The above screen shot is as bad as it gets, but it proves my point perfectly; the most viewed skateboard site on the web has so maxed out it's bandwith recently, that even though it takes a good two minutes to load on my wi-fi, I'm only getting the bare minimum.
Recently someone said that "The Berrics is the best fucking thing in skateboarding right now", and while I run the risk of paraphrase, I've heard another party say that "The Berrics is the worst thing in skateboarding right now," I'm not one to parse the efficacy of either statement just this moment due to intellectual laziness, though it does amaze me (though it shouldn't) that such varying sentiments exist about something as innocuous as a website about a skatepark that you necessarily can't/won't/will never go to.
Tattoos aside, I've got no strong feelings on the whole thing either way. The internet is the internet; all powerful, all stupid, all important, not real. Where we going with this? Some questions:
-There must be incentive to sell TheBerrics.com if it garnered the attention of the Wall Street Journal, but what exactly is that incentive? If Berra and Koston can put up $25,000 for a game of skate [though it remains unseen and untold how much of that cash came from DVS (probably a lot?)], then what's the point of giving something up and risking the sell-out factor when obviously Steve and Eric are doing pretty damn well on their own. According to one random website, TheBerrics.com is worth $159,125.40 a year, using a rubric of estimated ad revinues per day (and shit). Compare that to the paltry $2,277.20 that this site is worth, and well, draw a conclusion.
-To reiterate: Benny Fairfax, who knew?
I was going to posit one more question, being, "Did my ADD just kick in and now I'm ghosting?" Didn't do it though. I am over this nonetheless, and I wrote a trick list in math class tonight. I feel like I'm 17 again or something but really that plus a decade.
1 comment:
I would argue that The Berrics is worth a lot more than WebsiteOutlook values them at. I would also argue that incentive to sell TheBerrics is actually a lot lower than would be a more typical "internet startup" style business. This is not Digg or Facebook or Myspace in that it doesn't reach an over arching massive audience.
Its target audience is primarily those who like skateboarding. That said the Wall Street Journal cites the fact that they draw more uniques a month than all Skateboarding magazines and ESPN's site combined. They have a audience that is waiting to be served and they are creating content which is further driving people to the site. Add in the mix of humor, competition, and the fact that The Berrics website is intrinsically tied with The Berrics (as a physical Location) and you've got a winning combo.
Without even mentioning the possible and obviously inevitable (already occurring) backlash if they were to sell it to ANYONE and really, it makes sense to just sit on the hottest website right now. And who would really be able to "buy" The Berrics domain and really do much with it. It sits better as an organic ever evolving beast.
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