In a move that signifies the promise and potential of the weblog, AOL is reported to be acquiring Jason Calacanis’ Weblogs Inc., for as much as $35 million. The partnership could indicate that blogging is to become a powerful medium that will blur the boundaries of mainstream traditional media and citizen journalism.
The report came last night from Rafat Ali of PaidContent.org, as New York-based Weblogs Inc. founder and CEO Jason Calacanis was en route to the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco. The deal was not mentioned on Calacanis’ personal weblog nor on co-founder Brian Alvey’s.
Details of the buy were, however, forwarded via email to Weblogs, Inc. members like Darren Rowse at Problogger, who cites an anonymous source. According to Rowse, Weblogs Inc. is agreeing to the acquisition to increase resources and traffic it otherwise would be unable to obtain from its $2 million per year enterprise.
No specific changes in management or structure are expected to be made at Weblogs Inc., but AOL is reported to be moving toward an advertising-based model due to recent declines in Internet service subscribers.
AOL is also expected to post Weblogs headlines on the AOL homepage, Netscape, and Instant Messenger. Weblogs, Inc. is expected to play a role in AOL’s foray in to consumer-generated video content, as well.
Weblogs, Inc., which employs over 100 bloggers producing content for popular blogs like Engadget and Autoblog, has become a highly successful advertising supported weblog network in a short time.
Steve Rubel, a well-known public relations strategist and blogger, believes the acquisition to be an omen of things to come, as blogs become more ubiquitous in mainstream media.
“the line is blurring between big blog media – e.g. Weblogs Inc. and Gawker Media – and just plain ol’ big media. This deal is a sure sign this is indeed true. Soon it will all simply be viewed as media – whether it’s citizen, professional or a hybrid car,” writes Rubel in Murdok.
Indeed, weblogs, are becoming a powerful force in marketing, PR, and media, as evidenced by Warner Brothers recent wooing of Buzzmachine’s Jeff Jarvis to place motion picture advertisements on his blog.
Carmaker Audi also has recognized the success of advertising on blogs, recently noting that nearly a third of traffic generated to its site came from posting ads in the Blogads network.
A statement from AOL was not available at the time of this report.
