Is BlogHerald On The Chopping Block? Matt Craven Goes On The Record
BlogMedia, the parent company of BlogHerald, a blog that I also blog at (ah, using "blog" as a noun and a verb leads to all kinds of grammatical fun) is currently under a repositioning effort that has seen Head Honcho …
Context & Ripple Effects
The BlogHerald question lands a year after blog networks were openly competing for readers and writers — coverage in October 2005 already framed the space as one where blog news services are fighting it out. BlogMedia's repositioning effort now puts one of those players' flagship property under scrutiny.
What makes this story move is that the shutdown talk remains just that — rumors — while Matt Craven has gone on the record at Deep Jive Interests to address them directly. An executive answering questions publicly rather than letting speculation sit is itself the signal: BlogMedia wants the record shaped by its own account.
First-order effects
- BlogHerald's contributors and readers face uncertainty over whether the site survives BlogMedia's repositioning, with no confirmed answer beyond Craven's public comments.
- Craven's decision to respond on the record puts pressure on BlogMedia to either reaffirm or quietly abandon whatever restructuring plans prompted the rumors.
Second-order effects
- Rival blog networks watching the situation gain a recruiting argument: if BlogHerald's future is unsettled, its writers become acquisition targets and advertisers have reason to hedge placements elsewhere.
- Other multi-blog operators under similar repositioning pressure now see that silence breeds shutdown rumors — expect more preemptive public statements from executives in Craven's position.
Third-order effects
- If mid-sized blog networks keep consolidating or folding their properties, 2005's fragmented field of competing blog news services trends toward fewer, larger portfolio owners deciding which titles live or die.
- A pattern of parent companies repositioning rather than selling individual blogs would push the industry toward portfolio management as the norm, with editorial brands subordinate to corporate strategy — a shift whose pace depends on how many BlogMedia-style restructurings follow.
The trend: Standalone blog properties are increasingly subject to the portfolio logic of their parent networks, with executive communication becoming the main defense against shutdown speculation.