How the internet's most beloved camera site found life after Amazon

[usonian]

https://archive.is/3TzBW#selection-651.0-651.67
From Fast Company/paywalled

A fan outcry after Amazon announced the closing of DPReview created an opportunity to move it to a new home—the product enthusiast site Gear Patrol. Here’s how the deal went down.

NOT DEAD AFTER ALL
The combination of outcry and public response had a powerful effect that ultimately kept DPReview around. Everett says Amazon quickly realized the closure could shut the door on an important audience—photography enthusiasts.


All that changed the discussion around DPReview from shutting it down to finding a new home. Yang says the New York City-based Gear Patrol, which has a staff of around 50, reached out to Amazon as a potential acquirer, in part because he was a longtime DPReview reader who looked up to the expert writers and researchers who built the platform. (After all, one of the defining elements of Gear Patrol is its product photos.) When he met with the Seattle-based DPReview team, he found a group of people that, like his team, had a mission more serious than affiliate marketing.

...

It’s easy to see an acquisition like this as a positive sign amidst a tough news cycle in a media business that has experienced a wave of closures, layoffs, and bankruptcies in recent months. Yang spoke at length about how he saw sites like Gear Patrol (founded in 2007) and DPReview as “survivors” that have maintained a presence even amid the broad shifts elsewhere in the media. He says this reflects a mixture of resilience and purpose, an approach that favored slow growth over aggressive investment rounds.

...

“At the end of the day, to know that what we wrote, covered, or enabled within our site impacted people’s lives in a positive manner is all we could ever ask for,” he says.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

1. Nice to hear that DPReview will still be around.

I never bought anything without first reading their extremely thorough reviews.

[usonian]

2. You might also read reviews at Ken Rockwell's site.

https://kenrockwell.com

Ken makes money by affiliate sales at the big camera sellers, so I don't recall any unfavorable reviews, but his tests are pretty thorough. I also think that his photos are way oversaturated, but that's art for you. The science seems sound.

Good for DPReview.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

3. I've always been a big fan of his too.

Both of these have been a big help to me over the years.