The New York Times’ latest financial results are a snapshot of a traditional media giant that is trying desperately to move into the digital future, but keeps getting dragged back down by the weight of its legacy businesses, whose health continues to decline. Read More »
Tech
Demand Media says the latest changes to Google’s algorithm aren’t a big deal, even though they pushed its eHow unit down by as much as 65 percent, according to some estimates — but the reality is that Google is both Demand’s biggest partner and its biggest… Read More »
Google is making it easier for users to block unwanted sites in their search results, ratcheting up the pressure on low quality content sites. The search giant is allowing users to hide or block sites from future search results right from within Google search. Read More »
Demand Media is acquiring CoverItLive, a live-blogging service that it has had a stake in since 2009, in what could be a sign that the company wants to expand into other areas of user-generated content that are less controversial than its “content farm” business. Read More »
Google’s latest algorithm changes appear to be aimed directly at “content farms” such as Demand Media. Although the newly-public content company maintains that it won’t be affected by the changes, it seems obvious that Google is upping the ante in the content-farming game. Read More »
AOL’s recent acquisition of the Huffington Post for $315 million has centered a lot of attention on its content strategy — automating and standardizing content that attracts search-related advertising. While there are some clear benefits to this “content farm” approach to content, there are also significant… Read More »
The sale of The Huffington Post has some concerned we are entering an age of digital sharecropping, in which writers toil for nothing while landowners get rich. But all the web has really done is accelerate a phenomenon that has long existed in the media game. Read More »
Demand Media, which went public recently at a market value of $1.5 billion, has been under fire for the quality of the content that comes from its eHow division. Josh Hannah, who sold eHow to Demand in 2006, says the company faces a number of challenges. Read More »
Demand Media may have announced a successful IPO, but that didn’t quite dispel the air of controversy surrounding the company. But while Demand’s business model may be a little shaky, it’s worth monitoring for lessons in content creation efficiency and targeting, and for potential partnership opportunities. Read More »
Google has responded to criticism about the declining quality of its results by saying it plans to come down hard on so-called “content farms” that try to game its algorithm with low-quality pages. That could mean pain for Demand Media, which is planning a closely-watched IPO. Read More »
A chorus of complaints about spammy results in Google searches highlights a growing problem the search company is going to have to solve — and doing so will inevitably bring it into conflict with Demand Media, currently planning a high-profile IPO for later this year. Read More »
Demand Media is feeling the glare of the spotlight as it prepares for an IPO expected to be in the $1.5-billion range. Its financial statements have drawn some red flags, there are concerns about its web traffic, and the quality of its content is being criticized. Read More »
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