You Can’t Call It A Quiet Week
By: admin
My RSS reader needs a rest! So much news has been flooding in from so many places.
We’ve got a little bit of everything: big media companies acquiring podcasts, well-known personalities joining forces with networks, new positioning in the aggregation of technology news and another rumor about Google buying someone.
I’m not going to attempt to weave all of these business events into a trend story, or even reach for a tortured metaphor. It’s just interesting that so much has happened all at once, particularly in the podcasting corner of the world, where it’s been awhile since anything truly meaty has crossed our radar. As a writer, it’s always better for me if things are happening than when they’re not. You too, I’m guessing. Let’s run down the news, shall we?
- CBS Interactive has purchased Wallstrip. We mention Wallstrip in a story that will appear in the next issue of Blogger & Podcaster. If you don’t know it, Wallstrip is a Web site, video podcast and blog with a really big following in the Wall Street world. Both parties have denied the rumored $5 million pricetag. It’s been suggested that CBS scooped it up in order to have access to the talents tf Lindsay Campbell, the show’s popular host. It’s a tantalizing story for podcasters who see their path to success iluminated by personality. That’s not to diminish the content of Wallstrip, but just as Amanda Congdon’s talents as a performer brought her to the attention of ABC last year, Campbell has skipped the cattle call phase and jumped into a prominant, lucrative gig. Wallstrip will remain its own brand, according to CBS.
- In a part of the world I know somewhat better than either finance or TV, the tech journalism sector, John C. Dvorak, the industry’s number one curmudgeon, has inked a deal with PodShow to form a tech “channel” for the podcast network. Dvorak currently has his own podcast, Cranky Geeks. Most tech people who have ben around more than a few years know Dvorak as a prolific “old media” columnist with strong opinions and a desire to stir things up for the sake of doing it. Dvorak is an interesting choice to head up a tech podcssting initiative. He certainly knows a lot of people, and has super-high name ID. But his brand is his opinion, not news, analysis or even new media. Should be interesting to see who he taps to join him.
- Technorati’s making news again, too. We cover the new “authority” blog rankings in the upcoming Blogger & Podcaster. But this morning dawned with a bigger change; a major update to the site, and a refocus away from blog-centrism and toward direct competition with Google search. Here’s Technorati chief David Sifry’s explanation.
- And finally, because one mention of Google isn’t enough, comes the rumor (reprinted everywhere, so it’s gotta happen, right?) that the search beheameth might be planning to buy FeedBurner, the Chicago startup podcasters and bloggers have been relying on for nifty RSS management tools for the past two years. UPDATE: TechChrunch is calling this one “confirmed”, at a price of $100 million. Some have written about how exciting this is for the people who have built, and continuously improve FeedBurner’s tools. The FeedBurner guys have been visible in the RSS community and enjoy excellent personal reputations. They have been innovative and accessible, even to indie podcasters who don’t pay much attention to financial intrigue. The dominant keyword among writers covering the potential story has been “congrats!” Personally, I would like to see more attention paid to how such a combination would affect FeedBurner customers. Combining FeedBurner’s great RSS stats with Google Analytics would be cool, and I’m sure there are many other tools Google could bring to the table. But when big company scoops up little company, change is sure, and FeedBurner users should watch carefully, and not necessarily count on the acquisition-minded tech business press to have their point of view at heart when reporting this story. I’m a FeedBurner customer. I just want my feed to work, and my stats to be accurate and I want that to remain true if and when Google opens its wallet. Oh, and I’d also like to keep seeing the FeedBurner guys at Portable Media Expo, answering questions and taking feature requests.
-shelly
