Motorsport.com acquiring majority of FerrariChat.com

Giving a heads up to the users before official press release goes out tomorrow.

Tough to let most of your "baby" go after 16 years, but think I found a great partner that is best for the community, my family, and me. Motorsport.com is acquiring a majority of FerrariChat.com, but I will still be part owner and CEO of MotorInteractive, which will be operating FerrariChat.com. The man behind Motorsport.com is a total Ferrari guy, I met him at Sebring 6 years ago. He owns several Ferraris and races them too. Company has partnerships with Ferrari and F1 already, plus MotorSport.com owns Amalgam fine models.

Motorsport.com will benefit FerrariChat.com by investing in the community and providing special factory & event access opportunities. We want to leave the foundation of FerrariChat.com the same, but provide optional enhanced experiences for mobile, international, and professionally generated content.

[size=+3]FAQ[/size]

How will this impact users?

A: Nothing changes. We still want to operate the foundation of FerariChat the same. For the users that want it, we'll provide optional enhanced experiences for mobile, international, and professionally generated content.

Will the look & feel of FerrariChat change?

A: We are remaining with vBulletin until we're comfortable transitioning to newer software. vBulletin 3.8 hasn't been supported in 8+ years, but eventually I would have had to transition to new software anyway. We also believe in keeping a clean look at FerrariChat not overrunning users with ads. Any changes to ads will be minor.

How will this impact sponsors?

A: Existing sponsors will have no impact. Direct sponsors are still a very important part of our community.

How will this impact moderators?

A: Nothing changes. We still want to operate the foundation of FerariChat the same. By having a few direct resources that back me up as administrator, moderators might even see a reduction in work.

What are the plans for the optional enhanced experiences for mobile, international, and professionally generated content?

A: We need a solid mobile version for FerrariChat besides Tapatalk. With the international resources available at Motorsport.com we'll be able to cater to international users more. We also plan on generating our own professional content news, event coverage, images, and videos.

What are the risks to the community longterm?

A: Motorsport.com is fully supportive of FerrariChat.com and me as CEO. There is always risk that parent company Motorsport.com or company over FerrariChat.com (MotorInteractive) would be sold or go public. I think less impact to operations and community if going public and any private buyer would want to preserve their assets which would mean not ****ing up FerrariChat. I am still part owner of FerrariChat.com and want to continue operating the community.

Let me know what other questions everyone has. Users are welcome to talk to me personally PM or [email protected].

Thanks!
rob

 

Thanks, I think as single resource I was somewhat holding the community back. We'll now have backoffice support through the parent and then direct resources too. There will also be more capital investment, as sole-proprietor I was pretty tight on the budget.

 

We'll farm moderating out to China, 1 cent per ban.

 

FYI everyone that hasn't seen, looking to hire 2 full time resources located in DFW. Just office 4 mornings a week, rest is remote. If you don't have Silver access PM me for the info.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/jobs/526697-ferrarichat-com.html

 

Correct, only includes FerrariChat.com, AviatorChat.com, and LamborghiniChat.com. Does not include BassBuck.com or FreeRangeHunter.com.