Since Shiny Media‘s $4.5m funding just under three months ago, they’ve pushed ahead with launching more niche web sites.
One of the latest is Dollymix.tv, which they describe as “an intelligent women’s online magazine for the blogging generation”.
In Shiny’s ongoing mantra of providing great news and commentary, but not taking itself or the subject matter too seriously, Dollymix’s content won’t follow a set editorial style, but will feature thought-provoking, funny articles from guest bloggers and regular columnists.
“We’re doing something new with Dollymix by focusing on the fact that not all women are the same and are actually interested in reading a range of view points as well as contributing their own thoughts. The blog format is ideal for fostering this kind of interactive discussion,” said Katie Lee, Shiny Media’s Editorial Director.
“The site covers everything from the issue over frozen embryos to Mr T’s song for his mother. We think it’ll be the perfect place for women to head to in their lunch break,” she continued.
Additionally, and in line with their desire to launch more niche blogs, Shiny have fairly quietly launched a range of gaming and Web 2.0 sites over the past few months.
There are sites for the major next-generation games consoles – PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 – plus Twitterati.tv which latches on to the phenomenon that is Twitter.
“As we are all huge Twitter fans at Shiny Media, launching Twitterati.tv, a blog that charts the growth of the new messaging format, was a must for us,” said Ashley Norris. “Twitter may prove to be just a passing fad, or it may revolutionise the way in which web and phone users communicate, and we’ll be there to track it all the way.”
It’s fair to say that, like most blog networks, Shiny has its share of star performers and niche sites. Big advertisers are drawn to the likes of Tech Digest, Shiny Shiny, and Catwalk Queen, whilst smaller sites can draw a niche readership that seem more inclined to community. Sensibly, there’s plenty of opportunity for cross-promotion, with the larger technology and fashion sites linking out to niche sites providing more detailed commentary.
It’s also much easier to launch a new site when there are over 2 million readers on well-established blogs to promote to. It doesn’t guarantee success, but the beauty of blogs is that new sites can be given a decent run without much financial pain.
Disclosure: I write regularly for several of Shiny Media’s sites.
