By DAVE GUSSOW, Times Staff Writer
Published July 21, 2006
Millions of people view videos at YouTube every day. Frank Principe believes he can build on the thousands who visit PitBullTV to make a mark as an Internet TV network.
MySpace claims to have more than 90-million registered users for its social networking site, yet Karen Post thinks there's room for another. Her Oddpodz site is aimed at what she calls the "Creative Class."
The dot-com dream lives in the Tampa Bay area.
From the well-known - the region can boast that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales lives here - to the obscure, the Web is a magnet for people who want to make their mark.
Perhaps the most visible local effort was BrainBuzz, which in 1999 plastered the region with billboards featuring a giant bug and vowed to become "the mother of all technology sites." It has since become CramSession - and without the billboards.
In the past year, sites such as SnowBirdy, a local guide for winter visitors, and Quickpons, which sends text message coupons to cell phones, have popped up. Some may make it, some may fade from the scene. But undoubtedly, people will keep trying.
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Karen Post could have written another book about building a brand for businesses. Instead, she decided to create a Web site as "a case study" she can use for her speaking, writing and consulting pursuits.
Audiences not only want to hear people speak about areas of expertise, she says, they also want to know that the person has applied some of those theories in practice.
She also thinks she can make money off Oddpodz - a lot of money - aiming for what might be an optimistic goal of $100-million within five years.
"If I create a marketplace of interesting places to buy things, what this creative class likes, I think this might be a really big idea," said Post, 46.
Post came to Tampa six years ago from Houston with a resume that includes starting and running an ad agency. "I never worked for anyone except selling popcorn at a theater as a teen," she said.
Her personal Web site touts her work as the Branding Diva, including her book, Brain Tattoos: Creating Unique Brands that Stick in Your Customers' Minds.
Post considers herself a member of the Creative Class, as defined by Richard Florida's book, The Rise of the Creative Class. That's a group of 40-million people in the United States, 150-million worldwide.
That market tends to be loyal to brands, even passionate, Post says.
"Since I am a Creative Classer, I think I understand how we think," Post said. "We are loyal to brands. I'm an Apple computer user. I probably would never own a regular PC in my whole life."
She and her partner, Jocelyn Ring, started the project with personal money. But to bolster their technology and marketing, they will be getting $500,000 from angel investors in Tampa, Houston and the East Coast.
Oddpodz, a name partly built off the popularity of the name of Apple's iPod digital media player, combines a social network with branded apparel, advertising, merchandise licensing and affiliate marketing.
The site includes a blog, marketplace and even a "vent" section, where people can post their thoughts on whatever strikes their fancy.
Many of the posts in the first weeks of the site came from people who heard about the site. Mass marketing just wouldn't be cool for creative types, Post said. "Viral will be a big part of the brand."
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If Hollywood won't come to aspiring actor Frank Principe, he'll go to the Net.
"There's a void out there," said Principe, 32, of St. Petersburg. "There's a lot of up and coming talent. I want to give them a stage."
In particular, Principe and a small group of other struggling actors created PitBullTV about a year ago.
The Web site hosts a collection of indie videos, some pushing the edge with disclaimers such as "Not for the faint of heart" (some described as adult but not porn).
"We're kind of like an NBC, ABC, started from the ground up," Principe said.
PitBull is part of a digital revolution transforming the way people think about TV. No longer do the major networks or cable channels have a stranglehold on viewers.
Through the Internet, anyone can post a video - lots of people do - or, like Principe, try to start a network.
"We feel we have the right format," Principe said. "We're not just posting silly videos. We're posting shows, (where viewers can) follow story lines and characters."
PitBull got startup funding from a silent investor and is seeking others. So far, Principe says PitBull is slightly profitable, but not enough to expand. It does not charge to post shows, but shares ad revenue.
"Experts say it cannot be done without millions behind us," Principe said. "But we are pushing through anyway without it."
Marketing is through the Internet and word of mouth. And because the site doesn't generate a living wage, Principe, in the tradition of many actors, has a day job doing call-center type work from home.
But PitBull is giving him a chance to keep the acting dream alive.
"This is it for me," Principe said. "It will not close down. I've had this idea for years and years."
Dave Gussow can be reached at dgussow@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4165. Read his blog at www.sptimes.com/blogs/tech.
