Contributors, partners and friends:
I have incredible news.
Ready?
Okay.
Associated Content is being acquired by Yahoo!.
To our contributors, this means a world of previously unimaginable growth opportunities. As our partnership evolves, a combined Yahoo! and Associated Content will deliver increased distribution (600 million unique visitors monthly, oh my!), better performance, new tools and, more than anything, the opportunity to contribute your premium content to the web’s most powerful media company.
I am so proud of our contributors and the Associated Content staff. This is the perfect next step for all of us. As the web’s first people-powered media company, in early 2005 we set out to change the content landscape by building the best technology platform and the most prolific, talented contributor base on the web. We succeeded. In five years, over 380,000 contributors have published over 2 million articles, videos, slideshows and audio clips that together have collected over 1.75 billion page views. With Yahoo! behind us, we will shatter these records.
We’ve always had our eyes peeled for the next best thing. How can we better our technology? How can we onboard new, diverse contributors? How do we improve the quality of our content for consumers and advertisers? What’s the best way to increase distribution and, deliver higher payments to our contributors? So, when our partners at Yahoo!, THE world’s largest online media company, approached us about becoming a part of their family, our minds were piqued.. We soon realized that we had a common mission: to be the center of people’s online lives.
We’ve been promoted! We all will now be driving social media as a part of the most personally relevant online media company in the world – a media company that reaches half of the global population (yes, we’re going global!). I think we’re up for the challenge and opportunity.
Let’s do this thing!
Congrats to everyone,
Luke Beatty
Founder
PS: For more information, please see the press release and our FAQ. You should also check out the official welcome on Yahoo!'s blog.
Posts
40 comments:
Wow, this is excellent news! Very exciting!
Good news for you, but not for people who left Yahoo due to the email experience becoming too complicated.
Now if it was Google, I would say yahoo!
So awesome! Congrats to...well, all of us! :)
That is fantastic news and exciting indeed!
This is big...really big! :)
Hi Luke:
Great exposure, but will the AC management and owner team remain on board? We've had great years of growth together.
Mary Anne Simpson
Any chance of Performance Payments for overseas contributors being reinstated by them?
Or better still, a UK version of Associated Content with upfront payments available.
Astounding accomplishments! I can't wait to see all the great things that come out of this partnership!
Amazing! A great step forward, that could possibly help those of us writers who have difficulty promoting content, like for the arts and poetry. I love AC and what is being done has already been incredibly rewarding.
I'm extremely happy to hear this!
Congratulations!,
That really is fantastic news!
Salute,
AC Contributer
I am cautiously optimistic?!
I'm skeptical Luke... as are MANY other content producers. If this is good for us, why is Yahoo planning on shutting down the site in the 3rd quarter? Why do they refer to us as "parochial" in their article? The biggest question I'm getting is "What will happen to the articles we have up?" I don't know Luke... seems to me those are need to know things when making this sort of an announcement. Most of us aren't here for page views and influence. We are here for MONEY. What's the plan THERE? Without the content producers on board, Yahoo just wasted $100Million (congrats to YOU by the way ;-)) how does selling to "the man" keep us the "People's media company"? These are important questions. Less smoke... more substance. You and I BOTH know that the MAJORITY of those 16 million page view per month are incestuous... meaning that content producers are telling their friends, many of whom are already content producers... So tell us... what is the upswing for us? Dollars and cents man. Spill it ;-)
Exciting? Maybe.
Check out the release from the Associated Press and read the last line.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hNRwuzuQdsW3J39Pvy6NoFlDU4yAD9FPGHMO0
Says the AC site will close when the deal is complete.
Awesome news! Congratulations to the entire AC community. You guys rock!!
This could mean some major opps for us. Maybe some contributions to Shine or features on Yahoo News. That would really be awesome!
I am a huge fan of Yahoo! so this is great news indeed.
Luke-
I guess only comments from bright-eyed trusting optimists are considered ripe for posting. Sorry I don't 'feel the love' right now. I guess Lyn is chronically positive and reinforcing of AC.
David
Yahoo! already stated they will close the Associated Content website after the third quarter. How can that be good news for anyone?
Now we are so happy, we do the dance of joy! Many thanks, Luke!
Mike- We'd definitely like to expand our reach overseas at some point!
Sevastian, Jackie & David- The Associated Press story stating that Yahoo is closing AC is completely false. All in the information contained in our FAQ is accurate: http://i.acdn.us/siteimg/yahoo_faq.html
Lyn, Lisa, Cathy, Mary, Kathy, MG, ShawnTe and Marilisa- Glad you're excited! We are too!
I'm with the more cynical on this myself.
"Yahoo plans to close Associated Content's Web site after it completes the acquisition in the third quarter."
Yeah. Exciting...just not for those of us who built you up Luke.
Donald- As we posted earlier, the AP report about Associated Content is totally false. Here's the accurate info: http://look.ac/auwwmW
This is a very good thing for Contributors.
Well, I hope and pray AC does not meet the fate of Geocities, and I'm sort of cringing at the thought of new tools from Yahoo! if they are anything like what is offered in the "new Yahoo! Mail."
I certainly hope it turns out the way you are saying Luke. So many people love writing for AC..me included. I wouldn't want the rumors we are hearing to be true. That would be sad. Best of luck for your future. I hope this has been a positive move for all of us.
Hey, I'm excited. Bigger audience, bigger readership, maybe even special niche sites needing more of our writing. Even before I read the corrections to the reports that Yahoo will close down AC, it occured to me that nobody would pay 100 zillion for something just to shut it down. The contributors and our work are what AC has to sell, it seems to me. I love change and adventure -- here comes some!
Thanks,
Linda Louise Johnson
AC contributor
If the Associated Press is distributing false information, might an official correction from Associated Content be in line? I seem to recall from my days in the newspaper biz that, as a leading news provider, the Associated Press tends to be sort of interested in providing accurate information. Just sayin'.
I'm relieved if it is true that the web site will not close down. I found that extremely distasteful and distressing.
As a Yahoo user, of longevity enough (from the beginning) to have a capital first letter in my ID, I have come to abhor that unthinking, unfeeling, unresponsive, seldom-improving behemoth with a passion. That's not overstatement on my part: I'm leaving out most of my favorite descriptors for it/them.
I'd also agree, for that reason, with those who said "... now if it were google ..." You'd be ten times richer at half the price if it were they.
If you retain much control this could work, although I still think you are riding the wrong horse, unless Yahoo itself changes/improves ... and that, my friends, is like waiting for the next "mass extinction event."
Hmmm. Perhaps this is an opportunity for those of us of like minds regarding Yahoo to contribute our thoughts and feelings on THIS subject and finally have someone actually pay attention ... or not?
I will withhold judgement and comment until after the fact, thank you.
Guys!
Associated Content is not getting shut down. It is about to get a whole lot bigger. End of point one!
Payments are not going to disappear. Payments are only going up! WAY up for top quality content. End of point two.
You all can hold me to it!
Fondly, Luke
I'm not happy with this and don't see how anyone else can be either. If AC closes in the third quarter, what does that leave all of us contributors with? Might be time to move on to Xomba or Demand Studios.
Thanks for the reassurance, Luke! :)
Ms. Fyre,
Just to reiterate - Associated Content isn't going anywhere (except onward and upward) in the 3rd quarter. :)
Contributors and their writing are the lifeline of Associated Content. If Yahoo! shuts down Associated Content, what are they buying? Software? I think not!
As with any merger and acquisition, a company will try to merge and incorporate the content (Contributor's, that's us) with their site. That will mean some changes but definitely more exposure. I'm optimistic and have high hopes for Yahoo! to do the right thing.
My question is: What will happen to content published for performance payments only?
John Mario
John-
All the current rights on your content (Exclusive, Non-Exclusive and Display Only) and carrying over, and there are no plans to change the Performance Bonus system.
-AC Darnell
Thanks for that clarification on payments, Darnell. :)
Luke, How do you know that AC will not close? I am not familiar with your blog, so I don't know where you are pulling your information from. How are you specifically involved with AC?
Oops, sorry. I just read the last part of your post...Nevermind my last comment....
Change is always a scary thing, and while I have my concerns about the Yahoo / AC merger, takeover, or whatever you want to call it, I think it will be a good thing. Yahoo is interested in AC because of the contributors and all the great content. Why would they want to do anything to interfere with what seems to be working. As a bigger entity, their objective is expansion, which should ultimately spells more money for contributors.
I will withhold judgement and comment until after the fact, thank you.
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