Last chance to save on Digiday Publishing Summit passes is February 9
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
From vibes to data: Why some brands use predictive tech to vet creators
Brands like TheRealReal and Shark Ninja are turning to predictive models and datasets to guide their strategies.
In Graphic Detail: The puny nature of regulatory fines compared to Big Tech’s financial prowess
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?
Vibe coding is an increasingly popular way of writing code using plain-language prompts that creators are leveraging to build apps, websites, and more.