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Put The Pajamas Back On, Your Birthday Suit Is Showing

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2005 by MR

Roger Simon, in his excruciatingly finite wisdom, decides to change Open Source Media back to Pajamas Media due to the fact he and his entire company committed faux pas after faux pas after they launched. Good thing they paid a pretty penny for the three-character domain name and branding which is now all out the window and dead on the sidewalk.

Their write-up about the switch sounds so terribly fake and highschool-ish that I almost feel bad for the investors who poured $3.5M into the company, only to watch them fuck themselves repeatedly all over the blogosphere. How can investors give a few guys 7 figures and not Google the damn name “open source media” and see that somebody else already has that name? Did their due diligence include sitting blindfolded while Roger Simon procured their checkbook and wrote himself a check for whatever he wanted?

I don’t think uninformed investors are the signs of a bubble, but it really has to make you wonder what OSM/Pajamas was even thinking, what their investors were thinking, and what any of their paid bloggers was thinking about this fiasco. Not only did Open Source Media stumble and fall, they happened to be on the top of the longest staircase on the planet and managed to hit their forehead on every stair corner on the way down. I doubt that the name change will ever bring them back from this massive screw up.

Personally I think this version of their press release is more appropriate.

Reader Comments

8 Responses to “Put The Pajamas Back On, Your Birthday Suit Is Showing”

Mike D. Says:

Thanks for the updates on OSM. It’s good to have someone saying the things I feel like saying. I think I’m officially taking them out of the “possible competitor” category for Newsvine now. :)

ahem Says:

Branding company? Looks like Roger Simon solicited the name from his commenters.

Mike Rundle Says:

Ahem - I guess he overpaid that “branding company” then. He should try to get his money back…

Tyme Says:

I never took the venture seriously. Once again an idea with potential completely messed up.

I guess it irks me companies that have potential and owners with the smarts to pull it off have a hard time getting investors. Companies that have don’t have the smarts to pull it off seem find people with deep pockets to throw their money away.

Matthew Oliphant Says:

Companies that have don’t have the smarts to pull it off seem find people with deep pockets to throw their money away.

Shitload of money tied to politics. Many are willing to have (buy) friends in the political blogosphere and 3.5 mil is nothing in that arena.

pload Says:

Italy will not appeal.

Barbara Says:

Great web site

Dale Says:

Very useful

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