the leading network of niche verticals first, a little about us... robert w. harris (comm ‘79)...
TRANSCRIPT
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
First, a little about us...
Robert W. Harris (comm ‘79)
• COO - International
• Original team member at About.com
• HBO, Paramount, CPA
Linda Osborne
• VP Content
• Programming Director, ParentSoup.com/iVillage Inc.Programming Director, ParentSoup.com/iVillage Inc.
• Programming/Journalism backgroundProgramming/Journalism background
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Community and MonetizationCommunity and Monetization
Community (What is it?)
How can you make money from “community” now?
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
What is Community?
In the “Old Days” (pre-internet)
• Primarily geographical
Online Buzzword
• Chat
• Boards (Forums)
True Community
• “Communities of Interest”
• Buzzword still in use
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Community makes money - I
Traditional Community
• Classifieds
• Special interest publications
Old Online world
• Chat and boards made big money because the meter was running
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Community model changes
Online money model changes
• Time - $ connection ends
Chat now monetizes poorly
• Low ad rate
Communities of interest grow on the web
• Highly valuable content
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Community Makes Money - II
A true community is a highly desirable audience
Portals are broad
Rise of verticals
• What’s a vertical? A community!• iVillage, VerticalNet, Marketwatch, Sportsline
• Monetize pageviews at a high rate
• Commerce in context
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
About.com’s way of making money
The leading network of niche vertical sites
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Communities Overseen by Trusted Human Guides
Communities Overseen by Trusted Human Guides
Overview
- Supervised- TrainedExpert
Professional - Entrepreneurial
Committed - Passionate
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Real Community
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Commerce Engine
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Commerce Engine
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Commerce Engine
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Commerce Engine
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Communities Overlap
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
650 sites
Scale!
Network EffectNetwork Effect
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
40 “channels”650 sites
$$ $$$$
Scale!
Network EffectNetwork Effect
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
RON Channels Sections Site Specific 1 18 113 650
From macro to micro targetingFrom macro to micro targeting
High Monetization
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Channels
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
Other ways communities make money
Classifieds
Auctions (replacing classifieds)
PR/Brand Value
• Affinity
Subscription Model
The Leading Network of Niche Verticals
The Future?
Branding Ads
Wireless
Micropayments
Business-to-Business Communities
• SAP (mysap.com)
?
