Office Pirates
Encyclopedia
Office Pirates was a website
for young men focused on mainly satirical humor, as it relates to Corporate America
, a "daily blend of funny videos, strange news and downloads, rolled up in an office-themed wrapper". The site was under the ownership of Time Inc in New York City
, New York
. The operation was run by Mark Golin , formerly of Maxim Magazine and Details Magazine. The website featured videos
, blogs, pictures and articles
related to the life of young male office dwellers.
The site received international attention on its launch on February 22, 2006 , but it was closed down seven months later, reportedly due to an audience too small to show up on Nielsen//NetRatings or Media Metrix web ratings.
The website was considered a surprisingly anti-corporate direction for Time Inc. Business Week called it Time's "newest and strangest launch" and another reviewer calling it "bizarre and freakish and entirely un-Time Inc". Reportedly, some of the videos on Office Pirates were filmed at the Time Inc headquarters in Manhattan.
The site was launched quietly with little promotion, hoping for word-of-mouth appeal. It had a staff of five full-time staffers and only two advertisers at launch.. Presciently, Business Week pointed out that the site's low cost launch would result in "quick profit, or a fast exit" . The target demographic for the site was young men aged 21–34, procrastinating at work.
On Friday, August 24, 2006, Office Pirates abruptly announced that its typical update of a "Last Thought of the Day" for that date would indeed be its "Last Thought...Ever" and hence its last update of any form on the website, including the user submitted Jokes, the "Hate Nook," the "What's for Lunch," and the "Biggest Jackass" submissions. The site was shut down September 1, 2006, with the site redirecting visitors to the Sports Illustrated
website.
In a memo to Time Inc. staffers, Interactive president Ned Desmond wrote, 'Office Pirates was off to a good start – and it is likely to reach nearly 11 million page views this month – but the business still faced a long road...Time Inc. will return to online humor early next year with a new initiative from Sports Illustrated.' Time's CEO Ann Moore
said that Office Pirates wasn't doing badly, but was killed because it was never going to be really big. She views Office Pirates as an illustration that companies should take risks and shouldn't be afraid to fail.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
for young men focused on mainly satirical humor, as it relates to Corporate America
Corporate America
Corporate America is an informal phrase describing the world of corporations within the United States not under government ownership....
, a "daily blend of funny videos, strange news and downloads, rolled up in an office-themed wrapper". The site was under the ownership of Time Inc in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The operation was run by Mark Golin , formerly of Maxim Magazine and Details Magazine. The website featured videos
Video clip
Video clips are short clips of video, usually part of a longer recording. The term is also more loosely used to mean any short video less than the length of a traditional television program.- On the Internet :...
, blogs, pictures and articles
Article (publishing)
An article is a written work published in a print or electronic medium. It may be for the purpose of propagating the news, research results, academic analysis or debate.-News articles:...
related to the life of young male office dwellers.
The site received international attention on its launch on February 22, 2006 , but it was closed down seven months later, reportedly due to an audience too small to show up on Nielsen//NetRatings or Media Metrix web ratings.
The website was considered a surprisingly anti-corporate direction for Time Inc. Business Week called it Time's "newest and strangest launch" and another reviewer calling it "bizarre and freakish and entirely un-Time Inc". Reportedly, some of the videos on Office Pirates were filmed at the Time Inc headquarters in Manhattan.
The site was launched quietly with little promotion, hoping for word-of-mouth appeal. It had a staff of five full-time staffers and only two advertisers at launch.. Presciently, Business Week pointed out that the site's low cost launch would result in "quick profit, or a fast exit" . The target demographic for the site was young men aged 21–34, procrastinating at work.
On Friday, August 24, 2006, Office Pirates abruptly announced that its typical update of a "Last Thought of the Day" for that date would indeed be its "Last Thought...Ever" and hence its last update of any form on the website, including the user submitted Jokes, the "Hate Nook," the "What's for Lunch," and the "Biggest Jackass" submissions. The site was shut down September 1, 2006, with the site redirecting visitors to the Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
website.
In a memo to Time Inc. staffers, Interactive president Ned Desmond wrote, 'Office Pirates was off to a good start – and it is likely to reach nearly 11 million page views this month – but the business still faced a long road...Time Inc. will return to online humor early next year with a new initiative from Sports Illustrated.' Time's CEO Ann Moore
Ann S. Moore
Ann S. Moore was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Time Inc. until the fall of 2010. She became the company's first female CEO when she was appointed to the position in July 2002.-Biography:...
said that Office Pirates wasn't doing badly, but was killed because it was never going to be really big. She views Office Pirates as an illustration that companies should take risks and shouldn't be afraid to fail.