Nick Denton memo on Gawker's growth
Gawker's technology underpinnings have improved. (Yeah, I know that might seem a stretch after the problems of the last two weeks.) Pageload time has gone from 8 seconds to between 5 and 6. And the new design will take us down to 4 seconds.Second, we've begun our first serious marketing effort. (We were always to editorially snobby before to pitch our wares in a consistent fashion; marketing was for losers.) The greatest success: Chris Mascari's drive to promote Fan pages on Facebook and distribute our stories into individual newsfeeds. Our Facebook refers were 6.2m last month, up 67% on the month before and triple what they were at the end of last year. Most of these are new readers; some of them we believe will become regulars.
But above all, our stories are stronger and sharper. The numbers on the Big Board have helped focus attention on the performance of each story; but the reports below from each site lead demonstrate something else. It's editorial flair, not some descent to the web lowest common denominator, that is rewarded and recognized.
