VerticalScope Inc., owner and operator of the Internet’s largest network of automotive and powersports web sites, today announced that it has acquired Off-Road.com from Advanstar Communications Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “Off-Road.com is a great fit with our portfolio of premier auto and powersports web sites, which include brands such as Motorcycle.com, ATV.com and AutoGuide.com,” said Rob Laidlaw, CEO of VerticalScope. “We grow our business through acquisitions and we are extremely excited about adding Off-Road.com to our network. Both enthusiasts and advertisers will benefit from the content, community and cross-marketing synergies with our current network of 140 automotive sites and 65 powersports sites.”

Taking a gander at social media and the immediacy of the project at hand, there comes a time when too much is simply too much and not enough is simply not enough. And attempting to explain it to those who may have interest but neither have the time nor multifaceted media skills to deploy the complete package is quite futile. If there is any hope of achieving tangible results from the marketing game plan, it's merely time to take charge and charge onward toward the objective.

I am hereby breaking into the business of making news of someone else's hard work. I toss a quick quip and a sensational array of edgy words. It's artistry and engaging. I don't dictate onto the masses. I embrace them. I call it news aggregation. It's nothing more than a modified blog of slightly more important subject matter. Yet it's news. I am a news aggregator. It's word of mouth marketing. I merely regurgitate what I refer to as news and do unto it like a cow chews cud. The normal method of consumption is chew, swallow, stomach and dump. So goes the old ways of the news world. The newspaper is virtually dead. Now, we mouth off a bit, chew it, swallow it, and combine the final two stages into one, regurgitating facts and opinion amid social media outlets and thereby commence into the abyss of new age reporting until the fad fades into emptiness.

When it comes to technology and even social media, the Off-Road Industry (OFFROAD NATION) remains in a stooper, in part due to the archaic-minded mavens at the helm and likewise due to the snake oil salesmen who have delivered these the industry a sour taste of used car salesmanship. This remains true from aftermarket parts manufacturers to race promoters. I have my array of email accounts and keyword search tools that scan the web and more specifically the more prominent aspects of social media, scanning for anything pertaining to marketing, social media, public relations and e-commerce. Many of these search queries are focused intensely upon the overall #OFFROAD industry but delve into the #POWERSPORTS, #AUTOMOTIVE, #ACTIONSPORTS, #4X4 and related realms. Though, the update that arrived just moments ago was from one of my underground insiders, who forwarded me the content from an RDC thread, which opens as follows:

I remember the days. I worked straight HTML. I wrote like a mad man. Lived the ultimate off-road lifestyle and documented the insanity by means of a camera, a keyboard and often times a satellite internet connection. Those were the days of Off-Road.com. There were editorial days that existed long before the ORC era of my life, but they do not size up to the workload, responsibility nor adventure. Traffic at ORC was ultimately bolstered by informative and often humor-laced excitement. And during that era of my life, it was far more difficult to web publish that excitement as it is today. Straight HTML via notepad and then manually publishing links via FTP file upload for an array of primary directory pages was an extremely tedious task. Homesite soon eased the HTML editing woes but also inserted erroneous code. Fortunately, Macromedia Dreamweaver segued onto the scene has long proven to be a standard asset in my code-slinging repertoire.