Hello everyone, I think you probably read the article in the latest cover story in the C-VILLE titled “Is this the new face of evil? With cVillain.com, owner Kyle Redinger is either trashing old media or reigniting it. You decide.”
It’s exciting to get on the cover of a newspaper like this and I’m thankful to Cathy, Scott and Bill and all the other folks that were involved in the production of this article. I wanted to make a couple of points about the article and answer any questions anyone may have.
- We love Spicy Bear. There are so many people involved, I can’t even begin to thank everyone, but everyone deserves a pat on the back. All of our sites take a lot of involvement from “editors,” from writers, from commenters and from readers. I wish the article had emphasized more about the community, because it’s not like we are building this thing in a vacuum.
- I do not think that newspapers and other traditional media are going to die, nor do I trash traditional journalism. The in-depth journalism and reporting will always be a cornerstone of media. The internet is changing things really quickly, but I don’t look down on old media. I do believe they need to undergo dramatic change to appeal to a more open, socially driven space.
- I was told the headline was going to be “King of New Media” or something along those lines, so the headline was a little surprising to me. Nonetheless, it was pretty fun to do that shot and, trust me, it’s hard to keep a straight face when you have a 6 inch flame in your face. Jackson Smith did the shots.
- Tom Daly actually took our shot for Business Week.
- I also wish the article had mentioned Francesco a little bit more, because he is my business partner and every bit as instrumental in thinking about business stuff as I am.
- I don’t think I’m evil.
- Remember if you are unhappy with the site, you are invited to participate however you want.
Any more questions? If you ask them in the comments I will happily answer them during the day.
Popularity: 31% [?]
If the article drives lots of traffic to the site, will old-media still suck?
Any comment on the whole behind-lilith’s-back dealing? Lilith was a huge part of the “blog” (dun-dun-DUUUN), and a large part of the article. Any thoughts?
and you can click on my name for Lilith photo.
how many new posters will we see?
Its obviously had a huge effect, owing to the insane number of posts so far today. I mean, this joint is a madhouse, I can barely keep up!
F5, F5, F5… crickets… tumbleweeds…
And, I think lilith’s “hugeness” is greatly overstated in her absence. Ah mythology, you old revisionist bastard.
/go ahead flame me for that. I need something to do.
you think “new media” would have included an image or two with this post?
thank goodness the fossils of “old media” have figured out what a digital camera is.
Is it wrong that I just learned that F5 equals refresh page?
Q: when microblogging sites like twitter and tumblr inevitably erode any reasonable person’s interest in using the internet, will we all have to learn how to read again?
Don’t get too cocky. Probably 95% of all page views and comments are done by the same 20 people.
@8 I can see your point on the comments side but I doubt the page views are done by 20 people. I’ve talked to a ton of people, even some from out of town who have said they consistently check cVillain without commenting.
Looks like Capshaw mustn’t read it, and a few others whom all the regulars routinely slam. i haven’t seen the article yet in Cville, but nice work in getting that Irrational Enquirer to change its tune after the snippy-catty thing they ran about you in the Best Of Cville issue.
@1 - Funny thing was when Haidee got mentioned in cvilleStyle, we saw essentially zero traffic increase, so we’re curious how this mention will do.
@2 - Lilith was awesome and was very passionate about things. I don’t want to comment about that issue to be fair to everyone involved.
@3 - Hopefully a lot.
@5 - Troll.
@6 - Yes.
@7 - That’s the least of your problems.
@ 8/9 - Here are our traffic stats for cVillain from July 15th to August 15th. The summers are a lot slower for us, but I think these numbers still speak to a few more than 20 people making all the page views.
http://cvillain.com/wp-content/uploads/cvillaintraffic.pdf
20 PEOPLE! 20 PEOPLE! 20 PEOPLE!
A question from the F5 ignorant guy. What does bounce rate refer to?
I’m still not that impressed, Kyle. Sorry.
Bounce rate (google quote)
“Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page.”
It’s really for measuring performance of online retail and keyword landing pages, which we don’t do.
@14 What would it take for you to be impressed? For curiosity’s sake.
This Side Up - I found this to be pretty helpful:
http://www.slymarketing.com/2007/06/how-to-use-google-analytics-bounce-rate/
Wouldn’t it be good to know if people are seeing the opening page of this site and leaving? I would think that would be important knowledge to see if people are being retained or captivated.
Well that answers my question indeed. Thanks east.
btw: ’slymarketing.com.’ haha. the irony?
Lilith wasn’t dealt out of the site y’all. Doof was stalking everyone back in the day and he called her out. Then she felt like she had to come out to some people about it, then she decided she wished she hadn’t done that. Then she had issues with being on the site and the job she works for so she had to stop.
P.S. I will have to wait to read this tillwhen I am on the Stairmaster after work. Dangit!
@22 How do you read on the net and Stairmaster?
The paper verson dude. Alright, back in to the idiot pool now. Au revoir. F’in Kay-Bec-KWah…
Yo Kylie can you show how many pages views you top 10 ip addresses were responsible for- with ip’s masked, of course.
@24 Ewww. Paper media! How ollllddd school.
I want to out the 3.56% that are still using dial up…. WTF dudes? Get me their IPs and I’ll get Moot to deliver the social security numbers of their unborn children by return.
/he can
Kyle doesn’t know shit aobut being evil. He flunked my How to be Evil class. So did parlie.
Everyone has the capacity to be evil. The equation is as follows:
Normal Person + (Tequila x Z) = EVIL, where Z is an unknown integer variable.
Find Z and Evil will follow.
/ ’strue
@ 29 substitute everclear for tequila and you can have extra-super-big-fun evil!
@29 not true. orchid + tequila = sweet & cuddly.
/& chased by zombies.
There is no such thing as evil, merely actions or behavior beyond our capacity to forgive. “Evil” equals intellectual and spiritual laziness.
/has this fight on my danger porch with JoHos semi regularly.
if we have to talk about the C-VILLE in capital letters, why do they spell it lower-case on their cover? hypocrites.
Buster… you learned me something new tonight.I just read the Wiki on that Everclear shit and I feel a bit sick just at the thought of it. Flooze + everclear… no way. Flooze + tequila is bad enuff.
/Flooze + Ouzo is also a nasty combo, as a greek policeman in Corfu discovered a few years ago. sigh.memories.handcuffs.
Byo…. so psychopathic serial killers are just spiritually lazy? and wtf does joho mean?…. some tranny ladyboy street walker?
ouzo + anyone = nasty combo.
Wow. I’m disappointed in how you guys seem to have conducted yourselves in the past year or so. The picture painted of the people behind this blog is unappealing. Not evil, just unappealing.
@ 35 No psychopathic killers are psychopathic killers whom we call evil because their actions are beyond our capacity to forgive them. Everyone draws their own lines as to where “evil” starts. It is my position that people draw that line at extremely convenient places, ergo lazy.
“toss it in the ‘evil’ pile and that explains it and I dont have to deal with it. its just evil.”
/axis of evil?
Byo…I can’t get into this one as I am sitting in a field in shitty Louisa County getting eaten alive by bugs and typing on a stupid Treo which makes me feel like Gulliver and gives me a complex about whether I have abnormally large fingers.
/Do I? I can take it.Oooh the circus is calling… gotta go.
Having a rep before accomplishments is more of a burden than a rep based on deeds. Obligation is the mother of deformation.
@32: I think almost anyone can be evil if they have the right motivation. I’d also say tequila would hinder one’s ability to be evil since it takes an incredible amount of forethought and determination.
i’m having a little bit of trouble figuring out where this “evil” nonsense is coming from, am i alone? it takes a lot to be evil, really. probably more than a few instances of sarcastic meddling and a desire to start a business.
i guess it’s a good polarizing word, though… it makes readers curious… and if you put it on a magazine cover with a big fucking flame next to some dude’s face, people would probably pick up your magazine…
oh.
my point is that in soviet russia, the first stone throws glass houses at your sin.
I think it comes from the fact that “we” are “villains.” once you identify as the bad guy, I’d say the evil label is something you gotta be prepared for, or at least not protest once it’s tossed your way in jest on the front of an entertainment weekly.
but we’re the diet coke of evil.
I agree. we’re also the fresca of local media and the clear pepsi of local hangouts.
shit.. there was more to that thought: but the article makes it sound like cvillain is a massive success stealing the attention from all their readers. I mean to say, they exaggerate for effect.
together, we form the triumvirate of revolting sodas.
cvillain: we rot your teeth and make you puke.
The Food Lion cheapo rip-off soda for Dr Pepper is called Mr Perky. Why does this make me chortle so?
cause you’re an amphetamine addict?
@49 Should be ms. perky- for all sort of reasons
@45 thats going down in the cvillain greatest lines book
@ 34 the more you know…
don’t get me wrong, everclear certainly has its place - usually it’s in someone else’s jello shots, though. i’ve seen it turn too many nice people into total nasties to think it anything other than, well, the antithesis of good.
also, a friend of mine has a saying: “refuse-o the ouzo!” not so original, but good life advice. just sayin’.
Back in college, and FWB and I had Blackout Tuesdays. A couple times a semester, I’d go home to NC and pick up a couple handles of Everclear, and we would drink it every Tuesday. You haven’t experienced the burn from a shot until you have done a shot of Everclear to start your night.
everclear jello shots = theta chi newspaper men. ?
yeah, emphasis on the “
everclear jello shots+ newspaper older men + and freshmen year = ?
emphasis on the “?”
/freshmen newspaper girl….
//much less sassy.
p.s. floozy, whatever you think of my posts, we really should talk. i know about dr. perky, and my feelings were equallty “WTF?/incredulous”…
That article is dumb, plain and simple. It takes what could be an interesting story about a very bright local and a burgeoning blog/chatroom/forum site and makes it into some good vs. evil bullshit focusing on who Thor and Lilith are and how she was wronged. Kyle does a lot for cVillain but he hardly stole it or corrupted it or whatever. And the reason cVillain is the way it is is not solely due to Kyle but to the myriad of minds that contribute to it. So, FAIL, C-ville Weekly, but thanks for the attention.
P.S. Just because Kyle has a big dick does not make him evil. Mmmkay? Oh–gotta go! Damn Kay-Bec-Wah…
@58: Ce qu’il fallait demontrer. . .
@58: oh come on. it’s not a ‘dumb’ article. the whole evil thing is simply a bullshit title pasted up there to draw attention. the actual article was hardly about ‘good vs. evil.’ it took local upstarts–kyle/cvillian– linked them to a larger issue, and in doing so dug a bit into the history of cvillian. it was good reporting and fair-handed, giving kyle enormous props without shitting all over itself before his greatness.
@59: You want Kyle to prove he has a huge penis? Dude, you’re sick. We are in mourning here. Show some respect.
I think it wonderful evil is backwards live which means……………………………………….
@62: Somebody needs to stop eating the mushrooms they find in their back yard
@61 stay classy Shen
@58, 63 i didn’t see it as a good vs evil thing either. seemed more of an unmasking-the-thor(s) obsession. (e.g., the narrow reading of “published” at the end.) & people always complain about the stupid headlines, so that’s nothing new. as my favorite movie ever said, “headlines don’t sell papes, newsies sell papes.”
@65: hahahaha… Oh Christian Bale, we hardly knew ye.
@60: Those of us who had to suffer through literature courses know all too well symbolism hwne its present. I mean come on…Kyle on the cover with the fire and the word evil, Lilith inside all blonde hair and blue eyes is obvi a contrast of Bad and Good. The staged pictures accompanying a story can lend to the tone.
hwne=when . Now you all know I’m dyslexic.
@67: a lit professor somewhere is proud. seriously. “The staged pictures accompanying a story can lend to the tone.” true, true. i still think the photos/headline detract from the text of the article and stand by the above. but you makes a point….
@67 ah, probably different impression for those of us who read it online because they take their sweet time delivering at our apartment complex.
@ what, pray tell, are you waiting for delivery of- the CVILLE in paper form, a pizza, your new pony hair covered couch, or love letters from echo?
I can’t decide how I feel about the article, although overall I would say it’s a positive, so congrats, Kyle. How many times in one’s life do you get to be on the cover of any publication, let alone one proclaiming you evil? Nicely done.
I keep coming back to this comment by Kyle. It seems like an attempt to curtail attention to that part of the story, which made the current people behind the site look like jerks. If that’s how you work on a project that isn’t profitable, how cut throat are you in more important dealings?
Just as I wonder why people who hate Waldo hang around his websites, I’m starting to wonder why I hang around here if I’m turned off by how the people behind the site conduct themselves. It’s hard to think about not posting, especially since I like what Haidee’s done at CvilleStyle. Maybe this is a sign that I need to spend more time managing my own sites and not being a part of this one. I guess I’m going on hiatus.
@67,68 Here I thought you were getting clever with your symbolism using “whne” for “when” — looking at things from the inside out. How sad I am to see it was just a typo.
Congrats to Kyle for the exposure.
I’d assumed Lilith was a paid employee.
@70: What can I say, I’m very visual ———————————————>(i.e. loves porn)
@73: You misconstrue. They are friends in real life so that’s just him sticking up for her not defense.
@74: Damn. I will no longer point out my tpoys.
@63……………….which means 20 % of readers thought the headline read “Is this the New Face of Live?”
So there’s a disorder that makes you pick one random word in a title and read it backwards? What’s that called?
Partial dyslexia - of course
@78 evitceles dyslexia
Assbackward-Eltit-ism, of course.
Wait… what was the question again?
@80: I thought cortez was being all medical up in here then realized…oh. Duh. Hahaha. @80 wins the internets today.
@40 “Having a rep before accomplishments is…”
…why the dot com bust happened.
Kyle, remember? (you were just entering business school after graduating from WAHS, according to the article)
Having accomplishments is more important than anything else, especially in this economy. Actions speak louder than words, and even though that’s cliche, it’s the truth now more than ever.
The article mentioned that the Spicy Bear Network acquisitions have yet to generate a profit. It was also mentioned that DeParis Redinger had yet to land a deal (read: generate any profit) before being featured in Business Week. I find that ironic, given that the entire “business buzz before action/profit” model has proven faulty in recent years.
I also was surprised that Lilith never got paid for any of her contributions to the site. She did a lot. I do truly miss her posts and comments, and regardless of weather or not it was her and Kyle or not from the get-go, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that she has received no compensation.
If Redinger has enough coin to invest in cVillain when running a company that has yet to make a deal, it’s probably only fair for him to throw some compensation Lilith’s way. It’s the right thing to do.
/saying this without being friends with Lilith or having any animosity towards Kyle (even if it sounds that way) I’m just being fair and objective, from my standpoint. That, I understand, is welcome here.
PS- Shen, I have a big dick too. Just ask Parlie
Especially since Thor’s article posts were so dumb!
Thor and lilith start site. DeParis Redinger buys site. Did not lilith get cut some of the proceeds? I believe she did.
Whatever went down, how is it any of our business? I don’t believe anyone came away feeling slighted.
Either way, why stir it all up? I vote “whatever” and I’ll see you at the disco. (or, as recent nights have proven, not).
Because we don’t want him to destroy this town and turn it into glam-hooker-ville like XX did (ref to another thread)! On the other hand, sage advice there, Mr. B. Yo.
@ 86, I agree, except for the fact that…oh yeah, that’s right, the C-Ville did a cover story about the acquisition of this site…and I quote directly here from C-Ville…
Page 22, second column from left, third paragraph down:
“And not making any money,” she (Kate, aka, Lilith) says. “I’ve never made a cent from this.”
/not trying to be a dick, but commenting on what I read in the print newspaper with a direct quote from Kate…
I’m going by that. How do you know she made any money?
@86/88 it’s obvious she didn’t make any money because like the c-ville says, thor sold the company to himself (kyle) just to generate buzz. if there had been any money, lilith would have got a part of it
i’d actually be willing to pay icenine to stop talking about his cock.
I’d pay him to talk about his lad, but not a lot. Maybe the stray change peppered around my car floor or the little pile of sad washed fluffy coinage beside the dryer. I reckon it’s $4.72 worth of cock talk… I take no offense Icenine if you don’t beat my door down.
@90 Floozy this is not a petting zoo
cock talk. is my new favorite word for blowjob.
I saw a Lexus tonight on 29N with the plate ‘ ILOVEBJ’.. seriously…I mean who the fuck doesn’t?…why state the fucking obvious. Shows an inherent lack of creativity and wit.
Hi all, I’m B.J. ….and she does love me….well, maybe.
Seriously though…if she’s using that plate to make sure her b/f won’t drive the car, it’s gotta be hugely effective. Then again it could be a fella driving the thing….not that there’s anything wrong w/ that.
Jesus Wears a Rolex
Check out what they say about us here:http://www.nailgunmedia.com/blog/?p=1205
I should mention here that I despise Cvillain; that site has routinely been an echo chamber of aloof snobbishness and unwarranted, venomous snark. In my experience, the writing consists of nothing so much as vicious mockery, inarticulate cruelty, and uninformed conjecture, all of which can only be poisonous to the fabric of the community, in the service of stroking the author’s own egos behind a pseudononymous curtain of dismissive irony. On those rare occasions when the authors can stoop so low as to praise something, those praises are laden with alarming sexism and a stunning sense of yuppie entitlement.
@96: Don’t worry. I went to the site and fixed their grammar for them.
@96… lots of super-duper scrummy words in there. Amazing how some people have trained their buttocks to work the keyboard so prosaically. Not a single typoo in sight.
@96, I think he got his description out of mad libs. Someone’s feeling insecure? Seriously nailgun dude, the fabric of the community? Just FYI, I use Bounce when I wash this community’s fabric which isn’t poisonous, but some have been known to have allergic reactions.
Well, given that conjecture, by definition, could be considered “uninformed,” he could have trimmed at least one superfluous adjective from that string. Plus, is yuppie entitlement all that stunning?
@99 - Seriously, if you follow the link (well cut and paste it at least) the Nailgun rant has all of its nasty accusations highlighted. It really looks like Madlibs. I think I want to make my own baseless blog critique madlibs kit:
This site is nothing but a (adjective) attempt to (verb) its own (adjective) worldview. It started out like (good blog), but quickly decended to the level of (shittier blog). The posters are (adjective) (noun)s who just want the world to worship their (adjective) (body parts). It is (adjective) to the (noun) of the community and I never read it except for every day when I am supposed to be (verb)ing.
interblog snarkfest. round 2. hhmm.
@101 good idea:
Umm, A blog has to be making money in able to give its writers money. Lilith didn’t get paid cuz there wasn’t any money to give. I write on Muse sometimes but I don’t get no money and I don’t expect it. It’s a blog. Sheesh. I did hear that kyle took Miss Lilith out for dinner when she left. That’s very nice. I doubt Kate/Lilith expects $$ anyhow, she probably just wants some sort of aknowledgement that she helped start what is now an awesome site.
This site is nothing but a smelly attempt to truncate its own jaded worldview. It started out like PerezHilton, but quickly decended to the level of Fleshbot. The posters are heavy pumpkins, hard carrots and soft apples who just want the world to worship their malformed ears. It is helpful to the dredges of the community and I never read it except for every day when I am supposed to be whacking.
Impostorrrrrrrrrrr….That’s not Thor. He don’t use big words like that.
Well according to the C-VILLE, there are dozens of Thors. At least one of them must be an unemployed former English Major. Maybe all of them.
no, not dozens, HUNDREDS of them. how do you think we get so many pageviews! i am up to my fucking neck in thors!
that sounded gay.
I read the article in C’Ville and was interested in the slant that Thor is Kyle or vice versa. The listing at “recent comments…” said this posting was by Thor, but when I got to the posting it was by Kyle. It was clearly written in by Kyle because of his references to the 6 inch flame, his business partner Francesco, etc., but very oddly he refers to himself in the third person in the first paragraph of the posting “With cVillain.com, owner Kyle Redinger is either trashing old media or reigniting it.”
Keeping up with multiple personalities is tricky - it would appear.
Also, for those who think the article was complimentary to Cvillian.com, read it again. The article is a clever ax job hidden in a wrapper that starts out seeming to flatter and ends up making fun of the site, its owners and its participants.
Final thought, icenine should be right that “having accomplishments is the more important that anything in this economy”, but he’s NOT. Our society is quickly blurring accomplishment and hype, fact and fiction and journalism and entertainment, to mention only a few. The key thing in this economy seems to be having the market THINK you are accomplished. Someone who can claim to advise on mergers and acquisitions after a rotation in the MS finance department and get named one of the top businessmen under 30 without ever having done a deal - now that’s someone who understands what is happening now!
that sounded gay.
and that bothers you because?
@25, I don’t know how to do that in analytics. Is it possible? I’d actually be curious.
@72, Thanks, Lys.
@84 - Closing a business sale takes a long time, and we were in the middle of one when the Business Week article hit. Additionally, the article doesn’t clarify that we had paying clients as soon as we left Microsoft. It’s not easy starting out any business at any age and we have been very clear about our progress, but obviously the editorial staff picked us for some reason beyond “buzz.” You have to start somewhere and, even though we left Microsoft with deal experience on the accounting and integration side, we obviously had to start with zero deals with our Company name. That’s how it works for anyone who goes out on their own.
@96- dieter, i saw that on Nailgun today and came over to see what was being said about it. glad i did!
@109 I agree.
[…] New Face of Evil! post by Kyle on cVillain.com, August 19, 2008 […]