because.....?
2. What exactly is "Facebook" about this? The front page consists of links to stories picked by Tribune staff.
Has anyone else checked out the beta site yet? it looks like they tried to recruit bloggers with built-in audiences.
1. I don't think the Trib is afraid of HuffPo per se, but they want that traffic. I mean, look what NBCChicago does for example: http://www.quantcast.com/nbcchicago.com And yes, it's one dude over at HuffPo stealing stories from other sites. Except that sometimes it's not stealing. Sometimes bloggers want to be on there for nothing more than exposure. Boy, what a great deal! But that's no different than Chicagoist for instance.
2. Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe they'll eventually have Facebook-like features. If so, that would be reason enough for me never to go there.
And yes, they recruited bloggers with built-in audiences. I know whereof I speak (or type, as the case may be).
It's like HuffPo because they're featuring a lot of bloggers covering local topics. The difference here is that, unlike HuffPo, the ChicagoNow contributors are paid.
Also, ChicagoNow will eventually have social networking features (hence the Facebook comparison), however, I don't get why they don't just integrate Facebook Connect (or maybe that's coming later?) and spare everyone from creating yet another username/login.
But what really struck me about the statement of "Huffington Post meets Facebook" was why they chose to pick those two companies to model themselves after. Why compare yourself to two companies who don't turn a profit?
/snark
Post new comment