No way Hearst is going to let its online teen braid be yanked by the likes of Condé Nast’s forthcoming
flip.com or Atoosa’s as-yet-unrealized
MySpace empire. The mag-publishing owner of
CosmoGirl.com,
Seventeen.com, and
TeenMag.com — all being revamped for February — has done the corporate equivalent of making sure no other beeyotch gets the same prom dress by purchasing
ecrush.com, a social-networking site that lets users find out if he likes them, do a chaperoned flirt, and vote on pressing issues like “best hair.” Says Chuck Cordray, Hearst’s digital
VP, “as social networking and interactivity online become an integral part of teenagers’ lives, we want to be everywhere they turn.” Which, if we read that right, makes him the world’s first corporate-backed
stalker.
To Bolster Teen Reach Online, Hearst Buys eCrush.com [Ad Age]
Earlier: Condé Nast Attempts to Figure Out Girls Who Read
