[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4cast #429: The tech blogging business

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OPLIN 4cast #429: The tech blogging business
March 18, 2015

[image: typewriter]We read a lot of technology blogs every week, watching
for things that might interest readers of this 4cast blog. Recently, a
couple of the technology blogs themselves have become news, as ReadWrite
was sold last month, and GigaOm announced last week that it was closing its
business. Is this a trend? Possibly. The fact is, many mainstream news
publishers now include a technology blog on their own websites, such as The
New York Times' Bits <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/>, the Wall Street
Journal's Digits <http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/>, the Huffington Post's HuffPost
Tech <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tech/>, and any number of blogs
associated with major local daily newspapers. It could be that we're seeing
the beginning of the end of the independent technology blog.

   - Gigaom shuts down in crowded tech media landscape
   <http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2015/03/10/gigaom-shutting-down-means-for-digital-media/>
   (Wall Street Journal | Steven Perlberg) "Gigaom's fate had others in the
   digital media industry wondering if the event portended a larger 'content
   shakeout
   <http://pando.com/2015/03/09/content-shakeout-alert-gigaom-runs-out-of-money-will-shut-down/>,'
   especially given that Say Media recently sold its own tech site ReadWrite.
   Executives in the media and venture capital worlds say it is quite
   difficult to be a self-sustaining site these days, considering the crowded
   tech media space. 'When everybody from The Wall Street Journal to the New
   York Times to everybody else has doubled down on covering tech, what's your
   value?' said Rafat Ali, the CEO and founder of travel site Skift."
   - Tech blog GigaOm abruptly shuts down
   <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/10/business/media/tech-blog-gigaom-abruptly-shuts-down.html>
   (The New York Times | Ravi Somaiya) "The site, long known for both its
   business and consumer-facing technology posts, had been open to
   experimentation in its business model. Like other media start-ups, Gigaom
   hosted a series of technology conferences that charged high prices for
   admission. The company offered a white-paper research business, and also
   sold advertising."
   - Should we crowdfund ReadWrite?
   <http://readwrite.com/2015/03/11/the-wisdom-of-readwrite-readers>
   (ReadWrite | Owen Thomas) "Our former publisher, Say Media, was prepared to
   shut us down if we hadn't found a new owner. Wearable World
   <http://wearableworld.co/> is a good home for ReadWrite, and I'm
   energized by the conversations I have with our CEO, Redg Snodgrass, about
   our shared mission to democratize technology. Gigaom's closure is a stark
   reminder, though, that the conventional advertising model, even when
   complemented by businesses like events and research, isn't always enough to
   allow independent reporting about technology to thrive."
   - Platishers, beware: Say Media gives up on publishing
   <http://digiday.com/publishers/say-media-retreat/> (Digiday | Lucia
   Moses) "The latest pivot adds to the company's already complicated story.
   It also serves as a warning to other digital natives like Vox Media,
   Business Insider and pretty much anyone with a custom CMS and a pile of VC
   cash that are trying to figure out how to be the media company of the
   future by marrying media and tech. It sounds good to say you'll do both -
   and that's probably what venture backers want to hear - but when it comes
   to execution, the demands of both businesses make a combination very
   difficult."

 *Articles from Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - The business of blogging.
   <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=f061eb89-021f-4fe1-b018-146537b81abb%40sessionmgr4004&vid=0&hid=4214&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=sch&AN=17905402>
   (*Technology Review*, Aug. 2005, p36-38 | Andrew P. Madden)
   - Blogging for business.
   <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=503fd818-3a04-4a86-8820-42311a9365e2%40sessionmgr4004&vid=0&hid=4214&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=86961054>
   (*Director*, April 2013, p67-71 | Chris Maxwell)
   - Why do we blog? From the perspectives of technology acceptance and
   media choice factors.
   <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=26f70a4f-c9ea-43bc-bd1a-8c7b18e0377e%40sessionmgr111&vid=0&hid=106&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=cph&AN=86994612>
   (*Behaviour & Information Technology*, April 2013, p371-386 | Yao-Sheng
   Chang and Chyan Yang)

    ------------------------------
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