Thanks for the comment. I look forward to more from you.

Stephen E Arnold, February 7, 2010

-traditional media companies don’t see them as a threat – at all
-yes, the content is hardly quality journalism
-Demand Media will take a massive share of ad revenue right out of the pockets of traditional media

Let’s face it: an article on how to de-ice my sidewalk is a much better context for a Honda snowblower ad than a news story on the disaster in Haiti. I believe THIS will be the key impact of Demand Media. For the first time in history, it is so easy and cheap to produce easily findable, long-tail content that advertisers now have a much better alternative for ad placement. In our experience, the boring, middle-of-the road type of “journalism” represented by Demand produced a 400% lift in campaign results over placements on traditional media sites. Historically, traditional media needed controversial opinion, rousing entertainment or tragedy to sell subscriptions. These same companies, who are now still locked-into their editorial styles, were the only game in town for advertisers – particularly when reach was the only measure of campaign success.
All of that changes as of now. And no, blogging is not as much of a threat to traditional media because 95% of bloggers are unreachable by premium advertisers – and most advertisers want assurances on the type and tone of the content. Demand (and Glam, and the like) have their own media salesforces with established relationships, they have reach and they have compelling data that will make advertisers drool. I’m really pulling for traditional media brands, but they had better wake up and take notice.