BlogMedia, Inc., an online publishing company that publishes a number of blogs, recently closed on its purchase of The Blog Herald, a b5media blog owned by Duncan Riley.
Riley decided to sell The Blog Herald due to new responsibilities he took on when he joined as a partner in the b5media blog media conglomerate, among other reasons. Terms and price of the sale were not disclosed at press time, but it was rumored that the winner of the eBay auction paid more than $72,000.
According to a news release issued by BlogMedia:
“The Blog Herald, “ said BlogMedia Senior Vice President Matt Craven, “has a well-established history and reputation within the blog and technology communities. This acquisition allows BlogMedia to become the news destination of choice for readers seeking technology news & information about blogs, blog networks, and professional blogging.” ...
BlogMedia, Inc. is a rapidly growing privately owned online publisher of a unique variety of content, and is headquartered in Minnesota. BlogMedia is led by a team with extensive experience in online content development. The company works with expert authors from around the world to develop content and online services that allow passion and energy to flourish.
BlogMedia, Inc. also owns Erati Media, "home to some of the most talented writers in online media," according to their website.
Duncan Riley founded The Blog Herald in 2002. He recently co-founded b5media, a blog media conglomerate, with Jeremy Wright, author of Blog Marketing, recently reviewed here at Blogcritics. Wright is president of b5media.
John Mudd, a.k.a. "Mr. Real Estate" reporting Breaking News for Blogcritics.
Article comments
1 - Elvira Black
The Blog Herald is a great site, but from all accounts it seems like Duncan Riley sold this valuable asset for a song! Is there something I missed, or did he get swindled?
2 - Matt
Thanks for the link and kind words - we're quite excited about owning The Blog Herald and look forward to what the future will bring.
~~ Matt
3 - Mr. Real Estate
Elvira: The Blog Herald was put up for auction on E-Bay. It appears the highest bidder bought it. I don't know what the terms were, as they were no made public, so I can't make a judgment as to whether or not Duncan was "swindled" or not, but I doubt that he was, as I have known him for a few years, and he is a very bright fellow. I do think he may have been eager to sell, considering his new responsibilities in the b5media blog media partnership.
BlogMedia appears to be a serious player as far as blog media conglomerates go, and I would not be surprised if they offered to purchase other blogs in the future in order to expand their holdings.
-John Mudd
"Mr. Real Estate"
4 - Elvira Black
No disrespect intended--just seemed like a low figure to me, but you're right, I don't know what went on behind the scenes...
5 - Mr. Real Estate
There are quite a few opinions on the sale of The Blog Herald. Most bloggers think the figure was too high. Considering it nets $2,000 or so a month, and has potential to net more than that, $72K isn't a bad figure for a purchase price for it. The only thing that really surprised me about the sale was that the buyer wasn't Gawker Media or Weblogs, Inc. I think Duncan sold The Blog Herald because he had other things in the works, and he decided to pursue them. I'll miss The Blog Herald in its current form and wonder what it will look like as a product of its new owner.
-John Mudd
"Mr. Real Estate"
6 - Steve Johnson
Gawker Media didn't buy Blog Herald because they understand that a blog is inherently worthless. It's the blogger behind the blog that makes it special.
7 - Mr. Real Estate
True. I wonder what The Blog Herald will be like in the next few weeks after Duncan is no longer writing for it. It will be interesting to see.
-John Mudd
"Mr. Real Estate"
8 - Andrew
Sorry but you got your fact all wrong. TBH didn't sell for $72K or on eBay. It initially sold for that amount but the sale fell through. They then auctioned it off at SitePoint and at last count the bid was $25K and then it was sold.
Sadly, the buyers have little respect in the blogosphere from the past activities and all I see for TBH is being buried deep in the mire with the rest of BlogMedia. A sad day for blogging, sorry to say.
9 - Mr. Real Estate
Andrew,
Please note that I linked to my sources. I did not see anything in Google saying that The Blog Herald sold for $25K, nor did I see anything about SitePoint. In any case, if what you say is true, thanks for the correction. If anyone has links to what Andrew just said, please post them. Thanks!
John Mudd
"Mr. Real Estate"
10 - Matt
Not sure what you're talking about in terms of being buried in the mire with the rest of BlogMedia. Our traffic grows each month and we're profitable - if you think others care about the various dramas that have gone on, I think you need to reconsider what's truly important.
Many of our sites, such as Blog Network Watch, Blogger Jobs, and others are informative news & career sites whose traffic continues to improve each month.
I doubt we would have been able to make this deal with Duncan had our reputation been otherwise.
~~Matt
11 - Matt
To clear up some facts:
The original auction was conducted privately via email and resulted in a $72k sale that later fell through.
The second auction was conducted on Sitepoint. At some point during this auction, things became stalled and we began direct negotiations with Duncan. We were able to reach an agreement and immediately made a deposit.
~~Matt
12 - Mr. Real Estate
Thanks for the clarification. We wish BlogMedia, The Blog Herald, Duncan Riley and b5media all the best in their future endeavors.
-John Mudd
"Mr. Real Estate"
13 - Mr. Real Estate
NEWS UPDATE:
BlogMedia officially announced its acquisition of The Blog Herald via PRWeb today.
-John Mudd
"Mr. Real Estate"