1. EDHAT ONLINE COMMUNITY Entrepreneurship & the Community Web December 6, 2009 USC Annenberg Presented by: Peter Sklar

2. Peter Sklar MA in Statistics from UC Santa Barbara 80’s – developed POS software for PCs dot.com years –started early Internet mapping company –created and sold web design tools –designed and developed user interfaces –built an online community for web developers 2003 – started Edhat Online Magazine

4. What is Edhat? Santa Barbara community website Started in 2003 with fun, original, local content A loyal following of people who love Santa Barbara In 2006, Santa Barbara News Press imploded Today it’s citizen news, public news, aggregated news, and collaborative news A place to discuss issues, share photos, ask questions, share expertise, and connect to others in the community

6. Market Leader More hits than any other website in town –radio stations –newspapers –television stations We get 1 million hits/month in a market of only 200,000 people Local and repeat visitors Alexa Rank of 49,703

8. Keys To Our Success Persistence and dedication Fresh content all day long Always have the scoop No story left behind Happy and quirky Focus on readers, not advertisers

10. Citizen Ed What is up? Emergencies –Zaca Fire, Gap Fire, Tea Fire, Jesusita Fire –School Lockdowns News no one else covers –Conflict at Botanic Garden Sharing & Caring Adding elements of traditional journalism

12. Readers Want To Talk About Should people be allowed to take dogs to restaurants? Cell phone etiquette at Coffee Shops Can the County cut down my Jacaranda tree? Should teachers take vacation days before Thanksgiving? Best type of space heater to buy

14. Revenue Model Local advertising Voluntary paid subscriptions

16. Advertising Traditional advertising –not our primary goal –no pay for promotion –no Google ads Social Media Marketing –We’d rather have businesses be a part of our community than have them be outsiders selling to our readers

18. Paid Subscriptions We sell community, not content All content is available to all users no matter what their status Benefits of paid subscription: –No guilt! –Chance to win tickets to local events –Identity on the Edhat Comments Board

20. The Identity Experiment HYPOTHESIS: Identity is an important part of community People will pay for it RESULTS: Trolls got mad and left Paid subscriptions increased 33% Some people didn’t care

22. Summary Edhat is a major media player in the Santa Barbara market Edhat is friendly, accessible, and non-elitist Edhat is Community Edhat is unique Our readers love us - we’re counting on them to support us