FlipGloss, a Forbes Media-funded digital magazine focused purely on editorial and advertising photo content, has launched the beta version of its site. Featuring “lifestyle” based photography focused on fashion, design and travel, FlipGloss wants to combine search engine capabilities with the experience of flipping through photo content of a magazine.
Users actually click and “flip” through glossy photos of models wearing designer clothes, the vistas of the world’s premiere five star hotels, and beautiful home amenities, like posh swimming pools and custom-design kitchens. Using what FlipGloss calls “Flip, Hover, Discover” navigation, users can click on their objects of interest to find out where to purchase an item or even be led to an advertiser’s website. There is a seamless integration of editorial content and advertising, which makes editorial images nearly indistinguishable from advertisements. For example, images from a Forbes’ Coolest Hotels editorial feature look similar to images used as advertisements for luxury hotels.
Founded by former Yahoo! digital music executives, FlipGloss has a host of prominent advisors, including Marc Bodnick from Elevation Partners, former Forbes publisher Jim Berrian, and the founders of Launch.com, Dave Goldberg and Bob Roback. FlipGloss was fully funded by Forbes Media but is not considered a subsidiary of the media group.
FlipGloss’s editorial competitors are magazines with online photo content. While online magazines provide in-depth editorial writing along with photos, FlipGloss nearly eliminates written content. Although FlipGloss’s photo-advertising platform is unique, its search function competes with Google. FlipGloss seems more likely to be a destination for those who like to browse high-quality imagery (and perhaps stumble upon a purchase), whereas Google would likely be the destination for those who begin their internet search with an intended purchase in mind. In that light, I have to wonder whether FlipGloss will be able to scale mass traffic to the site. Also, FlipGloss claims its focus is on “lifestyle” products and goods, though nearly every item I discovered could easily be categorized as a “luxury” good. The images are beautiful, but in this economy, Gucci’s and Louis Vuitton’s price tags don’t resonate quite like they used to.
First post!
It’ll be a flip if they market it right. I love the Spa section they have, it’s useful for spa owners like me. hehe
TechFilipino
with the seamless integration of ads vs content, dont know if thats the way to go if u can’t tell which one is which.
A seamless integration of ads vs content is what traditional magazine advertisers have been trying for years.
It’s called Advertorial and magazines have traditionally had to be very careful how they present such articles. It wasn’t that long ago the New Yorker was fined for allowing Target to sponsor their entire magazine. I see Flipgloss walking a fine line….
It’s quite nice, but I’m not sure it goes far enough in terms of accessing the content. Looking at the men’s fashion section, I wanted to find out more about the shirt one of the models was wearing, but only the trousers were linked.
And there must be a more elegant way of highlighting an object than an old-fashioned looking hotspot?
They should abandon their very archaic interface and adopt Cooliris. Also, if you truly want to go after this kind of advertising, look at how they do it – it is so seamless and beautiful, and they are making boatloads of money from what I hear.
The full screen experience blows. It should be done in flash instead.
cluelessinseattle and andrew: “From what [you] hear?” “Blows?” Are these your weighted professional opinions or gratuitous spit-up? People like you give “comment-enabled” content a black eye.
Guess they didn’t read about Jpeg Magazine.
Since it is NOT Flash, it works on my iPhone. And it’s wicked fast. Pretty sweet.
who cares. iPhone has about a 3.5″ screen… not exactly the best way to look at rich photography.
Very nice – fun, intuitive, and full of context. I wonder how this will scale though: looks like all the images are custom prepared for interactivity.
Someone makes a slideshow and it’s TechCrunch material? What am I missing?
I can’t wait until the first batch of Flipgloss easter eggs surfaces.
I have to say, the site is quite beautiful. It’s easy to use, let’s the photos speak for themselves, and I get into this “click, click, click” mode without thinking about it.
I’m really interested to see where they take it from here — so many directions are possible with a strong platform for letting users browse through products in this way.
I think you’re just seeing Phase I of Flipgloss and the real “ah-ha” moment of this product is coming down the road.
This would have been a great concept had they treated their “independent contractors” with more regard isntead of using them for 6 months at minimum wage and them dumping them before Christmas without any notice, keeping the two bimbos that were just lemmings to run the show. The editor is a nut and knows nothing about the internet or technology – she used to work for InStyle Australia – I guess all the other InStyle candidates werent interested. Managmenet is a joke, completely used their employees and led them on for 6 months – promising benefits and a career opportunity, didnt know that also translated into “terminated”. The site is boring and has no real purpose, you should be able to buy things directly. They will be charging for each pic shown on the site, good luck with that.
John, tell us more!!!
We genuinely appreciate all feedback from the community and try to not make a habit of jumping in. However, while product comments and criticism are great, slights toward team members are less cool, and definitely not warranted in this case.
As a startup, we employ contractors regularly and love when we have the opportunity to create full time jobs. Unfortunately, that is not always possible, especially in a tough environment. We take care to close all completed contracts on fair, professional terms.
Many of us have worked together for years, and have been fortunate to work in environments that respect individuals and their efforts. We believe in fostering that environment at FlipGloss.
I never thought I’d have the chance to write a ‘Dear John’ letter. Doubly so since we’ve never had a contractor named John.
Thanks to everyone for checking out the site, and for all the valuable (product) feedback.