Ramble on Rose

For those of you who remember Brandon in the triple bunk beds, you’ll get a kick out of this. (Brandon: please provide link.)

For everyone else, Caroline really is a wonderful writer. Read her analysis below.

caro:

nickdouglas:

3. Jesus Christ, CollegeHumor director Sam Reich is 24. He’s already the Judd Apatow of the Internet; how huge is this guy gonna be if he goes to Hollywood?

Am I the only person who’s gotten bearish on CollegeHumor?  It pains me to think so, because I think it was my #1 most-visited site when I was in college. Everyone I’ve met who works there has been super cool and very talented, and they put out some hysterical content (“24 in 1994” was brilliant, the ’90s summer camp photo contest had me hunting under my bed for old pics, and some of the Prank Wars really cracked me up) but the site strikes me as being in a bit of a rut.  Anyone else feel like by this point they should already have a TV show in its third season and a movie starring Christopher Mintz-Plasse ready to hit theaters?

— Of course they’re profitable.  They’ve been around for ten years and have a big-name majority investor with deep connections to the advertising and entertainment industries; I should certainly hope they’re making a buck or two. The Fast Company piece compares CH to comedy sites that are barely two years old.  Totally different ballgame.

— While doing some research on IAC’s split that takes place later this week, traffic stats I looked at revealed that CH’s traffic simply isn’t going up.  Granted, their more recent focus on video content could mean that there’s more CH-related activity (and revenue) that simply doesn’t get measured in traffic to the standalone site. But still, contrast that to sister brand Vimeo, which has traffic that’s skyrocketing.

— From a purely personal perspective, they churn out some terrific hits but just as much of their original content seems tired.  I could’ve sworn I’d read “Earth’s News Feed” already somewhere.  Maybe it just came too soon after McSweeneys’ Hamlet news feed.

Off topic: Can a ban be imposed on “fake news feed” humor? I believe it’s gone the way of the Rickroll.

— Maybe the root of the issue is that CH’s demographic just seems too narrow: males under 25 who are fratty enough to dig funny photos of drunk football hooligans but geeky enough to appreciate copious Star Wars humor, young enough to have time to waste on the Internet (and not feel old and lame reading about dorm antics) but old enough to have adequate ’90s nostalgia.

I don’t know. Like I said, I’ve been a fan of CH for years, but it just strikes me that must have missed some opportunities to expand and diversify. Since plenty of current and former CollegeHumor folk are very active on Tumblr, and I don’t want this to seem like I’m being cranky just to get a few reblogs, I want to make it clear that I mean this with a good deal of respect, and I don’t intend it to be flaming or insulting.  I’m just saying it.  Really.