SHAPING WHAT’S NEXT IN MEDIA
Last chance to save on Digiday Publishing Summit passes is February 9
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.
Trending in
Most Read
More in Media
In Graphic Detail: The puny nature of regulatory fines compared to Big Tech’s financial prowess
January 30, 2026
Big Tech could pay off over $7 billion in 2025 fines in less than one month, demonstrating the disparity between regulatory bite and corporate wealth.
WTF is vibe coding?
January 30, 2026
Vibe coding is an increasingly popular way of writing code using plain-language prompts that creators are leveraging to build apps, websites, and more.
Google’s forced AI opt out: what changes — and what doesn’t — for publishers
January 29, 2026
Publishers want the Competition Markets Authority to impose harder structural remedies on Google regarding its AI crawler vs. behavioral ones.