Thursday, February 5, 2009
Education / Hannan OMG! College Gossip Site JuicyCampus is, like, Totally Dunzo
Posted by Caleb Hannan on Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 12:08 PM
JuicyCampus, started a year and a half ago by Duke alum Matt Ivester, made its name by offering college students an online forum to swap rumors. As such, most posts on JuicyCampus revolved around what girls would or would not, allegedly, drop their pants at a moment's notice (Samples: "Biggest Whores on Campus" and "Chicks with Loosest Pussies").
Locally, JuicyCampus made news when Tennessee State University became the first public school in the nation to block the URL on their network. TSU made their decision after a parent of a student mentioned by name on one of JuicyCampus' posts complained.
Ivester, employing the Larry Flynt Free Speech Strategy, shielded himself with the First Amendment. The same argument he made when the New Jersey Attorney General took an interest in his site.
Gawker tech-site Valleywag thinks the announcement is a publicity stunt to scare up some "white-knight" investor cash. After the jump, JuicyCampus' full presser...
Open
Letter From JuicyCampus Founder
Juicy
Campers,
What a wild ride this has been! In
the past year and a half, JuicyCampus has become synonymous with college gossip,
and is more popular than I could have ever expected. We've expanded to more
than 500 campuses across the
Unfortunately, even with great
traffic and strong user loyalty, a business can't survive and grow without a
steady stream of revenue to support it. In these historically difficult
economic times, online ad revenue has plummeted and venture capital funding has
dissolved. JuicyCampus' exponential growth outpaced our ability to muster the
resources needed to survive this economic downturn, and as a result, we are
closing down the site as of Feb. 5, 2009.
On behalf of everyone here at
JuicyCampus, I would like to thank all of our users for reading, contributing
to, and telling your friends about the site. And I'd like to thank everyone who
has engaged in meaningful discussion about online privacy and internet
censorship. JuicyCampus has raised issues that have passionate advocates on
both sides, and I hope that dialogue will continue. While there are parts of
JuicyCampus that none of us will miss - the mean-spirited posts and personal
attacks - it has also been a place for the fun, lighthearted gossip of college
life. I hope that is how it is remembered.
Keep it
Juicy,
Matt
Ivester
Founder &
CEO, JuicyCampus.com
February 4,
2009
Media
Contact:
Steven
Wilson/Hayley Scheck
B|W|R Public
Relations
310-550-7776
swilson@bwr-la.com / hscheck@bwr-la.com
Emily Davis
B|W|R Public
Relations
P:
310.248.6126
F:
310.550.1701
edavis@bwr-la.com
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