OSM WTF

I've been watching with bemused interest the reaction to the newly launched OSM, aka Open Source Media, nee Pajamas Media. I'm sure most readers here know about the name controversy, the very vocal former business partner, and the harsh judgement passed by some of blogdom's heavy hitters. A discouraging start for what was touted as a new media powerhouse.

But to those of us who don't particularly care whether OSM is a good business model, what matters is whether it's a website worth visiting. I hesitate to judge a site harshly based on a few days' existence, but with $3.5 mil in venture capital and a swanky launch party, I don't think they deserve kid gloves.

Put aside whether you support the individuals running OSM or the 70 affiliated bloggers (and it should go without saying that I support Damian), and evaluate OSM on its merits as a site. Does it work? Will I bookmark it and return regularly? I largely agree with JohnnyMC at Private Radio:

It’s hard to fathom such a talented group creating a more clunky and boring web site. The proof is in the pudding and there’s nothing to see there. Compiled by OSM staff? [Prev] [Next] buttons. Drab colors. Old news. Reynolds will be ringmaster for a blogjam on Monday? The topic? Pre-war military intelligence–what was known going into the war in Iraq, who knew it, and more importantly, what should we have known that we didn’t?

Is that old news?

That pretty much sums it up for me. In this incarnation, at least, OSM doesn't offer a whole lot that would draw me back. News aggregation? Summaries of blog reaction to news? Does OSM do these things better than existing services? There's nothing there -- yet -- that interests me as a reader.

So, is it worth visiting? Discuss.

Posted by MikeP at November 19, 2005 12:42 PM | TrackBack