A Letter From The Editor
We’re a multimedia website covering everything across the popular culture spectrum, but more importantly, we’re a group of creators who share a passion for storytelling
Editor’s Note: This article was last updated in November of 2018.
Unfiltered. Uncensored. UNPLUGG’D. Started in May of 2017 by Nathan Graber-Lipperman, we’re a multimedia website dedicated to covering topics in popular culture with one caveat: making sure to always take pride in producing the highest quality content we possibly can.
Some quick stats on UNPLUGG’D: in the last 30 days, our articles have received over 12,000 views and 35,000 minutes read. In the last month, there have been over 300 unique visitors to the blog every day. And since January, our podcast network has gained over 5,000 plays across iTunes, Google Play, and SoundCloud.
Got it? Now take all those numbers and throw them out the window. Shred ’em. I don’t care. That’s because media outlets should be about so much more than clicks and views; but with the age-old standards of advertising, content needs to be pumped out, and quality will always be sacrificed.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. In our interviews with students around college campuses, people expressed a strong dislike of clickbait, the terms used to describe content focused on getting you to click and not much else. And though many admitted to not reading as much as they would like — the most popular medium being YouTube — they did say that if they stumbled across a good longform piece, they were certain to read it all the way until the end.
UNPLUGG’D is all about good storytelling, and sometimes good stories require a lot of words and time. Given our market demographic of college-age kids and young adults, we’re starting to fill out our roster with a mix of personalities and contributors who are passionate and knowledgeable about the topics they cover. These are people who can connect with viewers and listeners because in the end, they’re fans like the rest of us — super-fans at that — and they’re part of the same internet culture. We have added 10 new contributors in the last several months to bring the total up to 15, and are continuing on our search for editors, graphic designers, and more.
So, what is it exactly we cover? The main focuses of the blog right now are sports, entertainment, music, and style.
In regards to our market, while there are so many voices out there in the echo chambers of the interwebs, our commitment to quality assures fans that when they like an article about Pusha T destroying Drake’s livelihood, they can expect the same level of professionalism when they come back and check out a podcast on why LeBron is the GOAT. This is important because in topics like sneaker culture, something we’ve been exploring a lot of lately, you just don’t get coherent, well-thought-out articles and shows, even though it’s a diverse subculture that loves good content like the rest of us.
One thing we’re trying to do is come up with more themed content. For example, with the rash of music released in the rap industry in May, we dubbed the whole month ‘The Rap Month.’ There’s still too much to talk about — we might have to scratch the whole thing and call it ‘The Summer of Rap’— but this approach has tested positively with consumers looking to connect with the blog through the particular lens of music.
Finally, one final idea to further develop our brand within our community is the section known as “Forty-Two,” a nod to the one and only Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In the future, we would accept submissions from fans to write about anything from what it’s like to be vegan on a college campus to what they should’ve said in their graduation speech. We would work with the authors to hammer out their ideas into a piece worthy of publication and, in short, foster a deeper connection with the college-age market we’re trying to reach.
Who’s to say this all-or-nothing approach will work? Look no further than Bill Simmons and The Ringer, the pop culture blog that’s finally found its footing after 2 years. Simmons has mastered the art of the podcast network, currently offering 27 different shows whose focus range from PGA golf to the Bachelor; but it’s the strength of his writing team that has kept the idea of covering sports, movies, and more afloat.
While the Ringer is an obvious inspiration for the blog, they’re not as committed to video and YouTube as we’d like to be, as we have two shows in development for the fall and several skilled filmmakers to back them. Also, the Ringer’s overall tone — while zany at times — is clearly focused on an older, more general audience, while we’d like to reiterate our clear commitment to young adults through keeping things fun and light.
To wrap up, we’re currently not bringing in any revenue. We would like to build our own website in the future where people can subscribe and decide which articles they like and what they want to see more of, leading us to further build towards what’s working. We think the subscription-based model is viable down the road, as recent research from Nieman labs shows that millennials are willing to pay for content when they believe it’s of a higher quality than what they’re used to seeing. You may have noticed this trend in the rise of services like Spotify — which essentially killed Youtube2MP3 — and Netflix. It’s also hitting the news media world with startups like the Athletic, a no-advertisements sports media outlet that’s raised over $5.4 million in funding and poached top editors and writers from around the business.
For now, UNPLUGG’D is hosted on Medium, a clean yet limited interface that’s fine at what it does. We’re on Patreon, a popular website for online creators to gain subscription money from their fans, and hope to get that up and running soon to test out cheap pricing and see what bites. Any money from Patreon, a potential Kickstarter, or from any investors would be used to capitalize on our most important resource: human capital.
‘Cause in today’s day and age, anyone with a wifi hotspot can say whatever the hell they want online. It’s the unbridled passion and commitment to the craft that has and will set UNPLUGG’D apart.
To keep up with UNPLUGG’D, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! If you’re a fan of what we’re doing here and want to help support us, check out our Patreon for more information on the perks of becoming a patron.
Also, if you’re interested in contributing, email nathangraberlipperman@gmail.com, and you’ll hear back from us soon! Don’t worry, it’s nothing binding — the only intention is for us to be able to communicate with you on how you might fit in with the team.
