Join us Oct. 26-28 in Newport Beach for the Digiday Media Buying Summit
Ning shifted businesses about a year ago, ditching its original business model of allowing millions of free social networks in favor of a paid model. The move helped Ning get a higher quality of publisher, according to Jason Rosenthal, Ning’s CEO who will become evp of social media at Glam. It now boasts 100,000 publishers and attracts 60 million unique visitors per month.
Glam sees an opportunity to offer the technology platform to its publishers and extend its advertising across Ning sites. The question is whether the kind of brand advertising Glam is after will fit on tens of thousands of Ning properties. It’s the wrong question, if you ask Rosenthal, who thinks the nature of quality publishing is totally changing.
“Historically the highest quality content came from the largest media companies,” he said. “Today the highest quality, most engaging content online is coming from independent publishers across the Web.”
Glam sure hopes so. It is building a new-style media company that’s a hybrid of ad network and technology company. It has branched out from its roots as a woman-focused network to build tech tools, like an ad server and mobile and content-creation platforms. Ning will add a needed social piece to the puzzle, according to Glam CEO Samir Arora.
“The downturn almost wiped out many social companies,” he said. “Ning was one of the survivors.”
More in Media
CNN takes All Access abroad to turn global reach into paying subscribers
CNN is bringing its All Access subscription service to the U.K. and Canada as part of a broader push to turn its international audience into paying subscribers.
Ad industry tallies early losses from Apple’s Safari tracking block
A week after Apple’s Safari block, the ad industry is still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Welcome to Creator University: Inside the colleges building creator economy programs
As more young folks seek to enter the creator economy, universities are offering classes covering every layer of the still-growing ecosystem.