5 ms·

Is HuffPo really worth 7-8 times what AOL paid for Weblogs, Inc. and TechCrunch?

by MatthewDP 16y ago

cfinke 16y ago
In terms of unique visitors, HuffPo beats TechCrunch 10:1.
- ohyes 16y ago
  And in terms of demographics, I mean, my mom reads Huffington post. Ariana Huffington is well-known enough to have done the talk-show circuit at least once. Tech crunch is a niche demographic (silicon valley gossip is only interesting to people inside that particular bubble). I'm honestly not sure what weblogs inc is.
  - cfinke 16y ago
    Weblogs, Inc. was the company that created Engadget, AutoBlog, Joystiq, etc. That acquisition essentially became the backbone of the content-oriented company into which AOL is transforming.
    - jarin 16y ago
      Also to put it into "tech world" context, Weblogs, Inc. was started by Jason Calacanis.
  - acangiano 16y ago
    Not to mention that your mom is far more valuable from an ad revenue perspective. Chances are you've never clicked on ads displayed on TechCrunch.
    - eli 16y ago
      I would have to disagree there. The TechCrunch audience is a relatively self-selecting group of technology and startup enthusiasts. This is valuable. There are companies that want to reach these people. Huffington Post, I imagine, is mostly liberals of all genders, income, and level of education. I think there are far fewer companies that want to reach all of HuffPo's diverse readership. Consider why popular, prestigious sites like washingtonpost.com have ads for Mesothelioma lawsuits and home mortgage refinancing.
    - ohyes 16y ago
      Thinking about it, my mom is actually extremely savvy. One of the first people on Amazon (the free swag and shipping era), one of the first people using Google (got an email response from Sergei when she complained about an inappropriate search result), doesn't like Facebook, is into blogs, podcasts and web radio. So she probably doesn't click through the ads displayed on HuffPo unless it is something that she wants (in fact, I think she uses Adblock). That said, she is fiercely loyal to companies that she sees as supporting her ideals. So if she does need something, and a product that has that functionality advertises on one of her media... she will get that product over another (perhaps better known or cheaper) product. This actually contradicts the implication of my above post; that my mom reads it, therefore it must appeal to the masses. The truth is, my mom likes it, and she is an excellent market indicator.
  - mkr-hn 16y ago
    Ariana Huffington was in an episode of Family Guy as a panelist on a fake episode of Bill Maher's show. That either means she's jumped the shark or is a rising star.
noahc 16y ago
I'm not sure on the math, but the first thing that comes to mind is that they are a more general interest type of web property. AOL needs content it can direct users too, my mom isn't interested in TechCrunch, but she might be interested in HuffPo's content.
staunch 16y ago
Revenues: Weblogs, Inc: $1,000,000. TechCrunch: (guestimating) $12,000,000. HuffPo: $65,000,000.

Is HuffPo really worth 7-8 times what AOL paid for Weblogs, Inc. and TechCrunch?

cfinke 16y ago

In terms of unique visitors, HuffPo beats TechCrunch 10:1.

ohyes 16y ago
And in terms of demographics, I mean, my mom reads Huffington post. Ariana Huffington is well-known enough to have done the talk-show circuit at least once. Tech crunch is a niche demographic (silicon valley gossip is only interesting to people inside that particular bubble). I'm honestly not sure what weblogs inc is.
- cfinke 16y ago
  Weblogs, Inc. was the company that created Engadget, AutoBlog, Joystiq, etc. That acquisition essentially became the backbone of the content-oriented company into which AOL is transforming.
  - jarin 16y ago
    Also to put it into "tech world" context, Weblogs, Inc. was started by Jason Calacanis.
- acangiano 16y ago
  Not to mention that your mom is far more valuable from an ad revenue perspective. Chances are you've never clicked on ads displayed on TechCrunch.
  - eli 16y ago
    I would have to disagree there. The TechCrunch audience is a relatively self-selecting group of technology and startup enthusiasts. This is valuable. There are companies that want to reach these people. Huffington Post, I imagine, is mostly liberals of all genders, income, and level of education. I think there are far fewer companies that want to reach all of HuffPo's diverse readership. Consider why popular, prestigious sites like washingtonpost.com have ads for Mesothelioma lawsuits and home mortgage refinancing.
  - ohyes 16y ago
    Thinking about it, my mom is actually extremely savvy. One of the first people on Amazon (the free swag and shipping era), one of the first people using Google (got an email response from Sergei when she complained about an inappropriate search result), doesn't like Facebook, is into blogs, podcasts and web radio. So she probably doesn't click through the ads displayed on HuffPo unless it is something that she wants (in fact, I think she uses Adblock). That said, she is fiercely loyal to companies that she sees as supporting her ideals. So if she does need something, and a product that has that functionality advertises on one of her media... she will get that product over another (perhaps better known or cheaper) product. This actually contradicts the implication of my above post; that my mom reads it, therefore it must appeal to the masses. The truth is, my mom likes it, and she is an excellent market indicator.
- mkr-hn 16y ago
  Ariana Huffington was in an episode of Family Guy as a panelist on a fake episode of Bill Maher's show. That either means she's jumped the shark or is a rising star.

noahc 16y ago

I'm not sure on the math, but the first thing that comes to mind is that they are a more general interest type of web property. AOL needs content it can direct users too, my mom isn't interested in TechCrunch, but she might be interested in HuffPo's content.

staunch 16y ago

Revenues: Weblogs, Inc: $1,000,000. TechCrunch: (guestimating) $12,000,000. HuffPo: $65,000,000.