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| Zack Teperman |
Zack Teperman, the 24-year-old Toronto native behind the website, confirmed he will announce this week that he's sold the domain to CheaterVille, Inc., the Las Vegas social media company behind CheaterVille.com and CupidVille.com
"It's been a fun ride," Teperman told PopGoesTheNews.com from his home in Los Angeles, where he works for Lexicon Public Relations (whose clients include CheaterVille, Inc.). "I will definitely miss it but I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my life."
Teperman, who declined to divulge the purchase price, said the new owner plans to re-brand the site to focus on celebrity cheating scandals. "What they have planned, which has never been done before, is going to blow people's minds," he said.
Teperman created ZackTaylor.ca after first launching gossip site IsThisHappening.com in 2007 using the name of a character in a popular children's series. ("It'll be nice to finally get rid of my Power Rangers name and go back to being a normal guy. See ya later, Taylor!") He worked tirelessly to develop the blog by covering events, producing video clips, and hosting parties at nightclubs across Canada.
Teperman recalled how some stories he posted resulted in "being sued by some A-list celebs," but there have been some successes, too. The site made headlines in 2007 after he posted nude photos that then-Maple Leaf player Jiri Tlusty sent to females in Toronto and, last year, the site was credited for breaking news about a 12-year-old boy who alleged that Justin Bieber assaulted him during a game of laser tag in Vancouver.
Still, like most blogs of its kind, the vast majority of the content on ZackTaylor.ca is rehashed — and, occasionally, boldly plagiarized — from other websites and Teperman has been criticized for a lack of sourcing. The site's reverse-text format and frat boy tone has also limited its appeal and Teperman wasn't able to attract significant advertising support.
In a draft press release announcing the acquisition of ZackTaylor.ca, CheaterVille Inc. founder and CEO James McGibney referred to "millions of viewers who currently visit his site on a daily basis." It was revised today to read "millions of viewers who have visited his site since it first launched back in 2007."
Based on average daily visitors and pageviews in the last three months, Alexa ranks ZackTaylor.ca at around 371,000 in the world and nearly 67,000 in Canada. By comparison, LaineyGossip.com by Vancouver-based Elaine Lui is ranked at around 13,000 in the world and 914 in Canada and PerezHilton.com is ranked at 935 globally and 281 in Canada.
ZackTaylor.ca is not the first Canadian celebrity gossip site to go offline this year. DrinkTheGlitter.com by Toronto residents Chris Corsini and David Tumey (aka David Robert), infamous for its bogus star sightings and bad grammar, shut down earlier this year without explanation. The domain name is currently on the market for $2,800.
Teperman believes the explosion of gossip websites in recent years has made it difficult to get noticed and to be viable. "There are so many that are all the same and have very little exclusive content," he said. "It's very hard for newcomers to make a living off just running a website."
Soon, those who relied on ZackTaylor.ca for the latest dirt on Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and various porn stars and Playboy models will have to click elsewhere.
"I've updated it every single day, almost every hour," said Teperman. "It's going to be weird not having a website to update, but I'm very excited to see what my little site from Canada is going to turn into worldwide."
Photo courtesy ZackTaylor.ca. This post has been revised.
Teperman, who declined to divulge the purchase price, said the new owner plans to re-brand the site to focus on celebrity cheating scandals. "What they have planned, which has never been done before, is going to blow people's minds," he said.
Teperman created ZackTaylor.ca after first launching gossip site IsThisHappening.com in 2007 using the name of a character in a popular children's series. ("It'll be nice to finally get rid of my Power Rangers name and go back to being a normal guy. See ya later, Taylor!") He worked tirelessly to develop the blog by covering events, producing video clips, and hosting parties at nightclubs across Canada.
Teperman recalled how some stories he posted resulted in "being sued by some A-list celebs," but there have been some successes, too. The site made headlines in 2007 after he posted nude photos that then-Maple Leaf player Jiri Tlusty sent to females in Toronto and, last year, the site was credited for breaking news about a 12-year-old boy who alleged that Justin Bieber assaulted him during a game of laser tag in Vancouver.
Still, like most blogs of its kind, the vast majority of the content on ZackTaylor.ca is rehashed — and, occasionally, boldly plagiarized — from other websites and Teperman has been criticized for a lack of sourcing. The site's reverse-text format and frat boy tone has also limited its appeal and Teperman wasn't able to attract significant advertising support.
In a draft press release announcing the acquisition of ZackTaylor.ca, CheaterVille Inc. founder and CEO James McGibney referred to "millions of viewers who currently visit his site on a daily basis." It was revised today to read "millions of viewers who have visited his site since it first launched back in 2007."
Based on average daily visitors and pageviews in the last three months, Alexa ranks ZackTaylor.ca at around 371,000 in the world and nearly 67,000 in Canada. By comparison, LaineyGossip.com by Vancouver-based Elaine Lui is ranked at around 13,000 in the world and 914 in Canada and PerezHilton.com is ranked at 935 globally and 281 in Canada.
ZackTaylor.ca is not the first Canadian celebrity gossip site to go offline this year. DrinkTheGlitter.com by Toronto residents Chris Corsini and David Tumey (aka David Robert), infamous for its bogus star sightings and bad grammar, shut down earlier this year without explanation. The domain name is currently on the market for $2,800.
Teperman believes the explosion of gossip websites in recent years has made it difficult to get noticed and to be viable. "There are so many that are all the same and have very little exclusive content," he said. "It's very hard for newcomers to make a living off just running a website."
Soon, those who relied on ZackTaylor.ca for the latest dirt on Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and various porn stars and Playboy models will have to click elsewhere.
"I've updated it every single day, almost every hour," said Teperman. "It's going to be weird not having a website to update, but I'm very excited to see what my little site from Canada is going to turn into worldwide."
Photo courtesy ZackTaylor.ca. This post has been revised.
See also...
2010/08/14 Joe Jonas accuses Canadian blogger of posting "fabricated stories"2010/06/14 Canadian blogger steals again from TMZ
2010/05/26 Perez Hilton rejects alleged takeover bid
2010/01/14 Canadian blogger busted again for plagiarism
2009/06/17 Blogger's public complaint about MMVAs backfires
2009/01/07 Blogger plagiarizes PopGoesTheNews.com
2008/08/27 Blog posts bogus concert review
