Although we occasionally knocked it in the past for silly posts like that “Shit D.C. Says” video, it’s a bit unfortunate to see that SocialStudiesDC, the lifestyle blog maintained by a group of LivingSocial staffers, is shutting down after about a year in operation.
In a message posted on the blog this morning, its authors announced the site’s demise:
For the past year, we’ve had the pleasure of adding surprise and delight to your calendar by showcasing the sights, sounds, and stories of the those who bring DC’s DNA to life. While the few of us behind this here blog are off to pursue other opportunities at LivingSocial, we wanted to express our deep appreciation to our readers and to the many talented folks who have passed along ideas, offered their time and energy by contributing a post, or let us into their homes and businesses during the past 12 months.
A few months back, I was at a bar with a couple of the LivingSocial employees who contributed content to SocialStudiesDC. The site, they told me, was born out of a desire to create a kind of curatorial voice that existed somewhat separately from LivingSocial’s daily menu of restaurant coupons and discounted tour packages. I write “somewhat separately” because while SocialStudiesDC quickly grew into its own voice, you were never more than a click away from the deals of the day.
In December, I wrote for the City Paper about the trend of some daily deals companies getting into the editorial content game. Jody Gavin, a spokeswoman for LivingSocial, told me at the time that SocialStudies was “another avenue to reach and engage with our members.” And while I considered that a blushed-up version of a way of keeping Internet browsers on LivingSocial’s turf, SocialStudies did offer up plenty by the way of arts and entertainment blogging, such as a robust section of movie reviews and forays into D.C.’s architectural history.
Scoutmob, which erects a bit more of a barrier between its coupons and its editorial content, is still going strong with its arts and culture coverage, but curatorial content has been a feature of Scoutmob since its inception.
In an email today, Gavin writes that “SocialStudiesDC spoke to the drive, ingenuity and vision of LivingSocial as a company.” Looking again at the statement by SocialStudiesDC’s authors, its not difficult to reason why they are moving on. The company, Gavin said in December, seeks out new methods by which to engage its customer base. Its most recent endeavor at that, the consumer playground at 918 F Street, offers a far more tactile—and lucrative—method of engagement than any website could have.
