Think of it as a modified version of the original Siskel & Ebert, only for startup pitches and with four contributors opining about video pitches submitted to Vator. Those four contributors include myself, John Shinal (Vator's managing editor), Ezra Roizen (Digital media banker and AlwaysOn columnist, and Pete Cashmore (Mashable founder/blogger). For those who've followed our Vator Reports shows, you'll notice this significant change in format. Notably, we're now filming in our San Francisco studio and really focusing on highlighting the user submissions.
To this end, we'll probably drop the original "Vator Reports" as we take the time to produce this segment, which I truly believe is more lively and engaging. There's no holding back in this show, that's for certain. Now, while the format may have changed, the intent remains the same: Highlighting trends in particular segments and discussing companies that fall under the umbrella category. Even though we accomplished that in our other show format, I believed we didn't dedicate enough time to the pitches.
So, our new show is entirely pitch-centric. It's where we showcase the user pitches on our site and provide feedback, even if it's in the form of a bit of constructive, and at times harsh, criticism. But, as they say, "There's no such thing as bad press."
In this particular segment, we focus on four companies - Flixster, Friction.tv, CollegeWikis and Seesmic - that fall into the social networking bucket. We did so given our guest host, Pete Cashmore, is a social networking guru, and because one of our competitions - The Demand Media/Vator Challenge - is seeking top vertical social networks, and more importantly, there are a number of niche social networks emerging on our site, such as Afrigator, or social network for South Africans, Real Girls Media, a network for women, Oobgolf, a network for golfers, Neighborhood America, a B2B application for social networks, eGenerations, a network for baby boomers, DanceJam, a network for dancers, and so on.
Finally, we don't have a name for the show just yet, though we're leaning toward "Vator Box." We'd love your feedback and we'd love ideas for a name! And, if you'd like to be featured in this new show or would like to be a guest contributor, ping me or our newsroom.
Enjoy the show!
Here you go again - outdoing yourself. You're managing to keeping your viewers on their toes. I love the format. It would be interesting to see the evolution. I can't wait for the day when Vator will have its own O'Reilly, Rosie, and Donald Trump fighting it out. From a stickiness point of view, I think this format is a homerun.
How about an additional show called "THE DEBATE" where entrepreneurs on Vator competing in the same space debate their differences. This show will indeed attract a lot of viewers, especially investors. It would certainly be very unique!!
Anyway, keep up the good work. As a user, I can tell you that Vator is clobaring its competitors.