The media pundit's pundit. Written by NYC insider Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine covers news, media, journalism, and politics.
Quick, somebody, bring me a pin!
: Nick Denton calls Jason Calacanis, founder of the Silicon Alley Reporter, on premature bubble blowing in relation to blogs and his new venture. Says Nick: “God help us.”
Right. No one should thing that there’s gold in these thar hills. But that’s precisely what’s so appealing about this: Blogs are a cottage industry at best.
Having worked in advertising for many years, blogs are the best ad vehicle I’ve ever seen, especially for the service industries. Personal branding at its finest (not to mention cheapest).
Blogs are a great way to for people to get to know you better. And in business that’s important (not to mention profitable)… so long as the business you’re in offers more than just “blogging about blogging”.
This is how I see it:
Dotcom: how to get a million people to give you a dollar.
Blogging: how to get one person to give you a million.
I’m guessing Nick Denton’s battle plan is the latter. Because I am also guessing that, like Liz Spiers, the whole Gawker buzz (well deserved) gives him access to certain mensch who wouldn’t have given him the time of day without it. That’s worth far more than a few squirly micropayments or a NYT banner ad.
99% of Weblogs will never be a business.
A handful of B2B weblogs will become very profitable businesses.
Of course, time will tell. I’m not a big fan of hyping things despite what Nick, with his $2,000 a month sites, says. You’ll see my evidence on the court.
best jason