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The Barbarian Group COO Rick Webb has some tough words for Silicon Valley. He has little time for those arguing there isn’t a bubble right now in tech company valuations, zeroing in on those that have ad-dependent business models. For all that Silicon Valley companies lament the lack of tech savvy in the advertising, the opposite is clearly true. Webb makes that point clear:
Brands don’t actually want or need any more media channels. As far as they’re concerned, the internet can stop now. We have enough channels. We were happy when we had like seven (TV, print, outdoor, radio, in-store, direct and theater), got a little interested in the first few new ones. Urinals? Uh, okay. Banners? Interesting. Google? Yes. Groupon, Farmville, GroupMe? OKAY I AM GETTING TIRED NOW. Silicon Valley seems to think that advertising’s appetite for new media channels is unending. It is not.
Read more on The Barbarian Group blog. For a counterpoint, see angel investor Chris Dixon and venture capitalist Brad Feld.
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