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Is this Federated Media's new conversation?
Written by Allen Stern - August 2, 2007
Update: Added follow-up post
Over the past few months, we have debated the campaigns that Federated Media has run. Most recently the heated debate was over the "conversations" that FM and Microsoft partnered on. I applauded the efforts by FM to try new advertising mediums. Fast-forward to today and the buzz all over the tech blog scene is the launch of WebbAlert, a daily video show by FM publisher Morgan Webb. After checking TechMeme on the buzz, my brain started twitching so I did a little bit of investigation on the new video show by Webb and here is what I have found.
First, let's take a look at a good deal of the blogs listed on TechMeme. The ones listed here are all FM blogs:
I am not trying to insinuate that FM requested postings for Webb, but sure seems like the overwhelming percentage of posts are coming from FM authors and are positive. In addition, several of them have references to Rocketboom, which makes me believe that Rocketboom was included in the FM communication. I am by no means suggesting that the posts were "paid" but just seems a bit odd that none of these high-ranking tech celebs have any constructive criticism for the show. Maybe she is just that damn good. With all of the discussion about transparency/disclosure online over the past year, should these type of posts come with a disclaimer? I think this is interesting food for thought.
What really led me to think about this was the following comment on the FM blog:
She uses the top tech news sites, including a number of FM authors, as sources for the stories and offers her viewers links back to the full posts on those sites.
Does this mean that the links that Webb points to will be FM authors? I certainly hope not! But let's look at the links from the first show:
- Fred Wilson - FM
- ArsTechnica - FM
- VentureBeat - FM
- TheDailymac - not associated from what I can tell
- Comscore - no ads
- Make - FM
- Kotaku - Gawker
Out of the 7 links, 4 are FM blogs or 57%. And the ad in the middle comes from FM blog ArsTechnica. This is disappointing at best.
So does this mean that the show is really the FM network show? I will be watching the links over the next few shows and will report back but for some reason this just doesn't sit well with me. If it is the FM network show, then call it that.
What do you think? Should this type of video show come with a disclaimer that the links within the video show are coming from within a network of sites and not from the entire Internet?
Is this Federated Media's new conversation?
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This will be a runaway smash hit if they position the camera far enough back to show tits.
A Netcraft search shows that WebbAlert is actually hosted on Federated Media's web server. Unless FM is suddenly getting into the hosting business, this strongly suggests that they have an interest in the site.
Interesting research, Allen.
I'd like to think that this just happens to be a coincidence and Federated Media is doing some good PR to market its "authors", and that a lot of FM sites have really good content, so that's why Webb links to them.
In terms of the comments, when new web shows come online, the comments on the site are usually one big lovefest. I think that people are generally jazzed to see new, semi-professional video content, and feel compelled not to be too critical just yet. It's still a very new space.
And in terms of the Rocketboom comparison, that's nothing to be suspicious about. Rockebtoom was the first of its kind and anything that even resembles a news show with someone sitting at a desk will draw the comparison. WallStrip is Rocketboom on stocks, Technorati's defunct BuzzTV was Rocketboom with a guy and a different camera angle, etc.
"I am not trying to insinuate that FM requested postings for Webb, but sure seems like the overwhelming percentage of posts are coming from FM authors"
Perhaps the reason the initial buzz is from Federated Media affiliates is because they were some of the first to hear about the new site? After all, Federated Media sent out an e-mail to its publishers with news of the new show.
Not everything is a conspiracy.
Under normal circumstances, I would agree... but TechCrunch just made a SECOND post talking about how awesome the show is in the headline. It's a little too obvious, imo.
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Wacky Labs -- This is supposed to look like a sig!
While it's nice to see that the VP from FM posted here debunking this claim, I have to point out that anybody with even a basic understanding of link sharing can see how FM promotes its own sites through various means.
The most obvious is Digg. I see the same sites EVERY day on Digg, and almost all of them are FM properties. I find it hard to believe that the majority of the sites people Digg just happen to be FM properties, and I've seen research done to show that anything that has certain keywords (cough cough FM domains) magically gets dugg more than anything else. Whether it's FM or the sites themselves (or some ninja team who just does it for fun), there is no denying that this goes on. It's just glorified link sharing. If you join FM, your site gets dugg and mentioned on other FM sites.
Now don't get me wrong - I think it's a pretty slick operation that probably goes over the heads of most readers. An ad network's job is to make money for the publishers and themselves, and FM does that and then some. I just think people should at least be aware that the sites get some degree of favoritism.
@Walt, I don't think people think that everthing is a conspirancy, but I have heard for several months now people (bloggers, journalists, executives in the industry, VC, etc.) talking about the blogs covering what benefits them, their friends, etc., and what kind of impact this has on business, opinion, etc. Whether or not this is true is almost irrelevant, really - the impression of it alone can hurt credibility.
I think Federated is pushing hard to find what works in monetizing via ads and they're doing some more innovative things, and it's GREAT for the industry because as a publisher myself (I own StyleDiary.net and have a blog), I know first hand how disrupted advertising has been with all the things going on, and how hard it is ultimately to make money off sites.
But, it's going to leave them open to making mistakes, growing pains, finding what works, etc., and people are going to talk about it. That's it :)
I'm an FM author. I'd like someone to let me know where my free digs are on Digg.
Um, you DO realize she has a whole explanation posted ON HER SITE, right?
http://webbalert.com/whatsthis.html
I'm an author at Federated Media. And I too wrote about Morgan. Why? Not because anyone paid me like is being insinuated here, but because (schmaltzy as this sounds), with FM, I feel like I'm part of a family. Not just any crappy blog can apply and join the network; we're a small family and when something good happens, we're all happy. I know I was. Are you kidding? Webb becoming an FM Author? That just makes me look better for being part of FM, and you bet I'll talk about it. Morgan's great at what she does. Did you even watch the first episode?
Who ever said you were being paid? I'm sure a friendly nudge was all it took. However, several have compared it to rocketboom. Why? Can you shed some insight on that, please?
Arrington posted two days in a row... he's obviously pushing the show. What does *he* have to gain from it?
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Wacky Labs -- This is supposed to look like a sig!
@David...
Jesus dude, you already blew your credibility out the window. You have an ad right at the top of your site for payperpost. "PAYPERPOST - Get Reviewed! Have us write about you on this site!".
I guess that does kinda say that you would admit if you were paid... but no one ever accused you of it. The only two instances of "paid" on this page are the author saying "I'm not saying they were paid..." and you saying "I wasn't paid, as was suggested".
Kinda sad that you openly affiliate yourself with payperpost...
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Wacky Labs -- This is supposed to look like a sig!
Jimmy, I understand your misgivings about PPP. I don't think the company is as evil as you like to think. The fundamental issue is over disclosure. As you seem to have realized, every single time I get paid to write something, I clearly (clearly) disclose it at the top of the article. PPP now makes it mandatory to disclose, although I'm not completely happy with exactly how they require this. Still, in the end it's up to the individual author to make sure they're transparent and open about everything they do, in order to keep their credibility.
In my case, my readers know I'm as clear as water in everything I do, so I'm not worried about losing my credibility with them. On the other hand, when random readers such as you first visit my site and see the PPP badge at the top, I get the reaction you just gave me. This is the price I pay for my affiliation with the company. I don't regret it.
Hi David - thanks for stopping by. I agree with you that FM has a "family" feel to it. I think that's important for an ad network. I am part of Burst Media since 1996. Are they the best out there? Probably not, but one thing that has kept me with them is that the family they have within their publishers.
I did watch the first (and second) shows and did a review on the first even before I thought anything about the FM deal.
I still don't get why people think "Morgan is great at what she does." Not just from you either, so far I think Richard (and kind of Mike) to explain.