Posted on 04/21/2008 11:43 AM

Back in 1999 when Okayplayer started, there wasn't really a model for any of this web community stuff. Angie "'Stress" Nissel, ?uesto, Shawn Gee, and newguy (Doug Muir), were forging their own path into uncharted territories.  Nine years later the record labels are more adept in New Media, but still struggle to find and adopt a model that works in conjunction with rapidly changing technology and trends.  Meanwhile, hundreds of independent media outlets and community sites are popping up and taking matters into their own hands.

The new era of Okayplayer.com, which we are ushering in with this Beta, reminds us of when we first started.  Exciting, new, and not always exactly sure where it's going to go.  The organic process, which started with The Roots needing a Web site to promote Things Fall Apart, has begun all over again.  Currently we are in the process of launching our Blog network, with The Roots once again kicking things off as the band gets ready to release their 10th project Rising Down.

When we say that this site is a work-in-progress, we really mean it.  For instance, we want our subscribers to be able to use their OKP logins to leave comments on posted articles and within the coming weeks they'll be able to.  We're not totally satisfied with the way the blogs look and expect them to change dramatically as we refine things.  If you recall, our network started with The Roots, and once that proved to be successful, followed with Common, D'angelo, The Jazzyfatnatees, Dilated Peoples, Reflection Eternal, and so on. Now for our remodeling, we stripped ourselves down to once again enjoy the rebuilding process.  I'm personally looking forward to the archive project that has us opening up our vaults of unpublished content from over the years.  Believe me, there's plenty.

So hopefully, you've checked out the beta and noticed the solid foundation we've laid out.  Please understand, this is just the beginning!

 

 

spec boogie (oracle), dantana (aoxomoxoa), doug muir (newguy), & tank at OKP HQ, Philly circa 2000