Deja News hires new CEO
The company also announced it was moving its official headquarters to New York City, though its largest office will remain in Austin, Texas.
"Tom is probably one of the top Web media executives in the country," said Jeff Ballowe, chairman of the board for Deja News. "He's got a great feel for serving audiences with the kind of content and community functionality that we're looking for, and for creating a valuable marketing platform for advertisers."
Hoffman will remain in Austin to pursue opportunities with Austin Ventures and Internet Capital Group, LLC, two of the principal investors in Deja News. ZDNN's publisher, Ziff-Davis Inc., is an investor in Deja News.
Ballowe said the new hire and the move is part of a drive to broaden the company's focus. Deja News, which centers on discussion groups, will be adding more content and services, while keeping discussion as its main business.
That plan follows in the footsteps of such sites as Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO), which started with a Web directory, but added a variety of news and information sources and features such as e-mail. Those features make users return more frequently, and increases the value of advertising on the site.