Next
New Networks and the ‘chicken-or-the-egg’ conundrum
When Herb
Scannell and a small group of former cable television executives formed
Next
New Networks a few years ago, the
idea was to build a series of video-oriented web sites, dubbed “micro-networks,”
that centered around niche topics and geared towards specific online
communities. Initial efforts at VC funding netted the start-up $8 million
from the likes of Spark Capital and the Pilot Group, with an additional
$15 million raised this past March from Goldman Sachs and Velocity Interactive
Group, among others.
In many ways, these investments have paid off. Next New Networks (NNN)
started in early 2007 with six web sites—including Fast
Lane Daily (geared towards auto enthusiasts)
and ThreadBanger
(homemade clothing)—and has seen that number grow to over one
hundred. Each of these micro-networks produces its own original video
content, ranging in length from three-to-eleven minutes long, on a regular
basis. More importantly, NNN has formed over twenty distribution partnerships
for these videos with the likes of MySpaceTV, YouTube and Veoh. The
effort has resulted in 100 million video views in 2007, and 33 million
views this past February alone. Add it all up and NNN’s achievements
in less than two years of operation are indeed impressive.
On Friday, however, Scannell posted on the NNN blog
that while he plans on continuing as Executive Chairman, he will step
down as CEO in favor of someone who has “been there, done that”
experience in terms of building a web business. “I want to see
us go beyond video by building up our web capabilities in key categories,”
he wrote, “and move the company to make our sites and new offerings
even more robust for communities to gather and interact.”
Two competing thoughts immediately enter my mind: A) after acquiring
the necessary financing, content and means of distribution, online community
building is simply the logical next step for NNN; or B) having the financing,
content, and means of distribution isn’t enough to remain viable.
That while those three components are obviously important and needed,
to remain competitive in an increasingly Web 2.0 environment, building
a “web community” is the key difference between long-term
success and failure. Bebo,
for instance, established itself as a social networking site before
venturing into original video content. Then again, an argument can be
made that without quality content it’s difficult to build a new
community, and equally difficult to sustain that community without a
regular source of new content;the webseries lonelygirl15
is a prime example. So which is more vital:
content or community?
Can anyone say “chicken-or-the-egg?”
—Anthony
Letizia (June 18, 2008)
