Gawker
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online advertising
After Promising It Wouldn't, Twitter Dips an Adorable Toe into Advertising
When is an advertisement not an advertisement? When Twitter says it's an "interesting topical experience." That's what cofounder Biz Stone, who once promised Twitter's website would never carry ads, is calling Microsoft's ExecTweets. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by kitkatsplash: Can Guy Kawaski and others start paying for their spam tweets, then? Seriously. I had to attend a... 4 Responses | Other threads
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twitterati
Almost All of Twitter's Mysteries Solved
Karen Tumulty of Time told us how senators handle their snuff. John Battelle explained why tweets seem so brainless. But who stole a Wired editor's lunch? Twitter still has secrets. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by dclarus: So let me get this straight: people on Twitter tweet about crap that no one cares about. And this... 3 Responses | Other threads
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online advertising
Layoffs at Federated Media Signal Blogs' Ill Health
John Battelle is the salesman for a host of indie sites, from the futuristic Boing Boing to the Web-obsessed TechCrunch to mommyblog Dooce. What does it say that his company, Federated Media, is canning workers? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by TrilbyAuxo: I missed the former story on how he tried to misuse other blogs for a Microsoft campaign. I think what... more » | Other threads
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online advertising
The death of conversational marketing
An unproar in the world of tech blogs is uncovering a broader fault line between writers and advertisers. Om Malik's GigaOm and his other blogs have dropped their outside ad-sales firm, Federated Media, a startup run by John Battelle. Federated isn't just another ad network, nor is Battelle just another entrepreneur; he helped start Wired and The Industry Standard and an author of a book about Google, thinks that the future of marketing is conversations. And he launched Federated around that notion. Rather than shouting at readers with ads, marketers will use blogs to engage with their readers — and pay handsomely for the privilege. That's his theory, at any rate, which he is expounding in a forthcoming book. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by DesireeKollina: Owen - It's astonishing how many things you can get wrong in a single post. Rather than list each and... 2 Responses | Other threads
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online advertising
Federated Media slashes rates to $5 CPM
John Battelle has his own plan for riding out the holiday ad-buying slump. The founder of online-advertising network Federated Media, which brokers ads for sites like Boing Boing, GigaOm, and Dooce, can't fire writers, but he can cut the price of their ads. John, be careful. Your inbred network is made up of bloggers who are also endorsers, who also shill their own products. Your list of clients is months out of date — it includes Digg and Fark, who long ago dropped Federated. Cut ad rates too carelessly and your Rube Goldberg business model may backfire. I mean this as the highest compliment: If anyone can lay himself off by accident, that someone is John Battelle. Here's the spam that Federated sent to bloggers this morning: More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by UpshawOrmberg: Paul, For the record, FM is not "slashing rates" but offering a promotion for "run of category" (not site-specific) buys for... 1 Responses | Other threads
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mark frauenfelder
Boing Boing founder's directory of wonderful ads
Mark Frauenfelder launched bOING bOING, an ink-on-paper zine, in 1988. He did the artwork for Billy Idol's 1993 Cyberpunk album, using a Mac instead of a photo studio. Frauenfelder joined Wired when that was considered a foolish move by media professionals. Later he resurrected Boing Boing as a website, then again as a blog in 2000. He's now editor-in-chief of Make magazine. Does this guy have an unlimited supply of cool? Not unless he learns to say no to advertisers who co-opt him. More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by El_Feo: They also FREAK the fuck out if you criticize anyone n one of their sponsored posts. So hypocritical. It's slimy... 1 Responses | Other threads
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great moments in journalism
New York Times reporter shills for Dell site
Why is Marc Santora, a respected war correspondent for the New York Times, appearing in ads chattering about mobile technology? Click on the ad, running on sites like VentureBeat, and you're taken to a site, DigitalNomads, which appears to be a collection of blog-filler pablum about the wonders of the wireless Internet. Buried at the bottom is a tiny disclaimer: "Powered by Dell." Dig under the ad-placement code, and you'll see that the ad is sold by Federated Media, John Battelle's online-ad network. Battelle's outfit grew infamous last summer for getting some of the bloggers for whom he sells ads to recite a sponsor's slogan. That last time, it was Microsoft. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by SushobhanaEspical: I am the co-founder of Big Think, the site that produced this interview with Marc Santora. We're a new... 2 Responses | Other threads
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nowpublic
Robert Scoble, other Valley bon vivants subject of latest ego-stroking linkbait
Vancouver-based NowPublic is ostensibly all about citizen journalism. But since Guy Kawasaki sold Truemors to it and signed up as an advisor, it's becoming better known for publishing flattering lists of "influencers," supposedly ranking them according to various social media metrics. The first "Most Public" list focused on New York, but a new list for the Valley and San Francisco is "coming soon." And by virtue of being included in the latest edition, we received an early copy as a press release. Who comes out on top? Ubiquitous attention slut Robert Scoble, naturally. Full list after the jump. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by comandante: pete cashmore?!! i read mashable daily and love the focus and commitment to social media technology, but often the... more » | Other threads
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100-word version
Boing Boing's unapologetic eleventh-hour apologia
Boing Boing's readers, hopped up on free-speech rhetoric, continue to find the tech-culture blog's act of unpublishing unspeakable. Hoping to put the Internet's most enduring drama llama this month to bed, the Los Angeles Times rounded up four members of Boing Boing's staff yesterday for a late-night confab. The result is transcribed here and there, but for those about to launch into a three-day weekend, we salute you with only the most wonderful bits, perfect for around-the-barbeque reblogging. It is at once brilliant and brain-numbing in its inconclusiveness. But if the answer to bad speech is more speech, why not answer an act of unpublishing with more nonwords? More »
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Comment by drinkwater: I can't help but ponder what the internet would be shaped like if it was founded in some place like... more » | Other threads
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jackpot
John Battelle takes $22 million in fuck-you money
Anyone telling you that Federated Media, the online ad network which reps Boing Boing, GigaOm, TechCrunch and other blogs, has raised $50 million from investors is dead wrong. It's true, Oak Investment Partners and others paid $50 million for shares of Federated. But only half of that went to the company, we're told; the rest went to founder John Battelle and other employees. According to our source, Battelle's take was roughly 90 percent of the insider shares sold, or about $22 million. More » -
marc andreessen
Why Marc Andreessen should stick to his keyboard
Every time Marc Andreessen steps away from his desk, disaster abounds. For the father of the Netscape browser, the creator of the Web as we know it, the legendary barefoot geek from the magazine covers, expectations are way too high. And so the disappointments pile up. The Andreessen of today is not the Marc we remember. His pate has gone from mophead to Klingon; his wardrobe, inevitably a tracksuit with leather shoes, is an utter disaster. And when he speaks, he says absolutely nothing. John Battelle, the slickster salesman-interviewer of bubbles past and present, tried to get some fighting words out of Andreessen on stage at Web 2.0 Expo. He failed, utterly, epicly. Andreessen praised Bill Gates, said competing with Microsoft was interesting, described Microsoft-Yahoo as "a good deal." More » -
jackpot
John Battelle raises $50 million as AOL snatches away his prize
For once, tech publisher John Battelle has timed a bubble just right. With Wired, where he was a founding editor, he was too early; with The Industry Standard, the tech weekly which crashed and burned early in this decade, a bit too late. But with Federated Media, he's proved his dealmaking prowess. He's all but nailed what we hear is $40 million to $50 million in venture capital for the online-ad network , on a $200 million valuation. And this right before AOL bought Sphere, a blog search engine which, by a rough count, serves more than half of the pageviews Battelle sells to advertisers. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by michaellamb: Ahhhh there's the picture. I've missed it. Just need to get Benioff's mr. olympic pose and I'll feel all's right... more » | Other threads
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venture capital
Federated Media to raise as much as $50 million in VC round
Federated Media is close to announcing it has won between $40 and $50 million in funding from Oak Investment Partners and others, including Omidyar Network, the investment vehicle of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. The Series C round sets the value of the blog-friendly online-ad network at $200 million. Insiders have said past reports of Federated's fundraising were premature, but we hear the news is for real this time. At this point, we'll believe it when we see the term sheet. Do send us a copy? [PeHUB] -
rumormonger
Federated Media snags $50 million investment?
A tipster reports that John Battelle's Federated Media ad network just scored a $50 million investment. We've emailed FM but haven't heard back yet. -
rumormonger
Is John Battelle selling a piece of Federated Media?
VentureBeat reports that online ad network Federated Media is close to raising a $30 million round of financing, at a valuation of $200 million. The deal is not as advanced as VentureBeat suggests, we hear. But let's assume a large investor is seriously weighing a term sheet. Awesomely tan tech-reporter-turned-salesman John Battelle must be torn. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by sggrf: I couldn't agree more. They have almost zero of chance of selling for more than $200M. The new money must... more » | Other threads
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silicon alley insider
John Battelle welcomes Henry Blodget into snuggly embrace
Henry Blodget, editor of Silicon Alley Insider, has established himself as a connoisseur of male beauty. And John Battelle is a handsome man. He's also chairman of Federated Media, the online-ad network and paid friend to bloggers, which is more likely where the attraction lies. Blodget has publicly documented on his New York-based tech blog his struggles to find an ad model that works. At last, he has: Toss his banners in Battelle's lap. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by hblodget: Battelle is indeed a good-looking guy, but it wasn't these charms that drew us to him. It was the sacks... more » | Other threads
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deals
John Battelle turns down $100 million offer for Federated Media
When word leaked that John Battelle had hired San Francisco investment bank Savvian to "manage investor interest" in Federated Media, his online-ad network, the move raised a question: How interested were investors? $100 million interested, reports Erick Schonfeld at TechCrunch. That's the offer Battelle got, and turned down, from one unnamed investor. Schonfeld also points out this curiosity: At Battelle's last venture, the Industry Standard, the entrepreneur was the one pushing to sell out, not wait for a better offer.
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By Owen ThomasComment by vijaymv_in: I bet to disagree to the comments. Google is nothing but ad network. FM has some good clients in their... more » | Other threads
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forecasts
John Battelle's secret to making year-end predictions
Along with gifts, wassailing, and bah humbugs, the holidays bring an onslaught of predictions for the new year that mostly aren't worth reading. But if you are interested, egoblogger Robert Scoble sits down with the Supremely Tanned One, Federated Media chairman John Battelle, to ask how he manages to make predictions that are remarkably accurate. The secret, replies Battelle to the fawning Scoble, after first congratulating himself for his success rate, is: "A lot of these are not that difficult to predict." It doesn't take the ambiguities of a Nostradamus quatrain to predict that Microsoft would buy its way into advertising, Yahoo would struggle, blogs would get better, and people would call Web 2.0 a bubble. So if you are preparing your own predictions for 2008 and want to achieve a high success rate, don't predict — just state the obvious.
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By Tim FaulknerComment by BobDope: Scoble's on some Chris Farley: Remember the time you predicted Apple would release a new product? That was AWESOME! more » | Other threads
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hulu
A gift for our dear readers: 10,000 Hulu Invites
I saw a theme this morning as I perused the various other tech sites: Hulu invites! Hulu, the video-streaming partnership between News Corp. and NBC, is throwing open its doors to many early adopters by offering up thousands of invites on several tech sites. If you haven't gotten a chance to play around with Hulu and want to see just what the hell Paul Boutin is complaining about, here's your chance. GigaOm, Read/WriteWeb, TechCrunch, and Mashable are giving away 2,500 invites each. All, we note, are clients of Federated Media, John Battelle's online-ad network. Coincidence, conspiracy, or just part of a future Hulu advertising campaign?
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Comment by insertcoin: Mashable is offering the same thing... however, if you miss this opportunity you can always checkout [hellohulu.com] and watch Hulu... more » | Other threads
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larry and lucy
Google wedding details — eco-furniture, overcrowding, and Bono
New York gossip column Page Six has more details on this weekend's wedding of Google founder Larry Page and future Stanford Ph.D. Lucy Southworth. Even bilionaires have planning snafus. Logistics have turned nightmarish, to be expected when you cram 600 guests accustomed to penthouse suites and private jets onto a tiny island. The Southworth-Page nuptials, scheduled for Richard Branson's private Caribbean getaway, Necker Island, have taken over neighboring Virgin Gorda, a short boat trip away from the wedding site. Other details we've heard from a plugged-in tipster: More »
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Comment by Columbiagirl: @dula: Not if they build bamboo rafts that are pulled by dolphins. Duh! more » | Other threads
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followup
MerchantCircle gets new funding to continue spam campaign
MerchantCircle has secured an additional $10 million in series B funding from past investors Rustic Canyon Partners, Scale Venture Partners, and Steamboat Ventures (Disney's VC arm), as well as new investors including Barry Diller's IAC and Square 1 Bank. The press release claims, "the investment validates the company's 'merchant-first' business model." I'd say, rather, it confirms that investors who should know better will sink cash into a disreputable business. More »
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By Tim FaulknerComment by LoLo: Just got a call at my office gig. Before hanging up and Googling their name I heard something along the... more » | Other threads
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quotable
"Quite rationally, our board felt we were giving away a really valuable asset, and no amount of provocative quotes from John Battelle or The Cluetrain Manifesto could assuage them," Stephen DiMarco, chief marketing officer of Web analytics company Compete, on how the board reacted to providing free access to their data. [How to Change the World] -
web 2.0 summit
Web 2.0 Summit returns to Web 1.9 roots
Can you believe that last week's Web 2.0 Summit was the fourth such conference? Its humble beginnings were barely in evidence, as venture capitalists, corporate biz-dev types, and M&A scouts seemed to outnumber the startup founders they were trying to hunt down. Friday afternoon was a return to the old school, however, with Flickr cofounder Stewart Butterfield and LiveJournal founder Brad Fitzpatrick among the presenters. Sadly, John Doerr, the expert inflater of the first dotcom bubble, did not cry. Check the photo gallery for the conference's final, terrifying orgy of schmoozing. Some participants were so exhausted that, by the closing cocktail party, they were making deals with their eyes closed. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by ChiefCynic: I hope she uses her maiden name, or is it really Michelle Battelle? Do tell. Be well. And go to... more » | Other threads
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web 2.0 summit
John Battelle has left the building
WEB 2.0 SUMMIT — At this conference's closing cocktail party, organizer John Battelle noted that Valleywag had stopped using our favorite photo of the George Hamilton-lookalike online-advertising magnate. So sorry, John! Consider this your fond farewell to all the moneybags who paid $3,595 to mix with a handful of geeks and hacks. "Now I'm going to get blotto," said Battelle. In case you want to join him, check out this weekend's Valleywag Calendar. -
lazy valleywag
John Battelle's million-dollar ad deal
WEB 2.0 SUMMIT — At a panel discussion about making money in online video, Federated Media VP of sales Chas Edwards said he'd pulled checks "from a million dollars down to $10,000" for video ads on Federated's network, which includes the popular shows Diggnation and Ask a Ninja. The burning question: Who paid a million bucks to Federated, run by Web 2.0 conference co-chief John Battelle, and for what? We were unable to tackle any of Federated's execs at the jam-packed conference Wednesday. Somebody get Edwards or jbat to spill the details, and send it to us. Otherwise we'll wonder if Edwards wasn't actually referring to Microsoft's non-video advertorial deal for which Federated bloggers wrote ad copy. Why? Because Edwards also said the biggest dollars come from selling "host endorsements" rather than separate advertiser-produced spots.
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By Paul BoutinComment by ScalaWag: Plus 'pulled checks' could mean some bulk sale into the future, not any particular ad campaign. Way to inflate revenues... more » | Other threads
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web 2.0 summit
John Battelle wants to hike his rates
WEB 2.0 SUMMIT — Is preternaturally tan conference organizer John Battelle, who runs online-ad network Federated Media, here to interview top industry executives — or cut some deals of his own? "There's this idea that you can sprinkle some pixie dust on all this inventory and make more money," he observes, speaking of the mass of Web ads sold at bargain-basement rates. AOL's Curt Viebranz says that ads sold on Tacoda — the startup he just sold to AOL for a reported $275 million — sell at a $4 cost per thousand viewers. When he hears that figure, Battelle raises his eyebrows and asked Viebranz to talk to him after the panel.
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By Owen ThomasComment by eze: owen, could you please link the phrase "preternaturally tan," above, to this earlier valleywag piece? [valleywag.com] maybe i'm a george hamilton fan. more » | Other threads
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valleywag calendar
Who will be the Ken Jennings of Web 2.0?
Study your trivia and get your answer buzzer ready, as there's a contest this evening at the Web 2.0 Summit. Nerdboys and geek girls, your life's in jeopardy, Web 2.0-style. More »
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Comment by mach1andy: Lots of stuff going on in NYC this week! I'm here for this and Sun's Startup Camp @ Startupcamp.org more » | Other threads
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quotable
"If I wanted a $14 billion advertising business, I could get halfway there by buying Yahoo right now. But that's just me. " Federated Media head John Battelle to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Web 2.0 Summit. -
rumormonger
Is Marissa Mayer missing Web 2.0 Summit?
THE PALACE HOTEL — Web 2.0 Summit program chair John Battelle was racing about the site of the Web 2.0 Summit this morning, we hear. The cause of the last-minute scramble? "We still haven't heard from Marissa Mayer," an informant heard him say to a colleague. Could Google's eccentric queen of search be skipping out on the exclusive conference, where she's scheduled to speak? Battelle's tone suggested Mayer might not be the only star on the program missing in action. We'll report on who actually shows up — and any last-minute substitutions.
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By Owen ThomasComment by cv: Naaah, there are no indications that Google putting the kibosh on spending nor have they pre-announced. My guess is that... more » | Other threads
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online video
Virgin America delivers captive audience to Boing Boing TV
God, I love scooping John Battelle on his own business. If you've been wondering when the hell you'll have time to sit still long enough to watch Xeni Jardin talk about vaginal ads and butt-biting bugs — they're big in Japan! — here's your answer. Virgin America, crazy billionaire Richard Branson's irreverent new airline (Branson toyed with the idea of renaming coach class to "Riff Raff"), will carry the equally iconoclastic tech blog's new video venture, Boing Boing TV, as part of its inflight seat back programming. We should've seen this coming when Virgin asked Boing Boingers to name one of their planes. Until Virgin's promised inflight Wi-Fi networks are deployed, this'll be the next best thing to surfing YouTube from 30,000 feet over Illinois.
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By Paul BoutinComment by Trackback: Soon, when you fly on Virgin America, you'll be able to watch Boing Boing tv episodes on the in-flight entertainment... more » | Other threads
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rapleaf
Can Auren Hoffman's reputation get any worse?
Silver-tongued entrepreneur Auren Hoffman was able to extinguish a growing wave of criticism directed at his people-search company Rapleaf with a single blog post. He promised to mend his ways and bring fixes to Rapleaf's privacy practices. We didn't have much faith in Rapleaf's reform — Hoffman's post was mostly rhetoric, little change. A week later, Hoffman has gone out of his way to prove our doubts by partnering with MerchantCircle. MerchantCircle, of course, is the local merchant directory we've criticized before. Of course, Rapleaf and MerchantCircle are in some ways a perfect match. More » -
party report
Conversational Marketing Summit unofficial afterparty
I stopped by the House of Shields for the "unofficial afterparty" of this week's Federated Media Conversational Marketing Summit and was greeted by a crowd of FM employees and Web 2.0 regulars. You could tell the crowd apart pretty easily — the FM employees wore suitjackets and had the ad-salesman glow to them, the regulars all answered "no" when asked if they attended the conference. A few FM employees indulged my request to pose for a picture doing the John Battelle salute, including Director of Author Services Bill Brazell, pictured above. (Fun fact: he and I graduated from the same high school!) So what is "Conversational Marketing" anyway? New advertising paradigm? Or just a way to keep FM boss Batelle in Mystic Tan? At one point, social media gadfly Chris Heuer and I talked about whether the term itself has a definition beyond "bullshit." He seems to think it does, I'm still undecided. The whole idea has the taint of undisclosed advertorial to me, especially after last June's "people-ready" mini-scandal and its aftermath. After the jump, check out the gallery for more tech marketing people than you can handle. More »
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Comment by bobdmac: "Conversational marketing" is talking to Robert Scoble so he mentions you in his bog. more » | Other threads
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media
The return of The Industry Standard
Could it be true? Eric Savitz of Barron's blogs about the apparent comeback of his former employer, The Industry Standard. The weekly tech trade magazine inflated, and imploded, more or less in sync with the dotcom bubble; shuttered by owner IDG, it's seen a series of mostly pathetic attempts to resuscitate its website, all of which floundered. But the website now promises that the Standard is "coming back." Odd timing, given Time Inc.'s shuttering of Business 2.0, and the discontinuation of the Red Herring's print edition. Founder John Battelle tersely wishes the new Standard luck. I'm betting that the publication bypasses print and goes straight to the Web — just like Battelle's current venture.
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By Owen ThomasComment by waynelambright: Is there that much demand for another tech blog? more » | Other threads
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great moments in advertising
Federated Media's teeny-weeny remnant problem
Okay, this is ridiculous. On what planet is the bikini-wearing readership of TechCrunch sufficient enough to warrant Federated Media serving up the above ad on its site? None, of course. Federated Media founder John Battelle emails us to point out that the bikini ad from DivaVillage.com and other gender benders displayed to the site's mostly male readers aren't a result of targeting gone awry, but simply the result of Federated Media serving up low-paying, untargeted "remnant" ads when it's not able to sell ads at full price. Battelle also notes that it's TechCrunch's decision, not Federated's, to accept those ads. So there you have it, TechCrunch readers: Michael Arrington, according to John Battelle, thinks you want to buy bikinis.
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Comment by jackmayhofferr: Megan Once again you show your complete lack of knowledge for online advertising The ad was served up by GOOGLE,... more » | Other threads
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federated media
John Battelle feels like he needs more money
Private Equity Hub reports that Federated Media, the online ad network, has raised $4.5 million in a second round of funding, not long after raising $2 million in venture capital, on top of some seed funding. This, of course, after rumors that FM was "overdue" in raising more funds. We're not sure what founder John Battelle plans to do with all that cash, but perhaps, just perhaps, he might want to bankroll some hair-replacement therapy for FM videoblogger Morgan Webb. -
conflicts of interest
Videoblogger Morgan Webb shows some skin
TechThatOut believes it's caught Morgan Webb, host of derivative, me-too, copycat tech videoblog WebbAlert, exposing her ... scalp? The screenshot is a bit blurry, raising questions about whether Webb is actually missing some follicles or just had her hair pulled back too tightly. But it does make one wonder why TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington went gaga and declared her "fairly hot." A quick survey of Valleywag's temporary officemates got a different ruling: "fairly scary." But there's something equally scary, and even balder, about WebbAlert. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by clickitysplit: I'm not convinced that isn't Winona Ryder. more » | Other threads
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digg
Kevin Rose breaks up with John Battelle
It's not you. It's me. We can still be friends, right? That's how I translate Digg founder Kevin Rose's blog post announcement that Digg is dropping Battelle's Federated Media as its online-ad rep and signing up with Microsoft. Says Rose:It's a deal similar to the one Facebook signed with Microsoft last year.
That no doubt means that Microsoft ponied up a big upfront guarantee to win Digg's business. That kind of offer is naturally hard for Battelle's startup to compete with. But it's hard to get dumped for someone richer. And softening the blow by continuing to toss some scraps of business Battelle's way? That just makes things worse. Break up like a man, Kevin. (Photo by dfarber)
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By Owen ThomasComment by Ron-Mexico: Makes sense. Advertising to the Web 2.0 crowd has proven to be such a massive hit thus far. ... more » | Other threads
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mahalo
Jason Calacanis searches for hits
If you can't be Larry Page and Sergey Brin, why not try being Martha Stewart? That's Jason Calacanis's new plan. (We think he'd look absolutely fetching in an apron, too.) Less than two months after he launched his search engine, Calacanis has shifted strategies, emphasizing how-to content on the so-called "human powered search engine." More »
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By Tim FaulknerComment by Trackback: Today, Jason Calacanis launches Mahalo Answers — the latest project from Mahalo, his “human powered search engine”. more » | Other threads
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legends explained
John Battelle's finger photo
Dan Fost at the San Francisco Chronicle at last discovers the provenance of this legendary pic of Federated Media's John Battelle. Turns out that the photo originally emanated — like so much in tech news — from the machinations of John Dvorak. It dates from Battelle's Industry Standard days, taken by Dvorak during one of Battelle's infamous "money-wasting Friday parties." Dvorak photoshopped the pic to look like black-and-white film, gave it the Register, and presto: net artifact for the ages.
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By Chris MohneyComment by Megan McCarthy: Goddamn, this photo never gets old. more » | Other threads
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john battelle
John Battelle on the money
It's the usual fluffery in this BusinessWeek love note to John Battelle and his Federated Media, including the literal money shot: "Last year, [FM] sold more than $10 million in advertising for about 90 Web sites. This year, Battelle says it is on track to turn a profit and increase sales fivefold." Check the counter-quote from none other than Jason Calacanis, who dislikes the idea of not owning the blogs in the network: "The second you build your client's business past $500,000 a year, they hire their own sales force." Doesn't leave a lot of room to maneuver with recently acquired FM client Ask a Ninja, reputedly brought aboard with a $300,000 guarantee. That's not the best thing about this article, though. More »
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By Chris MohneyComment by Blackjack: The BB remark from JB makes no sense. He's been their so-called band manager for a long time. If he's... more » | Other threads
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