Driving Sports

Just like the print world before it, consolidation in the online world is happening at a rapid pace. In the center of the it all appears to be the mysterious John "Nads" Naderi: former editor of Super Street, former producer at RiceBoy.tv, recently acquired by StreetFire, who was in turn acquired by CarDomain. From the outside it appears as though Naderi is just coincidentally in the thick of things. We reckon otherwise. Instead, we think of John as the firestarter, the man that makes things happen. Even if he had absolutely nothing to do with this new merger, we'd like to think he does. Because that's how we roll.

Here's the full press release:

CarDomain.com Acquires StreetFire.net to Create the Largest Automotive Community
Now Offering Community Platform with Video to Broader Audience

Los Angeles, Calif. (April 8, 2009) –Two of the most successful online communities for everything automotive have joined forces to create the largest and most versatile automotive community on the web. CarDomain Network, the leader online automotive community, today announced that is has acquired StreetFire.net, the leader in automotive video file sharing. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We have been long-time fans of StreetFire,” said Alex Algard, founder and chairman of CarDomain. “StreetFire has developed a great online video platform and built a tremendous asset of automotive video content. We are excited about bringing a strong video offering to CarDomain.”

The combined company will continue to invest in product improvements to both CarDomain.com and StreetFire.net, and it will reach an audience of over five million unique users per month visiting its web properties, and over nine million unique users including video player widget distribution.

Glenn Rogers, previously CEO of StreetFire, will run the combined company as CEO. “This merger is another step toward ensuring our longevity and success in serving the automotive community. In sharing technology and resources, we are able to maintain the cultures of both communities while enhancing the functionality and reach of the independent entities.”

Each site brings complementary information-sharing technology to the table. CarDomain two million registered users have posted 650,000 active ride profiles with a combined four million aftermarket modifications, all accessible by component type. StreetFire.net brings video sharing technology that enables users to upload videos, view any user-created video online, and embed these videos onto their own sites. This technology has allowed StreetFire.net to reach 250 million video streams annually. Sharing this technology and content allows each site to enhance its current offerings, such as bringing new video capabilities to CarDomain member profiles. Versatility and functionality improvements will also be made, such as offering customizable advertising packages that directly target select consumer groups.