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Welcome to the new and improved monthly technology platform updates email. Instead of focusing solely on Wayfinder, we’ll be expanding our scope to include technology updates for both Gear Patrol and DPReview. 

This first update is a great example of how we’re collaborating and finding efficiecies with the DPReview team. As part of DPR’s monetization ramp-up, Hashtag Labs recommended integrating the video and monetization platform, Connatix, on the site. Connatix was also a frontrunner for Gear Patrol’s new video vendor on Wayfinder. Hashtag Labs’ recommendation helped us break the tie between Connatix and another frontrunner and decide on Connatix for the entire portfolio.

We’re building a product database for the new Gear Patrol site, which will allow editors to re-purpose product content across multiple pieces of content and have those products auto-update when price, stock, or other information changes. In August, we worked with the Commerce Team, 10UP, and WordpressVIP to create a database structure that preserves site performance while not sacrificing the frequency of product updates on the frontend.

Gear Patrol has the opportunity to continue the partnership with Hearst Autos, which allows us to monetize car and motorcycle content based on the make, model, and year of the vehicle covered. We worked with 10UP and Hearst to set up the proper CMS tagging and ad calls to make the continuation of this partnership possible without increasing the workload for editorial or Rev Ops.

Although DPReview.com still operates on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the team had to migrate their entire infrastructure—including their content database, user accounts, authentication system, and all supporting services—to a new set of accounts and systems. This operation was akin to moving out of an old house and into a new one, requiring the clean-up or deletion of legacy components and services, as well as the reconfiguration of the entire system. DPReview’s engineering team dedicated nearly three weeks to complete the migration, thereby setting the stage for the site's next chapter.

Running parallel to this, DPReview activated critical revenue-driving systems, including affiliate and programmatic advertising. A range of new ad slots have been deployed across the site, and new affiliate buy buttons have been built and will be added to historical content and new articles over the coming weeks.  Additional revenue-driving strategies are under exploration, including content recommendation widgets and the aforementioned Connatix video player. 

DPReview’s long-running weekly newsletter has been out of commission since January, but the team is excited to not only bring it back online but to do so using the same platforms as Gear Patrol: MailChimp and FeedOtter. Taking a cue from Gear Patrol’s diverse array of email types and formats, DPReview plans to expand to multiple newsletters with distinct topics and cadences in the near future.

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