News broke yesterday about renegade Wiki Leakers’ (is that redundant?) plans to start a kinder, gentler leak site called OpenLeaks, with a stated mission to serve up leaks without a political agenda.
This led me to ask all kinds of questions. First, what would the tag line be? “Same great leaks, less filling?” And what is the market for agenda-free vs. agenda-heavy leaked info?
It also led me to wonder about the broader market for these types of sites. Let’s face it, the diplomatic cables thing was a headline grabber, but how many people actually read any of those cables? Or the news trove that preceded them?
I did (see my posts from last week). Except for that Borat bit, let me tell you, they were real snoozers.
I am always on the prowl for new business ideas, so I thought I’d throw out some ideas for consideration to try to answer this: what are some types of leak sites that people really want to see?
OpenTable Leaks
Combines the concept pioneered by OpenTable with Open Leaks: shares secretes of how to get a great table in a top restaurant in New York City at the last minute on a Saturday night. Or, the site could offer info about the really disturbing stuff that happens behind-the-scenes at fancy restaurants – the things that do not survive the reality show editors’ cuts.
Embargo Leaks
This site will leak all tech news stories in advance, and once and for all put Michael Arrington over the edge regarding his pet peeve: broken news embargoes.
Golden Leaks
This website will features the sexual proclivities of the rich, famous and influential.
Ricky Leaks
This wiki will feature secrets of faded stars of the 80s and 90s, including Ricky Lake and Ricky Martin (whoops,too late)
Jobs Leaks
This site will trump existing Apple watching sites like Apple Insider and the Fake Steve Jobs blog by posting the personal correspondence of Steve Jobs (recall how he got into it with the journalism student who was brave or foolish enough to try personally reach out to Jobs via email).
