Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis
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Well this is all going to be very interesting.
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Confirmed layoffs being listed here:
https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2226718-with-the-changes-in-the-community-would-like-to-say-thanks-to -
@Nic said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
Confirmed layoffs being listed here:
https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2226718-with-the-changes-in-the-community-would-like-to-say-thanks-toDamn
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@Nic said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
Confirmed layoffs being listed here:
https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2226718-with-the-changes-in-the-community-would-like-to-say-thanks-toHow are you confirming these are layoffs?
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@DustinB3403 said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
@Nic said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
Confirmed layoffs being listed here:
https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2226718-with-the-changes-in-the-community-would-like-to-say-thanks-toHow are you confirming these are layoffs?
Aside from the affected people posting on other media, like this:
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@DustinB3403 said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
@Nic said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
Confirmed layoffs being listed here:
https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2226718-with-the-changes-in-the-community-would-like-to-say-thanks-toHow are you confirming these are layoffs?
You can hit people up and ask them directly if you want...
Ryan Rimmer for example.
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@JaredBusch oh. . .
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Well, for those of you who know, ML was attempting to purchase SW several months ago and for very logical reasons they weren't willing to try to sell to us (we know how the sausage is made so there can't be any bluffing like you could to Ziff Davis), but they refused at the time to deny any financial failure or plans to sell details: so we've known for months that they were looking for a buyer and hoping to find one before time ran out. They were smart not to try to sell to us, we were confident that the financial discovery phase would have resulted in a valuation far lower than we assume that they got with ZD. ZD is a logical buyer for them, all things considered. Good for them to sell to, ZD will likely regret the purchase heavily once they attempt to incorporate.
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@scottalanmiller not knowing to much about the whole situation, can you elaborate on the the whole financial side? I mean I was have been apart of the community for 6 years so i have seen things on the decline, but i didn't think things were that bad.
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It's a bit of a bummer. I'm pretty fond of the site and community. While I no longer use the product, the community has always been a fun spot and mostly helpful. A lot of the people here on ML are the reason I ever joined SW in the first place. Hopefully after today's shakeup they are able to leverage some of this new backing to get things back on track and growing again. Trying to stay optimistic.
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@david-wiese said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
@scottalanmiller not knowing to much about the whole situation, can you elaborate on the the whole financial side? I mean I was have been apart of the community for 6 years so i have seen things on the decline, but i didn't think things were that bad.
Well they were never profitable and always lived on venture capital funding. That was never a secret. Their model was built on huge growth year over year and once they started shrinking, there was no way it was going to work.
The rumours that we had heard, but SW asked us not to repeat (but didn't deny) was that they only had 6 months of funds left and had to be bought before that money ran out or they'd be over and done with no possibility of a future. Obviously that rumour, which was the foundation of the attempting to be purchased rumour, is almost certainly true as it would be the only reason for the hasty sale. No concern over that getting out now as the purchase is done. So ZD either knew and was okay with the financial situation, or is just finding out now. Either way, not SW's problem any more.
The "rumour" was from SW staff internally. Several employees had let slip that there were no funds left and the only hope was to make it till Spiceworld was over and maybe find a buyer during that time. So this is very much the eleventh hour if that insider info was true, but everything sounds like exactly would be expected if it was true.
ZD has a strong play here in liquidating SW assets and stuff, rolling it into their "online magazine" portfolio and operating it at a fraction of the current costs.
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@dimforest said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
Hopefully after today's shakeup they are able to leverage some of this new backing to get things back on track and growing again. Trying to stay optimistic.
ZD doesn't operate communities, but content platforms. My guess is that they will be looking to make it more of a magazine than a community. But just a guess, but that's where ZD's value would appear to be.
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Man, I have so many posts there... but anyway...
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@dbeato said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
Man, I have so many posts there... but anyway...
I completely doubt that there is any chance now that the community will "go away". That would seem crazy. Rather my expectation is a change of focus away from products (look at the layoffs, product support was hit, so likely those are done as they don't make any money themselves) and away from community and towards original content which is what ZD already has teams for so they can simply use SW as another place to put that content.
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@scottalanmiller said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
@dbeato said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
Man, I have so many posts there... but anyway...
I completely doubt that there is any chance now that the community will "go away". That would seem crazy. Rather my expectation is a change of focus away from products (look at the layoffs, product support was hit, so likely those are done as they don't make any money themselves) and away from community and towards original content which is what ZD already has teams for so they can simply use SW as another place to put that content.
Makes sense, more focused marketing then.
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Wouldn't any attempt to turn the community into a more passive audience only for pre-written content simply kill off the community? Speaking only for myself the only reason I'm on there now is because I kept finding myself there when searching for answers to questions. There's a million options for articles, forums that actually produce solutions however..... those are few and far between.
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@dbeato said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
Makes sense, more focused marketing then.
and lower overhead. I'd be looking for any way that they can cut costs, like leaving Austin completely.
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This line is not very encouraging for the ongoing health of the community: "As a combined company, our focus is clear, and our goals are achievable: to build the preeminent marketplace that connects technology buyers and sellers"
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@Kelly said in Spiceworks Just Got Acquired by Publisher Ziff-Davis:
This line is not very encouraging for the ongoing health of the community: "As a combined company, our focus is clear, and our goals are achievable: to build the preeminent marketplace that connects technology buyers and sellers"
Depends on how you look at it. The assumption was that they were going to close up shop and shut down the community by October or November. Now it seems that the community is staying. So it's extremely encouraging compared to the reasonable alternatives.
