OT: What is up with Dappered

[bremersm]

Seems like the volume; and quality of articles has really fallen off lately in my opinion. The staff (Joe and ?) were consistently putting out three articles a day. Whether it was what to buy at a sale, how to copy a magazine style for much less, or a real product review. And the articles were great. Now we get dating advice, silly models, the whine-o-meter thing, and the weekly article on Shannon Sharpe. None of these really fit into the category of helping men with style.


Sorry for the rant and I am sure this is in the wrong place, but I wonder who else shares my observation?

[greg_s]

Perhaps the pre-holiday lull in sales? I'm noticing that the "deals around the net" thread isn't lighting up too much either.

[jason_carreira]

I guess he was just running behind. 2 more articles up now.

[bremersm]

Yeah I spoke to soon about the volume of articles. The content is sometimes lacking though. This isn't meant to be a knock on the site at all. Joe does a great job. I just have noticed a bit more fluff as of

[Joe G.]

I agree, especially on the "goofy models" posts. I just don't find them funny or even mildly entertaining.


This is purely speculation, but I'm assuming Joe runs most Dappered mostly as a labor of love. Now sure, there may be some small revenue from referrals - but like most blogs, the business model must be pretty thin. Given the time and $$ put into the site, the tangible return is very miniscule. I don't think I would have the motivation or patience to keep up with it.


So, with Joe producing all of this content, more or less out of the goodness of his heart the content may not always be "top notch". But when Dappered delivers, it really delivers.


And, as for the dating advice columns and other non-fashion content - I think Joe is trying to build Dappered as a brand (like GQ or Men's health) and just wants to branch out onto other avenues.


But even with the occasional strike out, Dappered is still one of my favorite websites and my "go to" blog every morning.

[jason_carreira]

I dunno if Joe reads the threads, but there's some good stuff discussed here... He could pull from us or have some of us contribute articles too.

[bremersm]

I would love to write a article and help out the site.

[Tat]

@JC, Nice thinking! I second your comment about great content provided on the threads.


I now check threads over dappered.com in order of operation. But still check both daily ^_^

[YackoYak]

Agree with you guys; I think Joe does what he can. The site probably doesn't bring in any money, and I'm sure it still takes a couple hours a night to prep the two/three articles a day so we have something to read by the morning.


I also don't care for the model caption contests, or the Facebook customer posts, but I also don't read/comment on those. It would be tough to make one site that everyone agrees on. There are other sites that cater to men's style, and some of them (maybe one or two?) are even in the affordable, less snooty price range. I check those on occasion but this is the only forum and site (on men's style) I read every day. Joe makes an effort to keep the site accessible (everyone is included).


@JC: Agree on the guest post idea. I bet if you pitch your topic to Joe via email he may consider it; he seems pretty reasonable to me.