Spring Break
JuicyCampus site shuts down amidst legal scrutiny
Emmeline Zhao
Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: News
Looks like the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.
Popular gossip web site JuicyCampus.com will shut down today because of the faltering economy, JuicyCampus Founder and Chief Executive Officer Matt Ivester, Trinity '05, announced Wednesday.
"Even with great traffic and strong user loyalty, a business can't survive and grow without a steady stream of revenue to support it," Ivester said in a statement. "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."
The site, which first surfaced on Duke's campus in 2007, allows users to post anonymously to message boards for more than 500 colleges across the nation. It has accumulated numerous messages targeting individual students and has sparked controversy surrounding legal and ethical issues since its inception.
Duke and other universities' officials and students have called the site repulsive and devastating, but it has still gotten hits. Still, according to the JuicyCampus blog, Ivester said the decision to take the site down was unrelated to legal investigations or feedback from universities. No plans are currently in place to resuscitate the web site, he said.
"I will always be a proponent of free speech," Duke Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek said. "That being said, I'm delighted that [Ivester] has made a decision to take this site down. I think that's good news."
Ivester, however, disagrees. In an e-mail to The Chronicle Wednesday, the Duke alumnus said the site's termination is not something to be pleased about, and the gossip web site would be "thriving" if economic conditions were different.
"JuicyCampus' shutdown is not a positive change for campus-the issues brought up by JuicyCampus will continue to exist," he said. "It will simply be easier to ignore those issues without our site."
Popular gossip web site JuicyCampus.com will shut down today because of the faltering economy, JuicyCampus Founder and Chief Executive Officer Matt Ivester, Trinity '05, announced Wednesday.
"Even with great traffic and strong user loyalty, a business can't survive and grow without a steady stream of revenue to support it," Ivester said in a statement. "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."
The site, which first surfaced on Duke's campus in 2007, allows users to post anonymously to message boards for more than 500 colleges across the nation. It has accumulated numerous messages targeting individual students and has sparked controversy surrounding legal and ethical issues since its inception.
Duke and other universities' officials and students have called the site repulsive and devastating, but it has still gotten hits. Still, according to the JuicyCampus blog, Ivester said the decision to take the site down was unrelated to legal investigations or feedback from universities. No plans are currently in place to resuscitate the web site, he said.
"I will always be a proponent of free speech," Duke Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek said. "That being said, I'm delighted that [Ivester] has made a decision to take this site down. I think that's good news."
Ivester, however, disagrees. In an e-mail to The Chronicle Wednesday, the Duke alumnus said the site's termination is not something to be pleased about, and the gossip web site would be "thriving" if economic conditions were different.
"JuicyCampus' shutdown is not a positive change for campus-the issues brought up by JuicyCampus will continue to exist," he said. "It will simply be easier to ignore those issues without our site."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Andy
posted 2/07/09 @ 1:19 AM EST
I'm so glad! I found that this was becoming a forum for slanderous/libelous claims against individuals who were actually named in some posts. It was a waste of resources. (Continued…)
Anti-Andy
posted 2/09/09 @ 10:06 AM EST
While I agree that the website was a waste of resources, the fact of the matter is that with the Constitution we do have the right to say things of seemingly little value, that may or may not be hurtful to a person or group. (Continued…)
Post a Comment