Flycast Valet: Syndicated Content (Not Commerce)

From: <MarkWelch_at_adbility.com>
Date: Mon 27 Sep 1999 17:57:53 -0700

Flycast issued a press release on Monday
(http://www.flycast.com/releases/09271999.html ) announcing
a new service called "Flycast Valet," but the press release
contains so many buzzwords and so little content that I
don't think most netizens (or reporters) will understand
what it really is.

Since the press release talks about "content and commerce
infrastructure" and emphasizes the "commerce" side, you
might expect the service to involve revenue-sharing from
commissions on sales of products. In fact, that is NOT
part of the new service (although it may be added at some
future date).

Instead, affiliate sites will benefit solely from "content
syndication," in which sites will be able to incorporate
directory content (telephone listings) and maps from
InfoSpace into their web sites, and these extra content
pages will carry advertising that Flycast can try to sell
on behalf of the sites.

While I am not very enthusiastic about "directory content"
syndication, nor the offerings that InfoSpace has, I
certainly recognize that this is one way to extend the
number of pageviews per visitor (or to use the buzzword, to
make sites more "sticky").

It is unclear to me, however, whether Flycast can sell much
of this additional inventory -- a site that currently is
running out of paid ads after 12 pageviews can hardly
expect to profit if this new deal increases the average
number of pageviews per visitor from 18 to 22. (A site that
is currently averaging only 4 or 6 pageviews, of course,
would be happy to extend that count.)

On the other hand, it may turn out to be easier for Flycast
to package (group) inventory and sell ads for the InfoSpace
content, rather than the widely varying content across
Flycast's network of sites -- and the directory content
probably will facilitate geographic targetting and keyword
targetting based on search terms or company names.)

And the whole idea of content syndication is one that I
wholeheartedly endorse (I added a page on this subject about
six months ago, and I actually anticipate that in the coming
months, the content syndication section of my site will be
as deep and voluminous as the rest of my site about web
advertising).

Of course, Flycast's deal also provides an extra "hook" to
keep its affiliates loyal: to get access to the same
InfoSpace content if you are not a Flycast affiliate,
InfoSpace demands a minimum startup fee of $5,000, plus
monthly maintenance fees (but will then negotiate
revenue-sharing for the commerce/commission links also).

I would like to hear how others think "content syndication"
will affect site revenues and overall online advertising
opportunities.


-- Mark J. Welch, Editor & Publisher
-- Adbility's Web Publishers' Advertising Guide
-- http://www.Adbility.com/WPAG/
-- (925) 462-8483 voice - Pleasanton, California




Received on Mon Sep 27 1999 - 19:57:53 CDT