TechCrunch Sold to AOL

Ryan    Uncategorized     AOL, Content, techcrunch

I saw the above headline this morning and couldn’t help but giggle. With businesses getting sold left and right these days, it was only a matter of time when content giant AOL finally got their hands on another significant entity.

Although I can’t say for sure whether someone got the short end of the stick on this one, I can say that this really reaffirms the notion of AOL’s instinct on a content based business strategy.

Back in the day, when AOL was all about dial-up internet access, people were pretty accepting of the fact that AOL was THE gateway to online freedom.. when really, it wasn’t freedom they were experiencing, but a highly structured ad and content experience constructed around programmed website viewing. They were pretty darn profitable! But as with most companies, the glory days soon became extinct as more ‘open’ sources for internet access became available. They were essentially outdated soon after they gained notoriety.

What next? As AOL’s commitment to staying relevant turned into a fight towards staying successful, new strategies in search and advertising led to where they are today. Positioning themselves along the lines where Yahoo and MSN are, AOL focused on content, and with the acquisition of TechCrunch, its quite obvious that they’re looking to stay there.

Do you think there is a certain point where a company can talk about stuff too much or own too many content outlets? I suppose we should ask corporate giants like News Corp, Disney, Viacom, or Time Warner… whoops! Maybe AOL thinks they’ll be up with the big brother Time Warner sometime soon. Quite honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Mike Volpe vs. TechCrunch – I've Got Social Capital.. More Than Some

Ryan    Uncategorized     Facebook, Grader, mvolpe, Social Media, techcrunch

Across the Twittersphere this afternoon, I came across a Tweet from Mike Volpe (@mvolpe) regarding a reply to a posting from Michael Arrington (@techcrunch) regarding HubSpot’s Facebook Grader. Have you seen/heard about this debate yet? Well if you haven’t, do some searches, you might find some ReTweets, Replies, or whatever else out there.

Any ways, Arrington published a post at www.TechCrunch.com yesterday reviewing HubSpot’s latest online grading application, Facebook.Grader.com What does it do? It “Measures the Power of a Profile” says the website. Alright this is all well and good… I’ve seen Twitter.Grader.com as well as PressRelease.Grader.com, and they all pretty much do the same thing. Gives you a score depending on numbers of followers, following, groups, and whatever else they want to look at. The tools are cool, and I’m sure are widely used, but why is Arrington coming out and blasting the FB Grader? He says that  “…it’s beyond useless” Is it?

Maybe, but to start off, I think it is important to take a step  back and really define where SOCIAL really comes from. People have started doing this lately, and some people haven’t. Although there are mixed ideas about what IT really is, there are a few terms you should NOT overlook.

SOCIAL: (One source says:) relating to human society and its members; “social institutions”; “societal evolution”; “societal forces”; “social legislation”

CAPITAL: (One source says:) assets available for use in the production of further assets

Now hold on a minute. If I’m trying to measure the “power of a profile” does that entail that every profile is not equal? Does that mean that if my profile is more powerful then yours, I should be regarded as having more capital than the average producer… universally? Is there a form of universal capital at all in Social Media? Does that even make sense? If that’s the case, you’re sort of limiting yourself on who you are trying to relate to. A common good is always nice, but nobody can tell one person or another what or who they think they should be listening to/preaching at.

While HubSpot has it’s grading tools, and pretty cool grading tools at that, use of these tools should be understood that depending on where you are looking/who you’re looking at/who you want to hear you/and so on, you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. Thinking smart about your own personal social efforts is the best way to be, in essence, SOCIAL. Sure there are leaders in the world, but sooner or later, the underlings rise up and elect new leaders. Change happens. But everyone knows that right? ;-) (Congrats Obama)

Peace

P.S. Don’t abuse your position. It’s about the people, whether they like you or not.

P.P.S. Theres some good link juice in here guys, so don’t blast me.