Geoffrey Kleinman
Not many people can say they’ve been actively “surfing the web” since 1988, but online entrepreneur and home entertainment pioneer Geoffrey Kleinman can claim just that. In January 1999, Kleinman took his long-time fascination with a nascent technology and turned it into a viable business, founding DVD Talk (dvdtalk.com), a comprehensive, dedicated DVD website.
Today, after nearly thirteen years, this earliest of home entertainment information providers has become the premiere online resource for DVD reviews, news and discussion. And, in October of 2007, as a testament to Kleinman’s vision and expertise, the site was acquired by Internet Brands, a leading provider of consumer and e-commerce websites.
After graduating with a B.S. in Cinema Photography from Ithaca College in 1992, Kleinman moved to Los Angeles, looking to break into the film industry as an editor. Following stints at CAA, and as an assistant editor on the film The Last Shot, he decided that his interest in Internet technology would be a more productive career path. After decamping for Portland, Oregon and beginning to work with an Internet service provider, he quickly became the company spokesman, a self-proclaimed “Internet evangelist”, touting the benefits of being online to other businesses — still a tough sell in the early ‘90s. From there, he transitioned into web design, working for one of the first companies devoted to the burgeoning industry.
Along the way, Geoff developed “The Kleinman Report”, a hobby which turned into the first successful online newsletter providing readers with news about interesting websites and a unique perspective on technology and the Internet. Before long, Intel came knocking; the huge technology company had yet to take advantage of the many capabilities of the Internet, and Kleinman found himself in the Internet Marketing and E-Commerce role, developing the “Intel Owner’s Club”, an online resource for owners of Intel products.
While at Intel, Kleinman became intrigued by the emergence of DVD technology. In 1998, he purchased his first DVD player and looked forward to reinvigorating his love for cinema: with a new baby at home, indulging in movie-watching was better served from the living room sofa. Yet, when he turned to the Internet for information about new or worthwhile DVD releases, he was sorely disappointed: existing web sites were poorly designed and crammed with technological glitches. As Kleinman recalls, “I just wanted a well-designed website that simply told me which DVDs were good and which DVDs were bad. I didn’t think that seemed too difficult to accomplish.” So, he registered the first domain name that popped into his head, and DVDTalk.com was born.
Today, DVD Talk, which draws over two million unique visitors monthly, features an expansive DVD review database of more than 20,000 DVD, HD DVD, Blu-Ray and theatrical reviews, and a staff of more than 50 contributing writers and columnists. And, although many DVD enthusiast websites have been built since the site was launched, DVD Talk continues to attract the most traffic with its clear, concise and thoughtful editorial, clean design and effective navigation. Utilizing his tech background and industry acumen, Kleinman has helped DVD Talk stay atop the competition through the early adoption of both RSS technology and Podcasting. DVD Talk’s RSS feed, which launched in 2004, was one of the first third party feeds to be added to the default page of MyYahoo.com. And, “The DVD Talk Radio Show”, which also launched in ’04, became the first — and most successful — of the genre podcasts.
Geoffrey Kleinman often lends his expertise and assistance to others and has served as a post-production and distribution advisor on The Puffy Chair (2005), Film Geek (2006), 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama (2006) and Ink (2009). He’s appeared on film festival panels including “So You Made a Film, Now What?” at Oregon’s prestigious BendFilm Fest as well selection committees and juries for film exhibitions and festivals such as Pine Film and BendFilm. Kleinman was also one of the featured presenters at the 2009 WordPress Conference.
Kleinman draws on his extensive knowledge of business and trends to inform industry analysts and executives. He is also an “expert source” for national media outlets such as USA Today, ABC News, CNN, Air America, Wall Street Journal Radio and Home Media Magazine, among others.
After completing the sale of DVDTalk.com to Internet Brands, Geoffrey Kleinman launched another major online venture Drink Spirits dedicated to helping people figure out what to drink. Launched in early 2010, Drink Spirits quickly gained a following and got national attention for its early coverage of Maker’s Mark 46. But it was the break out hit of an article Spirits Which Look More Expensive Than They Are which brought in over 10K unique vistors a day during the 2010 holiday season.
DrinkSpirits.com has quickly established itself as a key source in the spirits world and Kleinman was selected to be a judge a the 2011 San Francisco Spirits Competition.
Kleinman resides in Portland, Oregon with his wife Heather and young children. You can read about his Portland adventures on the site On Portland.
Geoffrey Kleinman
phone: 503.977-2928