Critics say user-generated networks like Bleacher Report are just SEO-driven content farms that generate “clickbait” posts designed to drive low-quality traffic — but they also provide the opportunity for writers to show their abilities without having to work their way through the traditional media ecosystem. Read more »
Men’s lifestyle site Thrillist Media Group, which includes daily email newsletters and group-buying site JackThreads, has raised $13.1 million in Series A funding. The company plans to use the new funding to build out content and expand its presence in mobile and e-commerce. Read more at paidContent »
Demand Media announced the promotion of Michael Blend to president and COO this afternoon. Blend replaces Charles Hilliard, who stepped down in June. Separately, the company broke even for the first time, with revenues up 17 percent. Read more at paidContent »
In cloud and big data, the second quarter of 2012 featured several high-profile deals and product launches that could reshape the marketplace for everyone. Google and Microsoft launched Infrastructure-as-a-Service offerings, software-defined networking took off, and all eyes stayed fixed on the continuing promise of data analytics. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
It wasn’t that long ago that Google branded Demand Media a content farm and targeted it with its algorithmic pesticides. But the launch of eHow Pets on YouTube Wednesday shows that Demand has grown into one of Google’s more useful video content partners. Read more at paidContent »
Journatic, a media startup that produces hyper-local content for newspapers, has been criticized as a “content farm.” But in an interview with GigaOM, founder Brian Timpone says not only his model more efficient than that of a newspaper, but it can actually help produce better journalism. Read more »
Demand Media (NYSE: DMD) appears to be weathering executive churn and a Google (NSDQ: GOOG) downgrade. On Thursday, it posted earnings that… Read more at paidContent »
Demand Media is known for churning lots of content through its sites, but today it’s notable for another churn, of the executive kind: three… Read more at paidContent »
Broadcasting, publishing and marketing group Cox Media Group is putting down some more roots in digital media investments: it has announced… Read more at paidContent »
Amid investor concerns that it is too dependent on low-grade freelance content and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) referrals, Demand Media (NYSE: DMD) e… Read more at paidContent »
Demand Media (NYSE: DMD) may have pleased investors with better than expected (or less worse than expected) income losses, but the elements… Read more at paidContent »
YouTube announced its long-anticipated major programming push late Friday, with channels due to start rolling out in November. Here’s the Yo… Read more at paidContent »
» MSN U.S. Head Scott Moore to Depart Portal (AllThingsD)
» Why Rupert Murdoch Should Announce A New Direction For Ne… Read more at paidContent »
» Hulu Sale Is Debated (WSJ)
» The Show Must Go On: What To Expect At CTIA Enterprise Next Week (paidContent)
As publishing and marketing fuse in to “branded content”, so advertisers’ biggest challenge apparently echoes media owners’ own – that is, p… Read more at paidContent »
» Ahead of Earnings Next Week, Demand Media (NYSE: DMD) Shares Drastic Dip Due to Googley Panda-Monium. (AllThingsD)
» … Read more at paidContent »
In an effort to build engagement and increase video views across its properties, local TV news station owner Hearst has chosen Taboola for all its local TV stations sites to provide additional video suggestions for viewers reading stories or watching video on their websites. Read more »
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 »
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 threat. Read more »
The first quarter of 2011 saw plenty of competition between various web companies — and some heated tension, too. Content farms generated the most debate, with Demand Media’s IPO attracting attention and controversy and Google making a major change to its ranking algorithm. Facebook, meanwhile, maintained its heavyweight status online, but this time the social network’s impact was centered on social search, unified communications and comment systems. And Facebook’s ongoing dominance raised the question, Is there room for more than one social network? If niche networks like Quora and Color are any indication, the answer is “yes.” Additional companies mentioned in this report include Twitter, Groupon, Microsoft, LinkedIn and MySpace. To see the full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 disadvantages. Read more »
AOL’s recent acquisition of the Huffington Post for $315 million has centered a lot of attention on its content strategy — big part of which is 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 some significant disadvantages. Here we look at some of the leaders in this sector and their histories, as well as the key risks and benefits of the content farm strategy. Companies mentioned in this report include AOL, The Huffington Post, MySpace, Demand Media, Google and Associated Content. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
In its IPO filing with regulators, paid-content producer Demand Media raises the possibility that Google could decide to use its knowledge of keyword ad trends to compete with the algorithm-driven content company. Google recently received a patent that relates to generating content based on search results. Read more »
Demand Media, the paid-content company started by MySpace founder Richard Rosenblatt, has filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission that are the first step on the road to an initial public offering of shares that is expected to hit the market later this year. Read more »
An Internet security firm called KnujOn has released a report on illegal uses of the domain registration system that accuses Demand Media subsidiary eNom, one of the world’s largest domain registrars, of knowingly profiting from the sale of domain names to distributors of illegal pharmaceuticals. Read more »
Today on the Net: ABC has doubled the number of ads it shows in its iPad app, Demand Media chooses Joost for its video ad sales and technology, and Epix is adding authentication with a new HD site aimed at Cox and Mediacom customers. Read more »
Demand Media CEO Richard Rosenblatt, whose company is widely rumored to be headed for a billion-dollar IPO, has added Hollywood movie mogul Peter Guber to the board. Rosenblatt has also been playing tennis with the former studio head, and dining with him and other Hollywood stars. Read more »
Hulu Sends Some Traffic To Level 3 and Limelight Networks; video content from Hulu historically came exclusively from Akamai, but lately, the site is also using Level 3 and Limelight Networks for some of its video delivery. (Streaming Media blog) Related: Hulu’s a Towering Success — […] Read more »
While Demand Media and AOL’s Seed get all the press, Associated Content has been around longer and is larger than either one, with 250,000 contributors and two million pieces of content. But CEO Patrick Keane denies that it is running a “virtual sweatshop” or “content farm.” Read more »
C-Span Puts Full Archives on the Web; C-Span has uploaded virtually every minute of its video archives to the Internet, including 23 years and more than 160,000 hours of TV footage. (NY Times) Crackle Sees Video Streams Rise; according to Nielsen Online, Crackle’s audience averages between […] Read more »
Demand Media, a Los Angles-based company started by former Intermix/MySpace CEO Richard Rosenblatt has earned the scorn for its content factory approach. With $200 million in revenues and profits, Rosenblatt is laughing all the way to the bank. My notes from a conversation with Rosenblatt Read more »
