The New York Times has announced that it will buy information portal and content provider About.com for $410 million at about a 30-percent discount on what Primedia paid for this property in the year 2000.
The New York Times Company, whose newspapers include the New York Times and the Boston Globe, stated that the move was to increase online visibility and promote more of its products online.
About.com is based on Guides (or experts) who write articles and help readers find information that is of help to them. About.com also has a database of over 1,800,000 articles and when that is presumably merged with the huge archive of information in the New York Times Company, this will strengthen About’s presence as a content producer immeasurably.
Time will tell if this will become another AOL / Time-Warner fiasco or something truly new and beneficial to both corporations and online customers as well. As the old saying goes, “Money can’t be you love, but at least it will get you a first date.” More to follow.
In other news, one of my current customers, Associated Content strives to model itself after the success of About.com. Associated Content is open to writers, photographers, artists and graphic artists who wish to publish and showcase their work. They are also looking for experts in several different areas who would like to make a mark for themselves in this emerging business property.
Strike now while the iron is hot.
