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Macromedia launched its first content site Wednesday, ShockRave, a compendium of nifty gadgets, games, cartoons, and music. By highlighting the best of what can be done with the Shockwave plug-in and promoting the work of its developers, the company is hoping to put its tools at the forefront of Web entertainment and advertising.
"The original idea was, gee, we ought to have a site that marries the traffic we get with all these great developers," said Steve King, Macromedia vice president of marketing. "It's a place to showcase Macromedia technology and push the envelope on Web stuff, as well as give our developers a distribution channel."
Many developers were making fun Shockwave toys and games, says King, but had no place to feature them or profit from their independent work.
"It's a big deal," says James Willis, founder of Stone Soup Multimedia and creator of the Mars Rover game on ShockRave. Willis says the site is already bringing him attention and new clients. "With the fact that our game is on ShockRave, it validates the things we've said to clients that [our games] are a neat way to get their sites noticed."
The Macromedia site currently boasts 120,000 visitors per day. Since its "Shocked Site of the Day" has long been a popular feature, using the concept for a stand-alone entertainment site - ShockRave - was a logical progression.
The ShockRave site currently features about 50 games and toons. The games range from classics, like Solitaire, to juvenile fun, such as Cane Toad Explode. The cartoons tend to feature known brands such as South Park, Dilbert, and Peanuts, as well as some subculture favorites like Spumco's George Liquor. The site will update weekly with four or five new pieces, and will regularly feature content from United Media, Comedy Central, SegaSoft, Columbia TriStar Interactive, and Disney Online. A full-time staff of five will be updating the content.
ShockRave is a for-profit site, and all contributing developers will participate in a shared risk/revenue model (if the site makes bucks, so do they). Already 7Up, LifeSavers, and Apple are sponsors. But although they hope to make money, King says that isn't the goal and they're certainly wary of ad-supported business models.
"One of the goals of the site is to try and figure out what other kinds of advertising you can do online," says King, who says ShockRave has been developing new kinds of cartoon- and game-based ads for their sponsors. "This thing is designed that if it makes money we'll be ecstatic, but if it doesn't we'll just be happy."
The move from tech company to entertainment company is similar to Intel's efforts with Mediadome, the showcase site created in conjunction with CNET, intended to promote Intel-driven Web entertainment. Mediadome has been well-received as a marketing tool for entertainment companies who promote their latest movies or artists via immersive "webisodes," featuring the latest plug-ins and tech toys. According to Intel spokesman Adam Grossberg, the site has been "successful," despite the fact that CNET recently sold its share in Mediadome back to Intel.
But unlike the more tech-intensive Mediadome, which requires different tools every week, or the gaming sites that demand steep learning curves, ShockRave functions under the belief that quick-hit entertainment is the strength of the Web. Once you've got Shockwave, you're set.
"What we want to do is fast, interactive fun - stuff that would take you 30 seconds to figure out," says King. "There isn't much stuff out there where you can just pop in and out."
