Is Atom.com the new SuperDeluxe?

Not so long ago, SuperDeluxe.com was a content creator’s best bet at getting upfront funding for his series. The Turner backed site was spending serious cash (by web standards, mind you) on name talent as well as up and comers. Some of my favorite series were a result of Big Ted’s spending. But the comedy web portal was a crowded space back then, and their distribution model couldn’t support all that talent. By the end of 2008, most of the content was abandoned, save for a few series that were ported over to AdultSwim.com. Now, all over the web you’ll find sad, empty embed windows instead of The Maria Bamford Show*, Derek and Simon, or [”(Layers)”]**.

When Atom.com relaunched in June of ’08 I didn’t think much of it. In it’s prior incarnation, as atomfilms.com, it seemed like just another ifilm. At that time I was in film school, I spent all day watching my peers‘ terrible student films***. Why would I go online to find more?

After the relaunch I poked around the new digs. Exploring the site presented a basic run of established web content. I’ve admired Waverly Films for a long while, so I was glad to see them getting paid. Legend of Neil is fun. But there were too few shows, and despite the face lift, the site reeked of it’s predecessor to me. I didn’t revisit them until I heard news of a zombie Oprah.

While it’s great (and I mean GREAT) that there are sites out there paying people like Team Tiger Awesome to create new shows, it’s a wonder that those companies haven’t branched out a bit more. Look, I know that comedy works well on the web. I get it. It plays broad, it brightens people’s day, it compels them to share. You know what plays even better on the web? A dog eating a burrito. A cat jumping into a wall.

Go ahead, click away. I’ll wait.

Back? Adorable! I know, right?

Independent content creators are never going to compete with that sort of traffic. Never! Strike.tv has fans from all over the world, but we’re never going to be as digestible, easy and broad as anything that will grace the pages of cuteoverload or failblog. Corporations need to understand that. If you only make shows that already “work” on the internet, you’d be better off rounding up strays from the local pound and setting a few camera men loose in a day care.

This Oprah thing is awesome, and I love watching awesome things, but Atom people; who’s to say that I wont like an awesome drama or sci-fi show after a comedy? Now, I get that comedy is the name of the game with Atom, and I think that makes sense. I just hope that Atom is smart enough and daring enough to continue putting things out like “Oprah”. Remember, the reason I didn’t like atomfilms when it showcased student films had more to do with the quality of programming, not the genre. See the difference? Diversity on your site will make me think you’re more intriguing, not less. If you only do one flavor of comedy,  then I’ve made up my mind about every single piece of content on your site already. If you give the good people of the Internet the chance to provide a few other flavors of content, you may even gain a larger, sustainable audience (the kind advertisers like). Keep me guessing, make Atom a home for more than just one spin on comedy.

Because we need sites like Atom. We need to get paid. We all want sites to succeed. I miss Superdeluxe, it’s shows and the opportunity it presented. So stay smart Atom.com. I don’t know if I can take another loss.

* I think the Maria Bamford show will go down as my favorite early web series. It’s funny, tight, and at times even moving. While I love her stand-up act (which was the source material for much of the show), the series allowed her characters to grow into real people the way her comedy act couldn’t.

** Unfortunately, these shows are pretty hard to find. There are a few devoted fans out there who’ve uploaded pirated youtube copies, but I’ve yet to find a complete collection of any of these shows.

*** Sorry guys. *smiley winkey face*?