please empty your brain below
It's been a while since I considered Londonist a must-visit, and it's a shame that it's not as useful as it once was. However they're a business, and presumably what they're doing now it's what they need to do in order to make ends meet.

Occasionally people post in the comments here that they don't like a post - and someone usually replies "nobody's forcing you to read it"...

martin | 02.02.17 - 7:21 a.m. | #

I can't wait to see the story "You'll be amazed just how high Londonist's IQ is" to appear for all eternity.

I have tried to browse this site from time to time for general reading after having been directed there but end up frustrated.

Now, it just looks like it's been hijacked for clickbait. I guess I am no longer in its primary demographic.

Seriously, it concerns me that the collective imagination of the anglophone world is so limited that there so few different straplines created to tempt whoever through to whatever provider of goods or services that lies beneath. Rant over.

Ken | 02.02.17 - 7:24 a.m. | #

For me, Londonist killed Time Out as it rendered it obsolete.

Does this mean we need to revive Time Out?!

Dan | 02.02.17 - 7:38 a.m. | #

The Time Out blog is increasingly obsessed with television, Netflix and film - more Time In.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 02.02.17 - 7:45 a.m. | #

I thought it was just me. I subscribe to Londonist via RSS (like you, DG) and I've noticed this shift.

I *see* every article Londonist publishes down the feed but, more often than not, I skim it these days.

The videos are still very good for the most part but the "7 things you didn't know about..." are almost all skimmed.

Sad if this is the way things are going for Londonist.

Parkylondon | 02.02.17 - 8:03 a.m. | #

I don't like its changes either. What alternative sites are there for London news and arts, other than the excellent IanVisits.

John B | 02.02.17 - 8:11 a.m. | #

As Marge Simpson once said, "You know, Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, I didn't even notice."

I feel that way with Londonist.

Greg | 02.02.17 - 8:12 a.m. | #

And the consequence of having magazine listicles is that it rapidly gains the same profile as cast-off magazines in an old dentist's waiting room....except, no one has to visit the Londonist site do they!

B | 02.02.17 - 9:01 a.m. | #

How many of the Londonist's staff are still the same though?, this blog has stood still (in a good way), but only because it's had the same management, doesn't require advertising or hit whatever target has been set.

The technology has changed too, mobile instead of reading on a laptop, older people know how things were - so can compare and contrast, but for anyone under twenty five - this is their normal.

Still anon | 02.02.17 - 9:11 a.m. | #

Odd numbered listicles are always best, as you can see

And, supposedly, prime numbers are better still because it stops people trying to equally subdivide so treats the items as equal rather than have a top tier.

Often that number is seven so you do wonder if they chose the number first and then looked for Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Seven Dwarfs etc.

Pedantic of Purley | 02.02.17 - 9:15 a.m. | #

You mention '7 Secrets of London Bridge Station'. This has now been amended to '5 Secrets of London Bridge Station', presumably because the article only ever had 5 secrets. Even those weren't particularly secret.

Bryn Davies | 02.02.17 - 9:17 a.m. | #

Looks to me that the main target audience is now the London visitor, not London resident. It's effectively turned into a travel guide.

commonliner | 02.02.17 - 9:23 a.m. | #

I used to regularly visit the Londonist site before I visited the UK. But it's become an archive a mere shadow of it's old self.

All my local knowledge of London I get from DG.
😀

Michael | 02.02.17 - 10:26 a.m. | #

Londonist used to be great. In mid 2000s I subscribed to Time Out, but as that got more into staying in, and I found Londonist covered the same topics but with better writing and less attitude, I stopped buying Time Out. I don't even pick it up now.

Now Londonist is merely good.

It's a shame, as I feel like I get less good London news and writing these days (as many blogs have dried up too), and I suspect that I miss more interesting events and exhibitions because of it.

But as others have said, Londonist needs to pay the bills, so has to adapt to the times.

Peter of London | 02.02.17 - 11:33 a.m. | #

The problem is that we've become accustomed to expect content to be free, so we really only have ourselves to blame. The Metro helped to kill off the Independent, or at least its printed edition, and the online version is a shadow of its former self. I fear the Guardian may be next, which would represent a scary loss of plurality, especially in today's new political order.

Once a medium relies exclusively on advertising then it resorts to clickbait (This Adorable Whatsit Will Melt Your Heart...), it can't afford proper journalists or photographers so it just recycles tweets and fills its space with stock photos.

I'm not sure what the solution is; indeed, there may not even be one. Perhaps it involves paywalls (but we're too mean) and switching the TV licence to subscription to bring about a fairer market. Or perhaps we should just remember it's simply a case of 'Buy It or Lose It'.

Gerry | 02.02.17 - 12:06 p.m. | #

Londonist has lost most of its best writers in the last couple of years. This is likely both cause and effect of the decline.

Psmith | 02.02.17 - 12:34 p.m. | #

Been thinking exactly the same. The loss of the daily news was a particular loss. It's gone from 'here's something you might want to read' to 'Here's something you should spend your money on'.

Honourable exception for the videos.

Will | 02.02.17 - 1:14 p.m. | #

For those of us who have moved on from Time Out and Londonist where next?

Toby | 02.02.17 - 1:15 p.m. | #

I haven't been to london in a few years and I miss it terribly. I should be going later this year so will probably do all the normal tourist-y things.

John | Homepage | 02.02.17 - 1:45 p.m. | #

It's feed is still in my rss-reader but I added it mainly for its daily news overview and its arts reviews, both of which have disappeared. I hardly click on it anymore. The videos about relatively obscure things to do with, mainly, the Tube are always great. They do still do those right?

jg | Homepage | 02.02.17 - 2:29 p.m. | #

Geofftech: brilliant; The rest: meh

Jimmy | 02.02.17 - 7:39 p.m. | #

Just visited the Londonist site for the first time in ages. One of first things I saw was a post advertising space to rent in the Londonist office. I'm guessing times are hard and they need to find more ways to make the site, and the offices, pay.

Clarence | 02.02.17 - 7:56 p.m. | #

"Apparently it's fine to borrow a photo so long as you link to the source..." Which means the Twitter feed they found it on. Not to be confused with the person who has rights to use of that photo.

I stopped looking at Londonist about six months ago when I began to get headaches by all the flashing ads jumping about and found navigating the site an absolute chore. You can tell if you're reading one of the older rehashed articles as these still allow people to comment.

Over the past two months it's become 90% dross with the exception of Geoff's videos and N Quentin Woolf's podcasts.

HoosierSands | Homepage | 02.02.17 - 8:01 p.m. | #

"Over the past two months it's become 90% dross with the exception of Geoff's videos and N Quentin Woolf's podcasts."

Came here to say this.

Stephen | 03.02.17 - 4:49 a.m. | #

thank you for articulating something which has been at the back of my mind for a while.
thanks
brad

brad | 03.02.17 - 6:04 a.m. | #

I gave up visiting Londonist regularly about 3 years ago, when the format changed to the messy tiles. I still get tempted back by an email, but I'm often disappointed.

Andrew | 03.02.17 - 7:58 a.m. | #

Is there a way of RSS-subscribing to Geoff Marshall's videos without all the rest of the crap? As a long-time Londonist reader who's enjoyed it through most of my decade in London, it's the ultimate disappointment that it's turned into vacuous clickbait.

dg writes: Londonist's videos are here.
Geoff's personal videos are here.

Rich Thomas | 03.02.17 - 10:45 a.m. | #

https://www.youtube.com/user/LondonistVids has a subscribe button

John B | 03.02.17 - 10:54 a.m. | #

Thanks! I was just wondering if there was a way of getting those to come up in my RSS feed, rather than separately as notifications on/in YouTube (which I rarely visit the website of or open the app, whereas I look at my beloved Feedly feed every day).

dg writes: Yes there is :)
Here's the RSS feed for Londonist videos.
Here's the RSS feed for Geoff's personal videos.

Rich Thomas | 03.02.17 - 11:01 a.m. | #

"The technology has changed too, mobile instead of reading on a laptop, older people know how things were - so can compare and contrast, but for anyone under twenty five - this is their normal."

So true.

The world is dumbing down (look at the BBC website now...).

The population are dumbing down and questionning less, particularly the younger segment who have no experience of a time before the internet, the always-on digital world, and social media.

The majority of people do not have an understanding of advertising, marketing and statistics, but are fed it, and believe it in a way that is just plain dangerous.

I am scared much more by this than by all the Donald Trumps in the world.

Blue Witch | Homepage | 03.02.17 - 2:43 p.m. | #

Still pleased to have the BBC around but rather dismayed by this Londonist-like item on its arts and entertainment webpage:
"Five cult films audiences hate to love"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38856191

Tunnel Bore | 04.02.17 - 3:18 p.m. | #

I'm bemoaning its massive scaling back of arts coverage - for me, Londonist was always a huge go-to source of information on exhibitions, plays, musicals and cabaret. Now that's buried in the 'things to do' section and while the reviews are often hilariously pithy, you can't find them on one go-to page of theatre listings. Seems shortsighted.

Cassie Mortmain | 16.03.17 - 11:57 a.m. | #











TridentScan v2.10.0 | Privacy Policy