We go inside the mind of oreoceo and wisdump owner, and of course, 9rules ceo, Paul Scrivens, on topics from blogging to bar fights – and a whole lot more.
Devlounge: What’s up Scrivs? While most of the community already knows who you are from 9rules & Wisdump, mind quickly explaining just who you are?
Paul Scrivens: I’m a 25 year old black and white male from Tampa, Florida who has trouble sleeping and keeping his room clean. I am the CEO of 9rules, Inc, some punk kid who played his cards right and got lucky with this whole blogging thing when it was in its infancy a couple of years ago. I have loved computers my whole life and that’s really all I know or at least the only thing I know how to make money with legally. I’m a Leo and hate long walks on the beach, but love catching the women when they are done walking with some other guy.
DL: Where did the idea for 9rules come from, and how long did it take to put it all together?
PS: Mike tells this story better than I do, but before SXSW in 2005 I was talking to him and went to go take a shower and thought it would be cool to have a Network of sites that helped people get their names out there. I would always get questions about how can someone become popular and figured instead of just replying to emails why not create a Network around the concept of quality content because there were too many good sites not getting recognition. It wasn’t a brand new idea since you could argue it was eerily similar to webrings of the 90’s, but surprisingly it wasn’t anywhere to be found on the web at the time.
Mike flew down a couple of days later and I explained the concept to him and in May we announced our first site so it took a little more than 6 weeks.
DL: With Round 4 submissions ending in May, you guys saw the highest turnout of any submission round for 9rules. You and the rest of team 9rules also stressed how it seems to be getting harder and harder to choose what sites to accept, because content everywhere seems to be getting better and better. Do you think the introduction of 9rules has played a role in the quality found in the blogosphere?
As we evolve we want to expand beyond the blogosphere because the general public really doesn’t care if your site is a blog or a newsletter, they just want quality content coming across their screen.
PS: Well if you read what some people are saying we have had an influence on how some people look at content, but let’s be realistic. With over 30+ million blogs it would be silly to say we are making a major dent in the blogosphere and we are just proud to have effected a small percentage of the sites out there and hopefully we can continue to do so. As we evolve we want to expand beyond the blogosphere because the general public really doesn’t care if your site is a blog or a newsletter, they just want quality content coming across their screen.
DL: It seems much more has surrounded Round 4 than just the new members themselves. You are also in the middle of designing & launching the next version of 9rules’ Communities, conveniently dubbed Communities 2.0. How do you manage to handle 100+ new members while balancing multiple other network needs?
in fact have just now realized I serve no purpose in 9rules. You guys hiring?
PS: By having a great team working with me. Most of what is involved with the new 9rules falls on the shoulders of Mike and Colin, while Tyme has been handling new member duties. I tried to stop doing everything a long time ago and in fact have just now realized I serve no purpose in 9rules. You guys hiring?
DL: You also have two of your own personal blogs, Wisdump (more for business and design) and Oreo CEO, which seems more personal. Of your blogs, is there one you enjoying writing on more than the other?
PS: Oreo CEO is definitely the more personal of the two, while Wisdump is more of my “professional” side. I love to write for Oreo because it is low-key and helps to keep blogging fun for me. Wisdump is a great time due to the discussions that occur, but there is also a certain responsibility to uphold with the quality of the content on there. I think it’s important for anyone involved in blogging to have a site like Oreo where they can cut loose and just have fun with things without having to worry about who is linking to you or if your traffic numbers are on the decline.
DL: 9rules members who frequently visit the member forum know a thing or two about the multiple projects and ideas you and the rest of the 9rules team has up their sleeves. Any upcoming things you may have in store you wouldn’t mind sharing, or would you rather keep things quiet for now?
PS: Hard to keep track ourselves sometimes of what we have planned in the future. With the launch of the new 9rules you will see that we are really going to put a focus on making 9rules a new media company (no I’m not talking about Flash). Next week we will launch our first official 9rules podcast: 9@9. This will be a short 3-5 minutes podcast done 9rules style highlighting 9 different items from our members across the Network.
There are plenty of other things, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but with so many different opportunities with all the content that we have at our hands you can guess where we are headed. We just want to continue to give our audience a chance to find the best content on the web and our members the best chance of reaching new audiences.
DL: What you do like to do in your free time, away from the work desk?
PS: I’m a club/bar fiend. Working at home all day I am pretty much guaranteed to want to get as far away from my place at night as possible. If I’m not hitting up the social nightlife I’m probably playing soccer somewhere or leveling my characters in World of Warcraft.
DL: Where do you see yourself in five years, besides from some sweet skyscraper in LA with the 9rules logo gleaming in the sun?
PS: Good question. Hell, I don’t even know where I see myself next week, but I do have a feeling I will still be working with my team in one capacity or another and that’s just fine by me. Of course I will be married to Jessica Alba and live in a sky fortress, but those are details I’m sure you don’t want to hear about.
DL: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me!
PS: Always my pleasure AJ. Now if you will excuse me the club scene is calling.
