Scoble Sells Out
Robert Scoble, who has long been proud of the fact that his popular blog remains free of advertisements or sponsorships, will soon put ads on his site, he told me yesterday. — The change comes as part of his move to Fast Company, who will sell the ads on his behalf and will also be redesigning the site.
Context & Ripple Effects
Robert Scoble’s planned move from PodTech to Fast Company had already reframed his independent blog as part of a larger media operation. Fast Company was also preparing an online video network with Scoble, extending the arrangement beyond a single site.
Advertising and a Fast Company-led redesign make that shift operational: the publisher takes on sales and presentation while Scoble’s site gains a commercial model.
First-order effects
- Robert Scoble’s blog will begin carrying advertising, ending its ad- and sponsorship-free approach.
- Fast Company becomes responsible for selling the inventory and redesigning the site, giving it a direct role in Scoble’s audience business.
Second-order effects
- Fast Company can package Scoble’s blog alongside its planned video effort, making Scoble’s audience more valuable to advertisers than a standalone blog sale.
- The redesign and ad-sales arrangement ties the site’s economics to Fast Company’s publishing infrastructure rather than Scoble’s prior independent model.
Third-order effects
- The move points to prominent individual publishers trading some operating independence for a publisher’s sales and production infrastructure as blogs develop into broader media properties.
The trend: Independent tech personalities are being absorbed into publisher-backed networks that combine personal audiences with advertising sales, design, and video production.