Scott Kidder, an employee of Gawker Media, a former (his words, not mine) Weblogs Inc. competitor, asks: "How many blogs did AOL buy, exactly?"
I would say AOL wasn't exactly looking to buy blogs but was more interested in acquiring really smart people to show them how the game is played. Obviously blogs like Engadget and Autoblog help sweeten the deal (they make money) but I would hedge a bet that what AOL really wanted — what they really paid money for — was the intellectual capital contained within the walls at Weblogs, Inc.
AOL still has a lot of exclusive content and it's a major component of Time Warner's online media conglomerate. With the decline of AOL and seeming lack of a unified method for Time Warner to effectively manage their huge catalog of content online, It makes sense that they were looking for a way to improve their digital real estate in order to increase ad revenue and blogs are 'it'.
Of course I'm speculating but it seems odd to think that all AOL really bought was just a network of blogs. Then again maybe the You've-Got-Mail Glee Club was just looking to throw money at some web 2.0 buzzwords.
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I find it to be a pretty shocking deal, really. AOL has the resources to hire some very talented people to build, from the ground-up, a network of regularly updated content (call them blogs if you wish). They could have hired a small army of bloggers with some superstars thrown in and have money left over. With AOL's traffic statistics, with the right authors, it could make a powerful network very quickly, I'd say. I wonder if the deal wasn't about impatience -- AOL didn't want to spend the time needed to build its own network?
Andrew,
Do you think it would be cheaper to build a 30-or-so blog network, complete with traffic (mostly not already going to your other sites/products), and an established advertising revenue stream? From the ground up?
All I can say is God help us if 9rules ever goes this route. :)
I'm pretty sure what AOL was really paying for was the opportunity to work with Jason Calacanis. And who wouldn't? From what I've seen, he's a ray of sunshine in a sea of bad weather.
With all due respect, you're disappearing up your own blog-hole.
With all due respect, you're disappearing up your own blog-hole.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
I want more than blogging about blogging. As a loyal reader I'm demanding more for my subscription dollars!
Maybe it's time to attend a lobster festival...
I agree (PDF).
Tony -- Yes, I do. People have done it on shoestring budgets -- if AOL hires smart, non-corporate-thinking people and gives them good resources, I bet they could do it for a fraction of the $25 million or whatever.
Andrew,
Building up from a shoestring budget takes time. Otherwise known as opportunity cost. Did you figure that into your analysis?
if AOL hires smart, non-corporate-thinking people and gives them good resources
I think it's a safe bet that this would pretty much be an impossibility in the corporate environment at AOL. They are long, long gone from their bootstrapping days.