Fans of the social-blogging network might not like the idea much, but a $1-billion acquisition of Tumblr would arguably solve a number of problems for Yahoo — and do the same for Tumblr CEO David Karp. Read more »
There are plenty of reasons for pessimism about the state of the media and journalism, including repeated layoffs, bankruptcies and so on. But there are also many reasons to be optimistic about the current environment. Read more at paidContent »
A new deal with a large ad-buying firm will be worth hundreds of millions of dollars over a multi-year period, the Financial Times reports. Read more »
The U.S. newspaper industry has lost more than $40 billion in ad revenue in the past decade — over half of that in the last four years alone — and Google’s ad revenues are now more than twice what the industry pulls in. Read more at paidContent »
BuzzFeed has become the poster child for what some call sponsored content or “native advertising,” but despite the skills of founder Jonah Peretti, the secret to making ads go viral is not quite as simple as it appears to be. Read more at paidContent »
Twitter wants to get on the good side of third-party app developers with some new features for its expanded-tweet Cards, but the main focus of these new features is still to cement Twitter’s control over its ecosystem. Read more »
I may disagree with them about the benefits of a hard paywall, or the wisdom of cutting 90 percent of the newspaper’s blogs, but at least the owners of the Orange County Register are putting their money where their mouths are. Read more at paidContent »
It’s a risky bet, but the new owners of the Orange County Register — two entrepreneurs with no background in traditional media — are pouring money and resources into the newspaper, and not just online but in print as well. Read more at paidContent »
Founder Henry Blodget tells New Yorker magazine that Business Insider’s audience is larger than many established financial news outlets, but the company also lost $3 million in 2012 or almost a quarter of its revenues. Read more at paidContent »
Marco Arment softened the paywall around his iPad-only magazine because his content was not benefiting from the social-sharing effect that the web enables — a microcosm of the dilemma that many other publishers are also facing. Read more at paidContent »
Research by the Pew Center has turned up several examples of newspapers that seem to have reversed the declining revenue most of the industry is suffering from, although the methods they have chosen to do this are very different. Read more at paidContent »
Hundreds of traditional publishers have erected paywalls around their content, but there is much to be gained by focusing monetization on individuals rather than an entire newspaper. Here are a few suggestions on how publishers could do this. Read more at paidContent »
Hammered by declining print advertising revenue in much the same way newspapers have been, Time Inc. announced that it is laying off about 500 of its staff. But are the cuts the end, or just the beginning? Read more at paidContent »
Critics of the Washington Post say that the only approach that will solve the newspaper’s financial problems is to put up a paywall around their content like everyone else — but while that might buy time, it’s not a long-term strategy for new-media success. Read more »
Like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland, the New York Times is having to run faster and faster to try to fill the gap left by declining advertising revenue, but even a rapidly growing subscription base doesn’t seem to be accomplishing that. Read more »
An editor at the Guardian argues that newspapers should be funded by a tax on internet service providers, because public journalism needs to be supported. But there are a host of flaws with the idea, including the fact that large newspapers are not synonymous with journalism. Read more »
One developer who has been creating custom Twitter applications for corporate clients says the network’s crackdown on use of its API makes him afraid for his livelihood, but could also damage the company’s long-term prospects if enough people like him start looking for alternatives. Read more »
As more newspapers roll out metered paywalls and subscription plans, trying to duplicate the success of the New York Times, some journalists hope that being funded by readers will help stop the ad-driven pageview race and save quality journalism. But this argument is fundamentally flawed. Read more »
The Financial Times and New York Times are at or close to the point where subscription revenue exceeds advertising revenue. This means their paywalls are working, but it also means advertisers are fleeing — and the implications of that for journalism could be significant. Read more »
Many people would argue that Apple is the strongest company today. But if you applied the Apple valuation on Facebook’s revenue, Facebook would trade at $10 billion, not $57 billion (as of market close), down from more than $100 billion on its inaugural IPO date. Read more »
Journalism professor Tim McGuire, a long-time newspaper editor and Pulitzer Prize judge, says there is much upheaval in the media industry but a lot of potential as well — provided media entities give up their gatekeeper role and learn to serve their readers better. Read more »
As it gets closer to what could be a $100 billion stock offering, Facebook faces increasing pressure to prove it is a powerful advertising platform. But some advertisers still appear to be skeptical about how much value they are getting from the giant social network. Read more »
In a note to investors today, Sterne Agee’s Shaw Wu discussed his company’s expectations for Apple’s earnings call Tuesday afternoon, which were up once again from earlier predictions. Wu’s revised estimate joins a chorus of rosy outlooks about the Mac-maker’s performance. Read more »
The impact of digital technology has shattered long-established monopolies and ways of making money in the newspaper publishing industry. Today, publishers must find ways to subsidize content-creation costs directly, and this report examines a few different approaches, from more flexible paywalls to charging users directly for access and mimicking the business models of other industries, such as online gaming. Companies mentioned in this report include Ford, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Internet radio company Pandora reported the financial results of its first three months as a public company Thursday. The company confirmed that while it still has a long way to go before it reaches the listener levels of traditional radio, its ads are now just as valuable. Read more »
UPDATED. LinkedIn on Thursday announced the financial results from its three months operating as a public company. The company showed off impressive user growth, but that has not started to translate into significantly higher profits. LinkedIn says it’s spending its revenue to reinvest for future growth. Read more »
Comcast says it added 144,000 new broadband subscribers during the second quarter of 2011. Thanks to growing demand for higher-speed tiers, the company saw its revenues jump almost 10 percent to $2.2 billion for the quarter, thanks to 17.55 million broadband subscribers. Read more »
Twitter wants to be “the world in your pocket,” according to CEO Dick Costolo — but more than anything, it wants to be the engine of mobile and real-time commerce in your pocket, judging by his comments at the Fortune BrainstormTech conference in Colorado on Tuesday. Read more »
Groupon’s prospectus for an IPO started arguments over the company’s huge losses. Silicon Valley wants Groupon to look like a technology company, but right now it’s more or less in the Yellow Pages business. But by better applying big data analysis, Groupon could start seeing profits. Read more »
Silicon Valley is abuzz once again with “bubble” talk, claiming that the tech industry is ripe for a big fall. But the latest bubble warnings miss the mark. Overall, a healthy amount of the companies that make up the web scene today are built to last. Read more »
Apple’s iOS (software and devices) is responsible for about 75 percent of Apple’s profits as of last quarter, while OS X is responsible for only about 20 percent, according to a new report from market intelligence firm Asymco. Still, the Mac is doing better than ever. Read more »
This week Apple caused a storm by announcing their new iOS App Store terms and conditions for publishers. In a nutshell; long-awaited in-app subscriptions are here, and publishers are worried about their bottom lines. But maybe what they should be thinking about is content. Read more »
There’s a lot of chatter out there that Apple’s new subscription plans could endanger its relationship with content providers, and might incur legal action. Apple may be in for a bumpy ride as it implements the new system, but don’t think it’s anywhere close to capsizing. Read more »
Apple has indeed crossed the 1 million Apple TVs sold mark, as it predicted it would shortly before Christmas. I argued that its relative success was mostly due to Neftlix being available on the device, and a new report from an industry analyst supports that view. Read more »
Research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts in a new report that based on current trends, sales of mobile apps will be a $35 billion industry by 2014. App downloads will reportedly climb from 2010′s 10.9 billion to 76.9 billion by that time. Read more »
Apple keeps taking things away from Microsoft. First, it was smartphone market share, knocking down poor Windows Mobile. Then, it was size as measured by market capitalization, with Apple moving into second in May. As of today, it’s quarterly revenue. Read more »
Apple turned a few heads when it declared itself a “mobile device company,” but sales of the iPhone and the iPad have shown that really, that’s exactly what it is. But in 2011, it’s poised to become more of an “iPad company” than anything else. Read more »
New info from JMP Research’s Alex Gauna shows that Apple’s “one more hobby” is indeed a success among consumers. Gauna found that the Apple TV is sold out across the U.S. at Apple Store retail locations, after calling more than 20 stores. Read more »
I strongly believe in content marketing. It’s one of the most effective ways to build credibility and establish a presence online, but it’s also a great way to create additional revenue streams for your business. Here are some examples of successful business models built around content. Read more »
Yesterday Apple held its annual shareholder’s meeting at its Cupertino headquarters. All the top brass were there to answer questions from the men and women to whom, let’s face it, they must eventually answer. Of course, that didn’t stop Steve Jobs from being his usual tactless […] Read more »
