On Digital Media

What is it?

On Digital Media is a podcast about the technology, creation, distribution, consumption and monetization of digital media and its effects on traditional media and marketing. If it's part of the digital media ecosystem, you'll likely hear about it here. Your hosts are John Federico, Chia-Lin Simmons, Ken Gellman and Steve Hatch.

On Digital Media, Episode #47: The $10 Billion Buyout

In this episode John Federico, Steve Hatch and Ken Gellman discuss:

Eric Rochow’s flattering account of his participation in ODM Episode #46.
Traditional banner ads failing on social networks. Collectively, we think LinkedIn probably has the best contextual presentation. MySpace, the worst. (Of course, Martha Stewart is now adding some class to the place with some new wallpaper and drapes…)
If FaceBook can execute on their ambitious plan to use profile and lifestream data to target advertising, they may indeed improve advertising on social networks by several orders of magnitude. But can it compete with Google AdSense/AdWords?
Steve tells us about how Lending Club used FaceBook as a test market for its loan application, then used that data as proof points to secure VC funding from Canaan Partners and Norwest Venture Partners.
FaceBook will achieve $30MM in profit this year on $150MM in revenue. (Respectable…) Peter Thiel thinks it would be worth a $10B buyout for Google. John is incredulous. Even Ken thinks that’s a lot of money. Steve thinks a FaceBook acquisition is “bigger than the YouTube deal, but not as big as the aQuantive deal.” John wants to see the financial model. We analyze this scenario in suitable detail (in case you couldn’t tell…).
One guy. One dating site. Millions in revenue. PlentyOfFish.com.
YouTube users are in revolt over the new overlay ads. Film at 11. (We digress into silly food metaphors.)
Playboy (yes, that Playboy) is going to start a social network for…College Students. It’ll be called Playboy U, of course. They’re building it on the ning platform. Kewl.
Games (all types of games, combined) are beating online video and social networks in terms of engagement growing by 79% according to a report by Parks Associates.
Growth in gaming is so good that MTV Networks is shifting its business model to online gaming investing $500MM over the next few years.
Out of one business, into another: MTV’s Urge online music store is joining forces with Real Networks’ Rhapsody service to sell music downloads. Verizon Wireless’ VCAST will be the wireless distribution partner to complete the triumverate. Microsoft still comes out winning as the provider of the DRM technology. (ValleyWag has a timeline of all of MTV’s activities in digital media.)
Wal-Mart is starting to sell DRM-Free mp3 music tracks from their online store. But you still need Windoze. And IE 7. No thanks…
Hearst now has a total of nine mobile web sites up with the addition of mobile versions of Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire.
Zagat Survey now has a mobile site (Zagat.mobi) that is free and supported by advertising - a shift from their traditional premium model.

Our wine this week is a Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Green Label Syrah-Shiraz, 2004.

Our closing music is Democracy from Alexander Blu.

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